"I [thought] I might as well set off the beacon so at least people would know where I was."
He thought it would be "too tricky" for a rescue team to reach him that night, but at about 3.30am he heard what he thought might be a bird call.
"I thought 'oh no, I'm imagining things'."
"I thought I heard a bird call in the bush and then I thought I heard another call back and I thought 'that's a whistle!'."
He blew his own whistle, and when he saw lights approaching, rushed to put on his head torch.
A team of five rescuers - two police officers, one paramedic and two volunteers - had tramped in on the Barra track, fording the Waingawa River in order to locate Mr Hill, who had mistakenly followed Fall Stream into the Waingawa Gorge, rather than following the Atiwhakatu Stream.
It was a real surprise to see the Search and Rescue team, to whom he was very grateful, Mr Hill said.
"I was absolutely amazed because I didn't expect someone until dawn. It was a real sense of relief.
"They were just so considerate and supportive and didn't make me feel stupid. They just made sure of everything, and made sure I got back - they were so concerned for my welfare."
He said he never thought he would need to use the beacon, or the emergency rations and whistle.
"All of the emergency gear that I've ever taken ... and I now really see the point of it."
The team decided not to walk out that night, instead lighting a fire, settling in for the night and tramping out the next day, reaching the end of the track at about 11am.
Mr Hill's wife, Robyn, who had received regular updates throughout the night, said she was thankful to the police and Search and Rescue for their dedication.
"It was just amazing. The police kept me informed through the night - it was quite a stressful night."
She was grateful to see Mr Hill the next morning, although he was somewhat battered and bruised.
"He was properly lost - he wouldn't have found his way out."
Search and Rescue incident controller Senior Constable Pete Cunningham said Mr Hill using the emergency beacon was "absolutely crucial" to the team finding him.
"Having that location gives us a point where we can send the search straight to, to find out why [he] pressed the button ... to try to find him without that beacon we would have to have put more teams in and cover a massive area."
Emergency beacons were essential for anyone planning to tramp or hunt in an area where there was no cellphone coverage, Mr Cunningham said.
"If you break a leg or injure yourself and you can't walk, then you've got to wait ... imagine lying there with a broken leg for 24 hours; or being picked up by a helicopter within an hour or a few hours."
Mr Cunningham commended Mr Hill on being prepared and making the right decision to stay put.
"He was well-equipped and did everything correctly - and pushing the button was the right thing to do."
