Tourist swept away in swollen creek

A German tourist swept away in a swollen Fiordland creek yesterday remained missing last night despite a ground and air search in the Knobs Flat area.

Searchers found the woman's tramping pack in the creek, but could not locate her. The incident came on the back of an unfortunate weekend for outdoor recreationists in rain-drenched national parks in the south.

On Saturday, an Australian man died while walking the Milford Track and a Dunedin family spent a freezing night in Mt Aspiring National Park.

A Canadian man tramping with the German woman raised the alarm about 6pm after walking out of the bush at Knobs Flat on the Te Anau to Milford Sound highway. They had been tramping in the headwaters of Mistake Creek.

The pair had tried to cross the creek about 1pm, but were caught in the swift current. The man managed to get himself out of the creek, but the woman was swept away in the flood waters, police said. The search was suspended about 9pm, but was to resume first thing this morning.

Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers' spokeswoman Jude Waite said the couple stayed in Te Anau for three days. They planned to go kayaking in Doubtful Sound but changed their minds when the weather turned bad.

- NZPA