A man and woman who lost their way spent a chilly night on Mt Ruapehu before being rescued this morning "cold and hungry".
A police release stated that the duo started their walk on the Round the Mountain Track from Whakapapa Village to Whakapapaiti Hut around lunchtime on Saturday.
They called police just after 7.30pm when they became lost.
The poor weather meant a helicopter couldn't be used to save the pair. Instead a team of land search and rescue volunteers set off and found the trampers shortly after 4am this morning.
"The search party discovered them cold and hungry but in their sleeping bags," the release said.