KEY POINTS:
A Scout tramping party trapped in a mountain hut by rising rivers at the weekend walked out unaided to their car this afternoon.
The group of five, comprising a female supervisor with two 15-year-olds and two 20-year-old scouts, hunkered down at the Broken River Hut in the Craigieburn Range, west of Christchurch on Sunday.
They were among several tramping parties caught out by swiftly rising streams in the Arthur's Pass and Craigieburn following heavy rain on Saturday.
Weather conditions were described as "atrocious", with 180mm of rain recorded at Arthur's Pass in 24 hours and 70mm in the Craigieburn catchment.
Cut off by a raging Broken River, the scouting group watched from the hut as huge boulders rolled downstream.
Christchurch police Search and Rescue (SAR) co-ordinator Sergeant Tony Tully said the groups elected this morning to walk downstream to find a wider, shallower point and attempt a river crossing.
Police and SAR staff from Arthur's Pass were monitoring the situation and a helicopter was on stand-by.
Mr Tully said the river had dropped about half a metre overnight.
"They knew that if they're not happy, then they just had to put their hand up," he said. "I've got people on the other side and a helicopter on stand-by."
Police radio communications in the area were difficult, but Mr Tully said he'd been told just after 2pm that the scouts had successfully crossed the river and were tramping on to their car parked at Avoca Station.
He said the scouts had done "everything right" after going into the area for the weekend on a mission to gain their Duke of Edinburgh awards.
They took a radio with them, were well-equipped and had elected to stay put at the hut rather than risk a dangerous river crossing.
Mr Tully said the scouts had been running short of food and were down to just snacks this morning.
"They'll be looking forward to a good meal tonight."
- NZPA
