Rescuers attach a strop to a van stranded in sand as the tide rises at Tomahawk Beach yesterday. Photo / Peter McIntosh, Otago Daily Times
Rescuers attach a strop to a van stranded in sand as the tide rises at Tomahawk Beach yesterday. Photo / Peter McIntosh, Otago Daily Times
The tide turned quickly on a motorist who wanted to take his dog for a walk at a popular Dunedin beach.
High-powered four-wheel-drives littered Tomahawk Beach yesterday morning as rescuers tried to free a Toyota Hiace stuck in the sand as the tide came in.
The comedy of errors resulted in another vehicle becoming stuck, strops being snapped and plenty of wet feet before Daniel Williamson and his Nissan Safari were able to pull the van free.
The young Gore man who was driving the van parked it on the foreshore of the beach and set off to walk his dog just before 10am.
A Subaru Legacy also became briefly stuck in the sand during the rescue effort. Photo / Peter McIntosh, Otago Daily Times
''We were walking the dog and then a wave came up and sucked it in,'' the man, who did not wish to be identified, said.
Returning to the van to find its rear wheels embedded in about 10cm of wet sand, the man rang a towing company and made a social media plea to pull the vehicle free for a $50 reward.
His plight caught the attention of a passing police patrol, but the officers were unable to assist.
The van also caught the attention of locals, who tried to dig the rear wheels free with spades.
At this point, the man admitted to the Otago Daily Times he was unsure if the vehicle was insured.
''I don't know - it's the old man's,'' he said.
The man had not told his father of the situation, saying ''my phone's dead'', as he noted his day was turning from bad to worse.
As the tide rose and the waves began to touch the front wheels of the van, the first rescuer arrived.
He drove his Subaru station wagon on to the beach, latched up a strop between the vehicles, reversed to increase the slack and took off at great speed.
Anchored to a Nissan Navara, Daniel Williamson was able to winch the van free using his Nissan Safari. Photo / Peter McIntosh, Otago Daily Times
A loud pop could be heard as the strop broke. The car became stuck and the rescuer needed rescuing.
Next to attempt a rescue was Shae McKenzie, with his Nissan Navara.
He pulled the Subaru free before snapping his strop.
Finally, it was the turn of Mr Williamson, who had heard about the incident on Facebook.
Anchored to Mr McKenzie's Navara, Mr Williamson's Nissan Safari was able to winch the van free as the surging tide began lapping against the vehicle's body.
''Lucky - very lucky,'' was how Mr Williamson described the outcome.
Cold and wet, the Gore motorist was able to drive off the beach about 10.30am.
It was unknown whether the $50 reward was honoured.
Three cars spent the night in the surf at the beach in January last year after one became stuck and the two others became embedded in sand during a failed rescue attempt.
