Two trampers have been located after heading into the Tararua Range on Saturday night.
The "well prepared" trampers got into difficulty because of adverse weather conditions some time later but they had a personal locator beacon and activated it while seeking shelter.
Due to the adverse weather, their general location was identified only, not an exact location.
At about 9pm last night, with the assistance of a crew from the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No.3 Squadron, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) staff managed severe turbulence and low cloud to transport three police-led search teams into the search area on an NH90 helicopter.
Sergeant Fiona Read from Police Search and Rescue said they located the emergency beacon activated by the trampers, helping rescuers to find them at 1.30am this morning.