The Westpac Rescue Helicopter on Kāpiti Coast waiting to take the man to hospital. Photo: Supplied by NZ Police
A man has been rescued after tramping for hours without food or water and taking a tumble that could have killed him.
Police said it was a timely reminder to be prepared before going bush.
The man had to be airlifted to hospital on Tuesday afternoon after falling while tramping along the Escarpment Track on Kāpiti Coast, police said.
He had been walking with his partner for five hours with no food or drink before falling off the track and tumbling about 40 metres over rock and through bush.
The man was walking the the Escarpment Track on the Kāpiti Coast. File image. Photo:
Police said he fell out of sight of his partner who called emergency services to rescue him.
"After falling, and having suffered a number of cuts, the man managed to slide approximately 100m to State Highway 59, where a passing motorist spotted him and also called emergency services," Sergeant Tory Press said in a statement.
"The man was located by the responding ambulance crew in a parking bay in a serious state."
Police said the crew was so concerned about the man's health that he was helicopted to hospital to be treated for dehydration and the cuts he has sustained during his fall.
Press said the situation could have turned out so much worse - and thankfully it did not.
"It appears the man has underestimated the walk and gone into it with with no food, water and only basic urban clothing and footwear.
"After several hours, that's caught up with him, and he's taken a tumble that could have killed him.
"It shows that while a walk might be suitable for all ages, people need to have respect for the land."
Police said the track covered 10km between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay and was 220 metres above sea level.
"With so many people out exploring the country at the moment, this is a reminder of why being prepared with suitable gear, food and water, and a charged phone is so important," Press said.
Meanwhile, beachgoers on Auckland's west coast are also being reminded to watch their feet, which can cook on the heat-absorbing black sand there.
Surf Life Saving's northern branch said on Christmas Eve its volunteers at north Piha had to help someone who had burnt the undersides of his feet while walking down the beach without footwear.
It said the person's friends flagged down the lifeguards' quad bike for help in transporting him off the sand.
Surf Life Saving said it was a timely reminder for people to take appropriate footwear with them to the western beaches of the north.