Take appropriate clothing and navigation aids and know how to use them is the message from Waikato Police calculating the cost of a successful search and rescue operation overnight.
Sergeant Phil Bell of the Waikato Search And Rescue squad said two Thames men had been reported missing after failing to return from a hunting trip in the Kauaeranga Valley.
"The pair, aged 31 and 27, had gone into the bush with five dogs hunting pigs about 9am Tuesday and were due out around 4pm, when they didn't appear the alarm was raised and search teams converged on the area yesterday morning.
"Their vehicle was located pretty quickly and from there search teams spent the day searching for them with fresh teams coming in last night to conduct a light and audio search while other groups camped at different spots by streams in the hope the pair would come across them."
Mr Bell said a search team heading up the Waiwawa River found the men about 11.30pm cold, wet and with minor injuries.
The pair were also showing the early stages of hypothermia.
"They'd got lost chasing a pig into a different water catchment area and ended up following the wrong stream which they thought was taking them back to their truck.
"Unfortunately they had no compass, map or GPS, had they not been found they would have been in pretty dire straights facing a second night in the bush. We managed to get them back to our base camp early this morning."
Mr Bell said while the priority is always about the preservation of life those involved are now contemplating the cost of what was an avoidable operation that involved about 50 civilian volunteers and nine Police staff.
"We're looking at about 450 volunteer hours and 150 Police hours, while our teams do the job because of their love of the bush and a genuine spirit of wanting to help people volunteers people are taking themselves away from their jobs and families during each call out.
"What we're asking people to do is take care of the basics, ensure if you're going into the bush take the proper clothing and navigational aids and know how to use them."
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