Getting into "a fair bit of strife" turned a father and young son's overnight trip with their puppy to Crosbies Hut on the Coromandel into one they'll never forget.
The weather had turned and dad Sam, 40, was carrying all their gear and standing on a slope on the wet and slippery track when it gave way, causing him to fall and break both the tibia and fibula in one of his legs (as shown in the x-ray below).
Without a personal locater beacon and no cell phone reception, Sam realised they were in trouble.
He gave his seven-year-old son a mission to find a stick to help support his leg but the wood was rotten on the inside. It crumbled under Sam’s weight and he fell back onto his badly broken leg.
With few options open, he made a painstaking 45-minute crawl along the track until he could get cell phone coverage. The balloon went up and Ambulance were called to assist.
Down on the track, his son found a clearing in the dense tree cover and waved in the Westpac Rescue chopper. However, due to strong winds and the inability to use the winch it was forced to land at Crosbies Hut and the paramedics walked back in to the bush to find them.
Sam was located on the track two kilometres from the hut.
Both Thames and Waihi LandSAR were deployed - the Waihi crew with their ‘mule’ stretcher, which has an all-terrain wheel and was used to transport Sam to a spot where he could be airlifted to hospital with his son.
Unfortunately their puppy, Frankie, wasn’t allowed on the chopper so Senior Constable Brian Connors and Thames LandSAR made the long trek out of the bush on foot with the dog.
As for Sam, he’s now recovering at home after having a metal rod surgically inserted through his tibia. Although his recovery is likely to be slow, Sam couldn’t be more appreciative of all those who came to his aid.
“I know without a doubt I would’ve been stuck in the bush on one of the coldest nights of the year if it wasn’t for the teams involved," he says.
“I got myself and my son into a fair bit of strife and it was hailing when we were waiting to be rescued.
“I’d certainly encourage anyone heading off on a hike to carry a personal locator beacon with them, no matter how experienced they are. In my case, all it took was a piece of the track to give way to cause me to fall awkwardly onto my leg. It was a real case of pure bad luck”.
Sam would like to thank everyone involved in his rescue.
“It is great living in a country where people are willing to do so much to help others” he says.