New Zealand Tour Map Travel Blog

NZ Search and Rescue have released figures showing that over one third of rescues carried out this summer have been for lost or injured overseas visitors. The great proportion of these are in the South Island where mountain climbing is popular during the summer months.

New Zealand Land Search & Rescue (landSAR) say many of these visitors lack basic awareness of the dangers and requirements to venture into the wilderness. Tourists are often ill equipped and unfamiliar with NZ systems. Many man hours of searching are often wasted due to visitors not filling in intention forms.

Basic outdoor safety messages are taught to New Zealanders from a early age however this education may be lacking in visitors who venture into our parks.

LandSAR has devised a seven point safety tip to help educate visitors which will be added to tourist information distributed by Tourism New Zealand.

SURVIVAL TIPS

- Sign in/sign out. Leave a detailed trip plan with DoC or a friend including a “panic” date. The more details searchers have about your intentions, the quicker you’ll be rescued if something goes wrong.

- Don’t underestimate bad New Zealand weather. Check the forecasts before going into the outdoors for the period you’ll be gone.

- Take advice from people who know the area you’re planning to tramp or climb.

- Rivers can be killers. If it’s running too strong to walk through, wait until level drops. Be conservative.

- Going with others is better than going alone.

- Consider using a personal locator beacon, especially if you’re travelling alone.

- If lost – seek shelter and stay where you are. Use a torch/camera flash to attract attention at night. Try and position something coloured and visible from the air to help a helicopter search during the day

The recent freezing conditions experienced in the South Island and central North Island has left large sections of our state highways riddled with large pot holes and a general deterioration of road surfaces.

Pot holes are formed extremely quickly. They are formed by cracks in the road allowing water to seep into and under the road surface. When temperatures drop below freezing this water expands to lift up and crack the road surface. Similar to leaving a glass bottle in the freezer.

Pot hole can appear overnight and are catching drives of all persuasions unaware and are resulting in minor traffic incidents and damage to tyres and cars.

Road repairs are not keeping up with the problem that has been described by some city councils as the worst seen in many years. On one fifty kilometre stretch of state highway 2, some 280 holes appeared in a period of less than 48 hours. Repairing these was estimated to take road crews over two weeks.

Repair crews claim that by the time they have finished repairing one stretch of road, they have to turn around and start again on new ones that have formed.

Police have reported that campervans are particularly susceptible to damage from running into pot holes. Due the size of these vans, the ability to swerve to avoid pot holes is a risky manoeuvre that has resulted in one campervan tipping onto its side.

Please be aware when touring New Zealand at the moment the road conditions precarious and extra caution is required when driving on mountain passes. Generally no warning signage are displayed to mark this hazard.

With recent snow followed by rain and now freezing temperatures, the South Island is experiencing a raft of traffic accidents and ice related broken bones and injuries.

The Southland Hospital emergency department was overwhelmed by dozens of people who broke bones and suffered minor injuries after people slipped on black ice that caused widespread disruptions throughout Southland and parts of Otago yesterday

Authorities are urging people to take extreme care and weather forecasters have warned that temperatures in the double minus digits are still predicted.

Road conditions are treacherous in many parts of Southland and Otago. Many locals and particularly tourists, who are not use to extreme winter driving conditions, have been involved in many traffic accidents.

Local police have reported accidents involving road ice and a disproportional amount of unsuspecting visitor drivers. Police warn motorists to slow down and leave travelling to later in the day when road ice has had a chance to soften as temperatures increase.

Other services, including flights in and out of Invercargill, Dunedin and Queenstown airports, have been either delayed or cancelled creating huge back loads of passengers during this busy school holiday period.

A great action photo of an Air New Zealand link plane making a gear up emergency landing at Blenheim airport this morning. No injuries where reported.