Kathy Menzies, her husband Mikal and their three children, with Hastings friend Ann Michelle and her two children, had hiked into the bush on Saturday. They planned to stay the night and walk out the next day.
But, by nightfall, the experienced trampers were using their cellphones to call for help before their batteries ran out.
They knew of the rain warning but were not aware how the fast-moving stream near the hut would be affected.
Ms Michelle said a suggestion would be going to the Department of Conservation to erect signs warning trampers of how rivers could change. Friends had recently hiked in the area with the same rain warning issued, but had not encountered problems.
The group never felt panicked or that they were truly stranded.
Fuckwits. The rain was forecast, the Met Service’s message of doom was there for anyone with half a brain to take on board. It was a message of doom too, they didn’t underplay their hand.
These morons went tramping despite repeated heavy rain warnings for at least two days before. If they were experienced, and I seriously doubt that because of silly statements, they should have known they were crossing a river, and rivers are inclined to flood during heavy rain warnings. Yet they demand DOC put up signs. As you can see from the picture supplied by the HB Today this river was already in flood when their photo was taken. The paper still put a caption of “tranquil Waipawa Forks became a raging torrent within hours”. Look at the photo, the water is brown and foaming, it is already dangerous to cross. These people are stupid, they should have gone back to the hut and sat and waited rather than endanger rescue workers.
If DOC has to put signs up then they should say something like:
STUPID TRAMPERS GET TRAPPED BY RIVERS IF THEY TRAMP AFTER HEAVY RAIN WARNINGS
STUPID TRAMPERS CAN DIE IF THEY GET TRAPPED BY FLOODING RIVERS
DARWINISM WEEDS OUT STUPID TRAMPERS THAT TRAMP AFTER HEAVY RAIN WARNINGS
STUPID TRAMPERS WILL PAY FOR EVACUATION IF THEY TRAMP AFTER HEAVY RAIN WARNINGS
Over many years of Tramping and Hunting sometimes for weeks at a time, you just don’t get a chance for weather warning, but you at least know when the rain is falling, it keeps hitting your hutchie endlessly. River rise fast, any competent tramper knows that. I have seen the Orongorongo River go from fordable to bank to bank in under 3 hours. I was on a hunting trip up the Manganuku River and it dumped down solid for 4 hours and the river went from the usual deep dark silent river to boulder smashing raging torrent. the freakiest part of rivers going from fording depth to bank to bank is watching trees slide past you and hearing the rocks smashing together and rolling along under the water. You know, unless you are congenitally stupid, that if you go in that water you are going to die and it will hurt. With my Manganuku trip we set up camp well above the flood line, put the food on emergency status and stay under our huchies telling dumb jokes all day and the next until the water subsided, then we walked out.
Unfortunately the NZ bush kills…..stupid people.
