The pilot who winched up the missing trampers says he felt a mixture of relief and euphoria upon rescuing them.
Dion Reynolds and Jessica O'Connor were located by search and rescue teams in Kahurangi National Park yesterday after they went missing for nineteen days.
The pair had got lost as a result of foggy conditions in the park, and Dion had sprained his ankle.
They were found just before 1pm yesterday after a search helicopter spotted smoke and saw two people waving at them. An Air Force helicopter was then called out to their location to winch them up to safety.
Today, pilots will continue to work to bring in the rest of the search and rescue volunteers who are in the national park.
