The elderly hiker was in the Kauaeranga Valley when he got into trouble.. Photo: Supplied/DOC.
Police are looking to publicly recognise the family who helped save an elderly lost tramper who collapsed in the Coromandel.
At the end of his ordeal, the 80-year old was taken to Thames Hospital in a moderate condition.
But that rescue was hours in the making, with the mother and her two teenagers the first to reach him when bad weather meant rescuers - and helicopters - could not.
The man was wearing only a singlet and shorts when he got lost while hiking on Sunday. He had also run out of water.
But he did have a mobile phone he used to call family, who then alerted police.
While they were able to pinpoint his location, the weather thwarted efforts to get two helicopters to him.
Police did have another option - the family staying in Crosbies Hut about 100 metres away.
"That's six hours he could have been by himself if these members of the public hadn't stepped up and help us out," Waikato West area commander Mike Henwood said.
"It's already being looked at higher up in terms of giving them some public recognition in terms of an award for their bravery and their actions to save somebody else who definitely needed it," he told RNZ.
After being tasked with finding the man, the woman and her teenage children formed a human circle around him to keep him warm.
It was not until first light that search and rescue teams could reach them on foot several hours later.
"Definitely lucky, really it comes down to the fact that he was in close vicinity to one of the DOC huts and there were people staying in there at this time of year," Henwood said.
"You have to expect that with the temperature and injuries they've certainly saved him in some shape or form," he told RNZ.
"I suppose I would just like to think that any member of the public, any Kiwi would try to step up if they could to help somebody that was in trouble."
Technology and the mobile location capability used to help find exactly where the man was also key to the rescue.
"Once we were able to obtain that we were able to actually work out it was very close to the Crosbies Hut location," Henwood said.
"We were able to check with DOC if anyone had made bookings for that hut, and luckily because it's a busy time of year, there was."
Henwood had not spoken to the man's family directly, but was aware they were "a little bit disappointed he had gone off on this mission and got himself in trouble".
"Which often happens but you can't tell some people, they like to be adventurous," Henwood said.
He said a lot of people took more risks than they should while trying to squeeze things in during a busy holiday time.
"Often the weather is not right for them to do it, it can change really fast, and if you have to cancel the trip or the plan that you've been waiting months or even a year for sometimes you just have to do it when the weather is how it is," he said.
Having warm clothes, extra food, a charged mobile and a plan with friends or family were also important.
So too was picking a right activity for your physical ability, Henwood said.
"If we hadn't have had the family nearby it definitely would have increased his risk of more health issues and the inability due to the weather of helicopters to get in there.
"It took several hours, I think the LandSAR team managed to walk in at 4am in the morning after us initially being made aware at 10pm," he said.
