Missing tramper Graham Garnett was found sheltering in a hut in Kahurangi National Park yesterday afternoon Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
The family of missing tramper Graham Garnett say they did not know if they would see him alive again, after he took a wrong turn and spent three weeks lost in the bush.
The 66-year-old, was found sheltering in a hut in Kahurangi National Park on Sunday afternoon, nineteen days after he was reported overdue.
He had gone tramping in the Baton/Ellis River area of the national park and was expected to return on December 30, but failed to do so.
Police Search and Rescue Sergeant Jonny Evans said Garnett was "extremely lucky to be alive".
Evans said Garnett had been disoriented by heavy cloud, with weather conditions closing in when he took a wrong turn in late December that sent him deep into the national park in north west Nelson.
"Graham had been on the move much of the time, and had sustained injuries along the way.
"He had tried to get himself out numerous ways, by following streams and ridges and finally finding the Karamea River, which he recognised, and which led him back to Venus Hut."
He was found on Sunday by a helicopter pilot and a West Coast Regional Council staff member who were installing signs at Venus Hut ahead of a pest control operation.
Graham Garnett search Photo: Supplied/police
Evans said Garnett had only arrived at the hut a day or so before he was discovered.
Police announced on 5 January that a search was underway for Garnett in the Baton Valley after he had not returned from his tramp as expected.
On 15 January, police announced the search had been suspended after extensive efforts involving Land Search and Rescue New Zealand (LandSAR) groups and specialist teams, New Zealand Defence Force, Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, and members of the public.
Garnett was found by chance, four days later.
His family said they've been overwhelmed with support during the ordeal, and did not have the words to express how overjoyed they were to have him back.
"We want to acknowledge the time and effort put in by the NZ Police and Land Search and Rescue including searchers on the ground, in the rivers and in the air.
"We are also deeply thankful to those who joined two private searches.
"Your professionalism, compassion and expertise were exemplary."
The family said they were also grateful to friends and family and for the help given in to them in the field by those who provided radios, freeze dried meals and specialist searching skills and equipment.
Search efforts for Graham Garnett on 8 January included six search teams and the assistance of a New Zealand Defence Force NH90 helicopter. Photo: Supplied / Police
"Last but not least, we are in awe of Graham, his incredible self-reliance, resilience and perseverance.
"Words cannot express how overjoyed we are to have him back and we acknowledge the Kahurangi National Park as a place of rugged beauty."
Garnett is still recovering at Nelson Hospital.
"Pretty brutal, rugged country"
Dave Barton has spent the last 40 years tramping in the Kahurangi National Park in north west Nelson and has helped to restore many of the huts in the area.
The engineer and avid tramper has long campaigned for the Polglaze Trail, to recognise the work of former Forest Service ranger Max Polglaze - who built huts and shelters in the park during the 1970s and 80s.
He said Venus Hut, where Garnett was found, sat beside the Karamea River half way along the remote Leslie-Karamea Track.
"It's rugged, it's not well maintained and it doesn't get a high volume of use. You need to be relatively fit and you need to be carrying the right amount of gear to get through.
"It's generally eight or nine days if you go to road end to road end and there's not a lot of people, even in the summer, you might be lucky to see anybody on a nine-day tramp going through there."
Search efforts for Graham Garnett was extensive with six search teams. Photo: Supplied / Police
"You're in some wild country and you've got to have your wits about you."
He said Venus Hut was a standard hut equipped with bunks, a wood burner with access to water tank and he said there was a chance that some food had been left there.
"We leave non-perishable food at the Roaring Lion Hut, because what a wonderful thing that would be if you got stuck by the weather or the river's up and you're planning to walk for so many days and you're stuck in the hut and there's food there."
The Graham Valley Road that provides access to Flora Carpark offers the easiest access to the Mt Arthur Range in the Kahurangi National Park, but it had been closed after a section of the road collapsed during the Tasman floods in mid-2025.
Barton said it was likely that there were less people in the park as a result, with those venturing in having to resort to access through the Wangapeka Valley or the Baton Valley and the Ellis Basin.
He said to get to Venus Hut from the Baton Valley was potentially six days' walk.
"It's pretty brutal, rugged country, if we look at the Wilkinson Track the saddle is at 1300 [metres above sea level] and you drop down to 300 in a couple of kilometres so it's relatively steep in places when you come off the escarpment and it's rugged sort of bush to get through."
He said the ground and terrain that Garnett had covered in the last three weeks was a big feat.
"From where he was set to start from to get there in 20 days, it's quite a miracle that he was found alive really."
Graham Garnett search was in difficult terrain. Photo: Supplied/police
Police urge safety in the backcountry
Police and Garnett's family want to remind anyone heading out into the bush or back country to be prepared to increase the chance of survival, should the unthinkable happen.
"New Zealand has spectacular back country areas and a great outdoors culture," Sergeant Evans said.
"However, being stranded in the bush for days or weeks on end can be incredibly harsh and, in many cases, isn't survivable."
He said anyone entering the back country should carry a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), a device that makes your rescue possible at the touch of a button, as well as a paper map and a handheld GPS with spare batteries.
While cellphones can sometimes be helpful, they should not be relied upon as a primary communication device due to their limited battery life and the limited coverage in the back country and Evans encouraged people to make use of satellite cellphone services.
He said it was critical when travelling through the back country and passing or using huts, that trampers made entries in hut books as it allowed searchers to track their movements and gain understanding into their planned movements.
"Always plan your trip, and make sure friends or loved ones know what your plan is.This could be crucial information to pass on to a search party.
"If you do become lost or injured, stay where you are and make yourself visible to searchers."
Evans said if it was safe to do so, people could light a fire to alert searchers to your position or signal in any way using brightly coloured items or simple items like a small mirror or whistle.
More information for planning backcountry adventures is available on the [www.mountainsafety.org.nz NZ Mountain Safety Council website.]
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