There have been two rescues in Wairarapa over the past two days that were successfully executed thanks to community members being only too happy to help.
Emergency services were called to a water rescue at Castlepoint beach on Tuesday at about 2.30pm, after a man had come off his kayak past the reef and wasn’t able to get back in.
A nearby jet skier picked the kayaker up before a passing fishing boat offered to give the man a lift, collecting his stray kayak on the way.
Castlepoint Rural Fire Force’s Anders Crofoot attended the scene and reported that everything had been sorted by the time he arrived – something that didn’t surprise him at all.
“As is very often the case in remote rural areas, the community sort of pitches in and gets things done,” Crofoot said.
Police attended the scene after receiving several calls from concerned members of the public, and a police spokesperson confirmed that no medical attention was needed.
Meanwhile, a tramper in the Tararua Range was airlifted from the Cone Hut after he injured his back and activated a personal locator beacon [PLB] at about 8am yesterday.
The Rescue Coordination Centre [RCCNZ] organised the rescue of the male tramper and a local helicopter service collected and transported him to Masterton, a Maritime NZ spokesperson confirmed.
“This is a good reminder of the importance of being able to contact rescue services with a personal location beacon that is registered when you’re enjoying the great outdoors this summer,” the spokesperson said.
Local helicopter company Amalgamated Helicopters responded to the call, with pilot Jason Diedrichs picking up the tramper.
“It was pretty straightforward,” Diedrichs said.
As part of the rescue operation, Diedrichs flew to the Cone Hut, where the tramper was assessed for injury before being escorted back via helicopter.
The tramper had activated their PLB, which sent a signal to the RCCNZ, which then contacted Amalgamated Helicopters.
