‘My focus was on them’: Mother recalls overnight Kaweka rescue

With a broken leg and dislocated ankle, a Hawke’s Bay mother sheltered her three young children and kept them calm as they waited hours for rescuers to reach them in Kaweka Forest Park.

The family were on their first overnight tramp together on Sunday, September 6, when she fell about a kilometre from Te Puia Hut.

Speaking to Hawke’s Bay News, the woman, who asked that her family not be identified, said her priority was caring for her children, aged one, six and eight.

“I’m a mum, so you put your kids first, right? So that’s all I did. My focus was on them.”

She believed she slipped on gravel while carrying her youngest child in a carrier on her front.

“There was a drop-off to my right side, and there was a bank to my left, so I know that I’ve thrown us over to the left side so that we didn’t go off the edge.

“Because she was obviously attached to me, I protected her as we fell, so I knew that she was okay as well.”

She thought her leg struck a tree but was unsure exactly how the injury happened.

“It’s all a bit of a blur, but I know that the tree was involved somehow.”

Unable to walk, she activated her Garmin inReach emergency communication device.

Police said the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand received an alert from a satellite emergency notification device about 5.45pm. It tasked Police Search and Rescue with coordinating the response and began planning for a possible air evacuation, depending on the weather.

The mother knew it could take hours for rescuers to reach them on foot.

“We had emergency blankets with us, we had sleeping bags, and we also had an emergency shelter. We had lots of food, we had lots of water.”

She gathered the children around her, with one on either side and her youngest lying on top of her, then covered them with an emergency blanket, a sleeping bag and the shelter.

The family had done plenty of shorter day hikes, but she had waited until they had the equipment she felt they needed before attempting an overnight trip.

“I wasn’t willing to do an overnight hike until I had set us up with all that stuff.”

They also had headlamps, warm clothing and enough food for several days.

Her younger two children slept for about two and a half to three hours while they waited. Her eldest stayed awake with her.

“He stayed awake with me and chatted to me the whole time, and he was incredible. He did so well.”

She said staying calm helped reassure the children, despite her injury.

“I knew that if I showed any form of melting down, that that would increase the situation for them.”

She was also worried about her husband at home, knowing he would receive the emergency alert.

“I knew that he would be panicking at home, receiving that emergency locator beacon activation.”

A helicopter flew overhead that evening but could not land. Messages through her inReach told her rescuers were walking in and were expected about 11pm.

“The second I saw those headlamps, the sigh of relief was just incredible knowing that we had help right there.”

She estimated the first team reached them about 11.30pm. It was raining, and she wanted the children taken to the hut.

“The first thing I said to them is get my kids to the hut, don’t worry about me, I’m good, just get the kids to the hut, get them warm, get them dry.”

Her older children walked with rescuers, while a team member carried the youngest using her carrier. At the hut, the children were fed and looked after.

Another crew arrived with a stretcher about 1.30am, she recalled. Rescuers carried her and used a wheel beneath the stretcher where possible to move her along the track.

Getting her the remaining kilometre to the hut took hours. She estimated they arrived about 4.30am.

“It was not an easy process and all of them were just absolutely shattered. And they’ve all given up their Father’s Day to come out and help me.”

Police said the ground response involved 10 Hawke’s Bay LandSAR volunteers, supported by five Police Search and Rescue field members.

The family and rescue personnel waited at Te Puia Hut until conditions allowed a New Zealand Defence Force helicopter to airlift them out late on Monday afternoon.

“It was so good to finally see that helicopter arrive to get us out, that’s for sure.”

The mother said she was taken to Taupō because the helicopter could not get to Hastings. She underwent surgery in Rotorua on Tuesday and returned home to Hawke’s Bay on Wednesday.

She said a bone in her right leg had broken in three places and required pins. She had been told she could not put weight on the leg for six weeks and would need another operation to remove the pins.

She wanted to acknowledge the rescuers’ efforts and their care for her family throughout the operation.

“They were so incredible with the kids, and just anything I needed, they were so happy to help.”

She was also grateful there were women in the crew, which made her more comfortable when she needed help with personal care.

“We will be doing something for them when we can, when I’m back up and running and can get something to them to thank them for all their work.”

Police acknowledged LandSAR, the rescue coordination centre, NZDF and the Hawke’s Bay and Taupō rescue helicopter crews.

They commended the family for carrying the emergency device, which they said was integral to finding them, and urged trampers to carry appropriate emergency equipment because mobile phones do not always have reception in remote areas.

The mother said being prepared had reassured her while they waited.

“I knew that we were okay, and we were all alive, and we would be okay, because we had the equipment.”

The experience has not put the family off hiking. She hopes to return to overnight trips after recovering, with a family member or someone else joining their first one for extra support.

Her older children were still keen to go.

“I’m pleased that they felt that that’s an adventure, not a deterrent to go out and do this anymore.”