Fairytale ending a collective effort
One day, surely, a movie will be made about the dramatic rescue of 23-year-old trampers Jessica O’Connor and Dion Reynolds, on Wednesday, their 19th day in the rugged Kahurangi National Park. Even with the incomplete information we now have, it’s clear not much embellishment of the dangers to be encountered in the park at the top of the South Island would be required. The reality is dramatic enough.
Helicharter Nelson owner and pilot Matt Gibb, who spent several days flying river searches and spotted the smoke that alerted rescuers to the pair’s location, described the virtually impenetrable nature of the remote Anatori area: ‘‘Flying over you can’t even see the creeks because of the overhanging bush.’’
Even with observers on the chopper keeping their eyes peeled through the dense bush cover, if Gibb hadn’t spotted that smoke some distance ahead, the saga might not have had this fairytale ending.
Any dramatisation would have to be a cautionary tale emphasising just how wrong things could have gone. Sadly, such outcomes are not uncommon for trampers in the inhospitable New Zealand bush.
The successful rescue appears to be down to several factors, two of which were the pair’s own familiarity with the outdoors and the fact they were well-equipped for the difficult conditions. Friend Heather Simpson described them as ‘‘young, fit and experienced with good gear and intelligence and skills’’.
LandSAR team leader Steve Cottle said the pair ‘‘did the right thing by staying put, and getting near a water source was the main thing. Even though it wasn’t high enough on a ridge, staying put was major.’’
Reynolds told RNZ yesterday that, after some initial problems, with both sustaining minor injuries, they decided to hunker down, and were helped by finding a stream nearby. Mental strength clearly helped. He said they told each other each morning: ‘‘If it’s not today, it will be tomorrow, if it’s not tomorrow it will be the next day.’’
As much as they did right to ensure their own survival, though, the pair’s rescue would not have happened without a massive collective effort. It involved LandSAR personnel, sometimes winched from choppers into the bush to search, operators like Gibb and his team, police, Fire and Emergency NZ, and the NZ Defence Force, in a search that lasted more than a week. The NZDF completed the rescue after Gibb and his observers had checked out the smoke and confirmed O’Connor and Reynolds’ location.
The effort went beyond that, though, to businesses supplying cooked meals to rescue personnel and people donating to the LandSAR response through a GiveaLittle page that had raised more than $31,500 by lunchtime yesterday.
Of course there will be questions about the pair’s hazardous sojourn, their preparedness notwithstanding. Some were put angrily yesterday by broadcaster Mark Richardson, calling for O’Connor and Reynolds to have ‘‘the book thrown at them’’ for allegedly breaching Covid alert level 3 conditions. Those are valid questions for the authorities to deal with in due course.
Chances are, though, that when the credits roll it will be over shots depicting the genuine delight of the rescue personnel at bringing the pair safely back to their families.
The successful rescue appears to be down to several factors, two of which were the pair’s own familiarity with the outdoors and the fact they were well-equipped for the difficult conditions.