Kayaker swims to safety after night stranded on island

A woman who was swept away in her kayak off Great Barrier Island had to “hunker down” for a night on a nearby island before swimming back yesterday to raise the alarm.

A police spokesperson told the

Herald the tourist had spent a rough night stranded cold and wet on the rocky outcrop northwest of Great Barrier.

“It appears the kayaker set out from Karaka Bay but became separated from her kayak and swam to a nearby island, where she camped for the night.”

The woman swam safely to shore early yesterday, returning to the area where she had originally departed from, and raised the alarm.

Maritime police confirmed the search was called off when the woman arrived unharmed but shaken at Karaka Bay about midday yesterday.

Auckland Police Maritime Unit Sergeant Garry Larsen said police were still conducting the search when the woman turned up.

The woman was reported missing at 8.55pm on Tuesday after friends reported she hadn’t returned from a kayaking trip in Port Abercrombie, in the northwest of Great Barrier.

The green kayak was spotted by Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter staff about 11.30pm, with the victim’s red rain jacket visible on the bow of the watercraft.

Co-pilot Simon Owen said the fact the kayak was perpendicular to the coast gave rescuers the impression it had been pulled up on to the rocks, rather than being swept up by waves.

“We located [the kayak] and hovered there and did a thorough search of the bay with our searchlights to make sure she hadn’t washed up ashore,” he said.