Fears grow in NZ for missing hiker
A British hiker lost in the New Zealand bush for six days may be disoriented because he is using northern hemisphere sun settings, searchers said today.
English hiker Robert Atkin, 26, was reported missing after he failed to return from a hike in the Kaueranga Valley near the town of Thames on North Island last Wednesday.
Atkin was lightly equipped for a day hike, and although he was a relatively experienced hiker in England, he did not have experience hiking in the New Zealand bush, co-ordinator Steve Hayman said.
About 100 searchers, supported by tracker dogs and helicopters, were concentrated on the Rangihau Valley area as the search for Atkin entered its sixth day.
“Everything may be backwards to him” because he was not used to tramping the southern hemisphere and may be heading in the wrong direction, said local camp director David Park.
Atkin, the latest foreign tourist to get into trouble exploring New Zealand, may be heading deeper into the bush instead of remaining in one place.
The natural inclination would be to find a river or creek and follow it out but if Atkin was following the sun he may be applying a northern-hemisphere approach, Park said.
Atkin by now would be thinking he was “in deep trouble”, he added.
Hayman said the Rangihau Valley area follows the Rangihau Stream through some of the most difficult and dangerous terrain on the peninsula.
“The area we are searching is notoriously difficult and can be very dangerous in some areas,” he said.
There was still a high level of optimism among searchers that Atkin was still alive but they were searching through some of the thickest and toughest bush on North Island.
If Atkin was lying down searchers might not find him unless they stepped on him, the bush was so thick. There was also a chance he might have fallen down a bluff, he said.
A decision about the future of the search will be made late today, he added.
Four foreign tourists, including three hikers and a climber, died in outback incidents on South Island between February 26 and March 20.
Thames is located 586 kilometres north of the capital, Wellington.
