THR

One thing which I have wanted to ask you people living in NZ but thus far always forgotten to ask is that are there a lot of accidents because of the vastness of the country? I mean, NZ is for most parts extremely empty but, what I´ve heard very beautiful, therefore it attracts a lot of hikers to explore the country. Is it a constant topic in the news that some people are missing after they have set off for a hike in the bush? A lot of people overestimate their hiking and orienteering-skills and in a vast and largely uninhabited country they may just disappear.

Are the NZ rescue services overstretched with rescuing silly tourists who ventured too far off the beaten track?

In Australia this problem is even more serious. You should always tell someone where you are going so that if you don´t show up people realise to be worried and start looking for you.

happynz

Yes, people do go astray in the bush. Not only tourists, but locals as well get themselves into difficulties requiring Search and Rescue (S&R) to get out there and extricate the lost trampers. The people who work S&R here in New Zealand are top notch.

sarahlou2411

extricate what a cool word to use