An Australian tramper has been retrieved by helicopter after living on muesli bars and Weetbix in a hut for nine days.
The woman was walking the Motatapu Track, near Wanaka, when she realised she was not fit enough to finish it.
She made it to the second of three huts where she was found by another tramper, who alerted rescuers.
The chairman of New Zealand Land Search and Rescue, Philip Melchior, says the woman was ill-prepared for the tramp.
She had never been tramping before and had not even assessed the track before heading off.
