New rules to help enjoy the outdoors

A new "common-sense" outdoor safety code has been developed with tourists in mind, after reports of poor trip planning – such as attempting to hike in rugged terrain wearing jandals.

In the past year, 245 search and rescue efforts on land and at sea – or about 12 per cent of searches – involved visitors to New Zealand.

The police's manager for emergency management, Inspector Gerard Prins, said many of those rescues could have been prevented. "We hear stories of visitors attempting the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in jandals while others don't carry supplies because they assume there's a shop on the Heaphy [Track].

"Rather than be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, we want to help ensure that all visitors don't get into trouble in the first place."

The common-sense messages of the outdoor safety code include planning trips, informing someone of a return time, being aware of the weather, knowing physical limits and taking sufficient supplies.

The code was about "pushing your boundaries, but limiting your risk", he said. "It's common sense, but it saves lives."

Posters and pamphlets promoting the outdoor safety code will be posted at backpacker hostels around the country.

Mr Prins said that, as the summer tramping season approached, police and search and rescue teams were gearing up for a busy few months. "At times during the summer we're involved in eight rescues a day across New Zealand. Most of those wouldn't be necessary if people followed the Outdoor Safety Code."

Tourism Industry Association chief executive Tim Cossar said tourism operators and the New Zealand public needed to be responsible hosts and spread the message about the Outdoor Safety Code. "We want to encourage visitors to explore our country and challenge themselves, but we don't want their souvenir stories to be rescue tales."

Groups backing the Outdoor Safety Code include the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council, the Mountain Safety Council, Land Search and Rescue, police, the Conservation Department, Tourism New Zealand, ACC, the Tourism Industry Association, Sparc and the Walking Access Commission.

THE OUTDOOR SAFETY CODE

*Plan your trip: Seek local knowledge, and plan the route you will take and the amount of time you can reasonably expect it to take.

* Tell someone: Tell someone your plans and leave a date for when to raise the alarm if you do not return.

* Be aware of the weather: New Zealand's weather can be highly unpredictable. Check the forecast and expect weather changes.

* Know your limits: Challenge yourself within your physical limits and experience.

* Take sufficient supplies: Make sure you have enough food, equipment and emergency rations for the worst-case scenario. Take an appropriate means of communication.

* Search and rescue groups also say people should not expect good mobile phone coverage in remote areas. For emergency communications, buy or hire a 406MHz distress beacon or two-way mountain radios.

- © Fairfax NZ News