After abandoning a planned six day hiking trip near Queenstown, New Zealand due to unseasonal low snowfall, our group changed plans and set out on the Earnslaw Burn Track. About six hours into the hike, we came across Shaun and his wife. Shaun was in clear distress, complaining of a high heart rate, nausea, and weakness. We stopped to assess him, gave him electrolytes, and helped get him warm while monitoring his condition.

When Shaun became pale and it was clear he could not continue or safely return, a smartphone emergency satellite message was sent. Due to repeated connection dropouts and limited, seemingly automated responses, we activated my ACR ResQLink View RLS beacon to ensure a clear distress alert. A rescue helicopter arrived within an hour, performed a hover pickup from the riverbed, and flew Shaun to Queenstown Hospital, where he stayed overnight.

Later that day, we met Emma, who was attempting a return day trip to the glacier with minimal gear and only a phone torch for her six hour walk back. With temperatures expected to drop to – 2°C, we urged her to stay the night with us in our tents, but she was determined to continue. Before leaving, we gave her my beacon, a headtorch, an emergency shelter, and high sugar snacks in the hope that this would allow her to make the journey slowly and safely.

We learnt the next morning that she had gotten lost in the dark and after 45mins of bush-bashing trying to relocate the trail and extremely tired she activated my beacon. A helicopter was dispatched at approximately 11pm to rescue her.

Ultimately, my ACR PLB was used twice within 6 hours in two life threatening situations that both had positive outcomes for those involved.