On Sunday, May 10, I headed into the hills of North Taranaki to hunt pigs on my own with my four dogs. The morning started like any other, following pig sign and moving through the bush as the dogs tracked ahead.

After a while, the sign began to dry up, so I decided to backtrack and head toward an area where I thought the pigs might be. Sure enough, the dogs soon opened up and had a pig bailed in a tight patch of bush. I reached them, dispatched the pig quickly, and started butchering it.

Not long after, I heard the dogs bailing again. I checked my GPS and saw they were only about 200 meters away, so I left the pig and headed toward them.

To get there, I had to sidle along a steep, wet section of bush above a small creek. I stepped onto what I thought was solid ground, but it was actually a fallen log. It gave way beneath me. I managed to grab a tree root and stop myself at first, but as I tried to pull myself back up, the root snapped. I fell feet first into the creek below.

When I landed, my left foot became caught between a fork in the fallen log. My foot twisted sideways past 90 degrees and stayed there. I knew immediately that I was not walking out.

I grabbed my ACR ResQLink from the pouch on my belt and activated it.

I also knew I could not stay in the creek, so I dragged myself out and onto the bank. As I moved, my ankle turned back to face the right direction, which relieved some of the pain. I was still deep in thick bush, inside a narrow gorge, and I knew it would be difficult for rescuers to find me there.

I made the decision to drag myself around 100 meters to a nearby clearing. It was exhausting, pulling myself through mud, fallen trees, stinging nettle, and another small creek, but I made it. Two of my younger dogs stayed with me, and I held them close for warmth while I waited.

A short time later, I heard someone calling my name. It was the owner of the property. He had been contacted after my parents received a call from the rescue coordination center. When he realized he could not get me out on his own, he went back to get help.

The Taranaki Rescue Helicopter was also dispatched. With help from the farmer, they located me, and a paramedic was with me within an hour of the accident. I had prepared myself to be lying in that clearing for hours, so hearing help arrive that quickly was an incredible relief.

I was winched out and flown to Taranaki Base Hospital. Medical checks showed I had broken my tibia and fibula, dislocated my ankle, and ruptured several tendons. After surgery and a four day hospital stay, I am now home and facing a long recovery.

I will be forever grateful to ACR, the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter crew, and the farmer who found me. Things could have been very different without them.

The farmer also walked my dogs out, and they all made it home safely.