A Czech tourist who spent nearly a month living in a Department of Conservation (DoC) hut after her partner fell to his death while they were tramping survived a "traumatic experience", police say.
The pair had been in New Zealand since January for work and travel before the incident on the Routeburn Track in Fiordland National Park.
Police say they were contacted by the Czech Consulate, who were worried about the pair's safety.
After police found a vehicle belonging to the couple at the Routeburn Track carpark, they sent out a search and rescue operation, and with the use of a helicopter, rescue teams found the woman in a DoC warden's hut.
A helicopter is prepared at Queenstown Airport for the recovery mission (Grant Findlay / Newshub.)
The woman says she was able to traverse down the slope and reach her partner when he fell down on July 28 - four days after they first entered the Routeburn Track. DoC says most walkers finish the tramp within three days.
She spent several nights in the open, before hiking to a nearby DoC hut, where police believe she has been since early August, before being rescued on Wednesday.
Otago Lakes central area commander Inspector Olaf Jensen says they weren't carrying a locator beacon with them on the track, and although they had some tramping experience and were reasonably well-equipped, they hadn't told many people they were going on their walk.
He said the woman was right to stay at the hut.
"Some of the comments asking why she wasn't found are unhelpful. No one had been through the area and because of her physical capability, she wasn't able to walk out," he says.
"Given her experience, and the avalanche risk, she made the decision to stay in the hut, and that was the right decision."
A recovery operation was underway for the body of the man. Police had hoped to recover his body on Thursday, but were prevented by the weather and planned to make another attempt on Friday morning.
Inspector Jensen said the woman seemed to have suffered from minor frost bite, and she has been examined at hospital.
Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club spokesman Ian Sime said the case was "unbelievable".
"I just can't understand how it would happen at all," he said.
"The couple should be more responsible - but if they're from the Czech Republic, they may not understand things very well [and] may not have talked to people before they went in."
Mr Sime said if it's true the woman gained access to a warden's hut after her partner's death - which would be unmanned at this time of year - she would have been able to survive for a significant period of time.
"It would have lots of supplies, so she could live there for quite a long time happily - it might even have gas heating."
He said the long wait before the disappearance was reported indicated the couple hadn't signed an intentions book before they set off.
"If they had filled in an intentions book, after a week people would be looking for them," he said.
The Mountain Safety Council says it's important that those intending to be out in the wilderness for a number of days leave an intentions form.
The council refused to comment further on the incident, but said "a moment's complacency can sometimes have fatal consequences".
Newshub.
