Tourists are being warned not to underestimate weather conditions when tramping in New Zealand.
Czech tramper Ondrej Petr, 27, died from hypothermia on the South Island's Routeburn track in 2016 - and his partner was found alive nearly a month later.
A Coroner found the pair were underprepared for the five-day walk during winter. Pavlina Pizova and Petr attempted to walk the Routeburn track in the middle of July three-years-ago.
They got caught in a blizzard and Petr died of hypothermia.
Pizova spent 31 days alone in an isolated Department of Conservation (DoC) hut at Lake MacKenzie in Fiordland's National Park, waiting to be rescued
The pair travelled light, and had never been in snow above the bush line in an alpine area, and were advised against it.
"The two individuals being prepared for what you'd consider a day walk and nothing more, and certainly not prepared for going into winter an extreme winter environment for multiple days," Mountain Safety Council chief executive Mike Daisley said.
A Coronial report tells of a litany of poor decisions that lead to the tragedy, including the couple not telling anyone of their plans - to avoid paying for the use of the DoC huts.
"It's, unfortunately, one of those cases where all the advice all the information that was made available was largely ignored," Daisley said.
Even on days beautiful, sunny days, tourists are routinely caught short - underprepared for New Zealand's changing weather conditions and the outdoors.
"I'm absolutely amazed about some of the people that rock into town and think they can climb the local mountain in one layer for example and really not prepared," Wanka local Janelle Fletcher told Newshub.
Tourists say they believe a more detailed weather forecast, and important local information should be provided for visitors planning on going for a hike.
"I think for tourists we probably need to be told that if there's a lot of snow or a big weather change," tourist Jennifer Page said. "We need to have that explained to us."
Information and education are key to keeping tourists visiting New Zealand safe in the great outdoors.
Newshub.
