Stories
March 26, 2026
Twelve days before Christmas Day, a weekend hike with friends quickly turned into a life-threatening ordeal.
Out exploring the Mercer Bay track near Piha, Daniel, an active young man and his two mates decided to venture slightly off the main trail for some hiking and rock climbing. Something they’d done before. He led the way down a rock face, carefully navigating the descent.
Then, without warning, a rock gave way beneath his feet. He fell approximately 40 metres onto the rocks below.
“It was a very strange feeling,” he recalls. “In that moment, I realised what was happening. I didn’t panic, I just kind of accepted it.”
Remarkably, he remained conscious throughout the fall. From the bottom of the cliff, injured but alert, his first instinct was to reassure his friends above.
“I wanted them to know I was okay. They were freaked out.”
His friends immediately called emergency services while making their way down to Daniel via the longer track. At the base of the cliff, help wasn’t easily accessible by road, so the Auckland Westpac Rescue helicopter was dispatched.
While waiting, he drew on a first aid course he had completed just one week earlier. Assessing his own injuries, he worked to control bleeding from a head wound and managed an open, compound fracture to his elbow.
“I just did what I’d learned, a quick assessment, stop the bleeding, take care of what I could.”
He had suffered multiple serious injuries - three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken elbow, wrist and radius, along with cuts and trauma from the impact.
Roughly half an hour after the fall, he heard the unmistakable sound of the helicopter approaching.
“It was relief. As soon as I heard that whoosh coming around the bay, I thought, I’m saved.”
The crew landed on the beach and two critical care paramedics made their way through the trees to reach him, guided by his friends. After conducting a full assessment, administering pain relief and stabilising his injuries, the crew prepared him for extraction.
He was carefully winched out through the trees to the beach below, a surreal moment despite the circumstances.
“It was actually beautiful flying over the beach. If it hadn’t been for the situation,” says Daniel.
From there, he was flown to Auckland City Hospital for emergency treatment. He underwent surgery for his injuries before later being transferred to North Shore Hospital for further surgery and recovery.
In total, he spent ten days in hospital, with two in Auckland City and eight at North Shore before being discharged on 23rd December, just in time for Christmas with his family.
His injuries were significant and he has ongoing surgeries still ahead. Yet his outlook remains remarkably positive.
“Spirits are high. I’m just focusing on recovery.” Reflecting on the rescue, Daniel says one thing stands out. “Hearing the helicopter, that was the moment I knew I was going to be okay.”
Thank you to Daniel for sharing his remarkable story with us. We wish him all the very best with his recovery.
