If you’re a Kiwi, you’ll have heard about people who have gone missing in the New Zealand bush.
Sometimes for days, even weeks at a time. These people tend to be those who do not have a personal locator beacon with them.
If they have hired a personal locator beacon, they’re usually rescued before the news outlets have time to report the story.
In short, whether you’re a kiwi or a visitor from overseas, you should either hire or buy a personal locator beacon (PLB), they’re a great hiking gift.
Things can quickly go wrong up here in the Tararua Ranges.
These two cases in Kahurangi National Park again show the life-saving value of a PLB:
- These two people survived after two weeks in the bush. They didn’t have a personal locator and were fortunate to be spotted in that tiny clearing. They were not in a good way!
- On the other hand, this father and son were able to activate their PLB when they got in trouble and help kicked into gear right away. A rescue team to hike straight out to where they were (the weather was too bad for a helicopter to be dispatched). There was a risk that they wouldn’t make it through the night due to hypothermia, thankfully they had a PLB!
So yes, if you’re planning to go on an adventure that’s a bit more than a casual day walk in New Zealand (or elsewhere), you should consider buying or hiring a PLB. The NZ public will appreciate their tax payer money not being spent on rescues that can be avoided too.
Hmmm, but buying a PLB in New Zealand isn’t exactly cheap. If you only get you a few times a year, the $300+ can be pretty hefty.
Of course, if you need to use it, you can’t put a price on your life, right?
But thankfully, it’s possible to hire a personal locator beacon in New Zealand at an affordable price.
Before 2020, personal locator beacon hire in New Zealand wasn’t easy. So while I’ve always been grateful to go on more intense adventures with friends who own PLBs thus far (usually in the Tararua Mountain Range), I’ll be definitely be hiring one in the future when required.
The following is a Q&A about hiring PLB’s in NZ.
How much does it cost to hire a PLB in NZ?
You’ll find some variances in price, but in general you’re looking at:
- $15 for one day
- $30 for 3 days
- $40 for one week
These are the prices at Macpac.
Where can you hire them from?
The easiest way is too go into any of the 90+ Macpac stores across the country. This map also includes non-Macpac options.
Am I guaranteed to be rescued if I use a PLB?
In short, no.
Sometimes you might end up in a situation where you aren’t able to access your PLB (quick tip: place it in an easy to access yet secure place in your pack) or are not in the physical condition to even use it (*touch wood*).
But John Munro of Southland Locator Beacons Charitable Company said in this article:
“Locator beacons greatly increased the chances of someone being rescued, with 90 percent of those with a beacon rescued within 60 minutes of the device being activated.”
You can’t argue with that right.
Can’t I just use my phone?
Well in a perfect world you could, but there are several factors out of your control in the mountains. The main role is reception. Unless you’re on the mountain tops, you’ll often find you’re out of reception rendering your phone more or less useless. And where do you not want to be in bad weather? Not on the mountain tops (most of the time).
You can also break your phone or run out of battery. Again, they’ll be useless.
How do PLB’s work
This video will give you a good introduction to how they work. In short, they send your GPS coordinates to relevant search and rescue oarties via satelitte.
I hope this helps convince you to hire a PLB if you’re on the fence!
If you have any questions, feel free to email me jub@churnewzealand.com or leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Chur,
Jub
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Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.