“As you can imagine the last month was very harrowing for me”, a pale and emotional Pizova told a news conference at Queenstown’s police station.
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New Zealand police are trying to piece together the movements of a Czech trekker and her partner who died on a remote South Island hiking track.
Ms Pizova said she also fell down a slope, but continued to climb down to reach her trapped partner.
A Czech woman rescued after she went missing in the New Zealand wilderness gave details of her ordeal on Friday.
The young couple, who started their hike on July 26, weren’t reported missing until Wednesday, when a search and rescue team dispatched to find them discovered the woman living in a warden’s cabin at the Mackenzie huts.
Rescuers were only alerted after Czech Consul Vladka Kennett spotted a Facebook post by concerned relatives in the Czech Republic.
Ms Pizova said they made several mistakes: they did not tell anybody of their specific plans, they did not take a locator beacon, and they underestimated the winter conditions.
All these aspects contributed to our tragedy.
They had initially set off on their hike on July 26th.
“The conditions were extreme”.
Mr Jensen said the site of the fall was an alpine area, reasonably steep and covered with snow, and police were in the process of reconstructing the incident.
She managed to reach him, however, it’s believed he died not long after. Tried to warm her feet up, keep moving her feet and hands.
The hut had food, gas and firewood.
In a bid to attract help, she fashioned a letter “H” in the snow outside and waited. But none of the planes or helicopters she waved at saw her, according to her account.
“It’s probably been unhelpful some of the commentary about why she wasn’t found”.
She then made her way to the Department of Conservation warden’s hut, where she has sheltered and been waiting to be rescued since early August.
“If she was in the warden’s hut she would have been okay”, he said. “She tried everything she could, given the conditions”.
Otago Lakes-Central police area commander Inspector Olaf Jensen says no other trampers passed by in the intervening period.
The search and rescue helicopter was sent once the Czech consulate alerted New Zealand authorities, who found the couple’s vehicle at the trail head.
Officials found their auto at the start of the route and sent a helicopter up the trail.
Ms Pizova has been in touch with her family and hopes to return home as soon as possible. “I knew it was best to stay in the safe place”.
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There was a radio in the hut, but she was unable to make it work.
