10 May, 2011 9:03AM ACST

Norwegian tourist rescued on Larapinta Trail

A 60 year old Norwegian tourist has been rescued while bushwalking on the Larapinta Trail 60 kilometres west of Alice Springs.

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The tourist became lost while walking near Hugh Gorge, one of the steepest sections of the 220 kilometre long trail.

The man, who is believed to be an experienced hiker, activated his EPIRB emergency beacon at around 6pm on Sunday night but wasn't located by Northern Territory Police until around 9.30am the following morning.

In a dramatic turn of events the tourist almost drowned while swimming across three waterholes in order to get to safety.

"His words to me this morning was that he 'very nearly drowned' because he was trying to get his backpack across the waterhole and the deadweight was trying to drag him under."

"In fact there was a fourth waterhole he was contemplating going across but thought the better of it and thought 'no this is just going to kill me'. And he set off his EPIRB which is the best thing he could have done," Senior Sergeant Michael Potts told the ABC's Alex Barwick.

The drama continued when in an effort to save battery power, the tourist decided to switch off his EPIRB device before being located by police.

"This gentleman made the decision to turn his EPIRB off after a couple of hours because no one had come to him, which wasn't a particularly good thing to do."

"When the aircraft started flying over the area he re-activated it again. But when he didn't see any response from the aircraft he mistakenly believed that they hadn't spotted where he was. In fact they had. So he turned his EPIRB off again which made it more difficult for us to find him this morning," said Senior Sergeant Michael Potts.

The comedy of errors continued the next morning when Parks and Wildlife officers trekked into the area in order to rescue the man.

Arriving on the other side of the waterhole to the stranded hiker, the tourist was unable to communicate across the distance of the waterhole and became confused when the officers turned back to get better access.

Believing that the officers were going to leave him there, the man then made the decision to swim back across the waterhole which he had nearly drowned in the day before.

"In fact they were re-locating to get a helicopter to try and figure out a better way to get to him," said Senior Sergeant Michael Potts.

"Off he swam. When they came back to the other side they realised he'd made his own way over."

Finally the officers were able to locate the tourist and he was conveyed by helicopter to Alice Springs Airport. From there he was taken to Alice Springs Hospital where he was assessed for a mild case of hyperthermia.

Police advise hikers on the Larapinta Trail to always register before setting off; arrange to have a regular food drop off; have appropriate maps and EPIRB emergency beacons and never hike alone.