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Missing tramper Ronnie Fong. - Source: Supplied -
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A man found alive after spending three days lost in the Hunua Ranges walked non-stop to keep warm, a Department of Conservation (DoC) spokesperson says.
Police Search and Rescue staff earlier this evening located 38-year-old Ronnie Fong who had been missing in the ranges south of Auckland since Saturday.
Fong is reported to be cold and hungry, but otherwise well.
A DoC spokesperson said Fong became lost after following a baitline and falling down a waterfall.
He was found tonight after a dog picked up his scent.
Police say he will be taken to a hospital tonight and his family has been notified.
It is a successful ending for a long search and rescue operation, utilising police SAR staff and volunteers, police say.
Fong, formerly known as Ronnie Kumar, was lightly dressed when he went into the Hunua Ranges for a day walk on Saturday morning wearing only shorts, a t-shirt and a light jacket.
Temperatures have been below zero.
Texting his brother on Saturday afternoon, Fong said he was running late.
"I'm pretty worried now, yeah. I'm just worried," Fong's sister Margaret Kumar said yesterday.
Fong faced the coldest night of the year on Saturday.
Fong is a bio-engineer at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital, having
moved to New Zealand from Fiji 18 years ago.