Police have spoken to a "person who is of interest to them" following a two-hour sexual assault on two teenage tourists at Tokomaru Bay, north of Gisborne.
The attack happened about 1am on Friday morning, when a man forced his way into their campervan, which they had parked by the beach at Tokomaru Bay.
Detective Sergeant Kevin Ford, of Gisborne police, said the women, in their late teens, were subjected to indecencies over a two-hour period by a man described as being dark-skinned and fat, in his 30s and about 1.8m tall, with a beard and moustache and thick eyebrows.
"Police have spoken to a person who is of interest to them and they are urging this person who knows that the police are looking for him to come forward," Ford said.
The women, who received minor injuries in the attack, arrived in New Zealand 10 days ago for a month-long holiday before returning to Britain to study.
They were checked by a doctor and were put up in a Gisborne motel on Saturday while police completed their scene investigations.
They would leave Gisborne tomorrow to continue their travel throughout the North Island, Ford said.
Police completed a forensic examination of the women's campervan and surrounding area and some items taken for testing.
The Herald on Sunday reported Detective Sergeant Theo Akroyd as saying a text message to the women from a man they had met earlier in the evening may have scared off the attacker.
The man who sent the text became concerned when he did not hear back from them and went to their campervan, where he found them "freaked out and hysterical".
"The girls then went back with this other man to his house overnight because it was a nice, safe place for them," Mr Akroyd said.
"Then they went to Gisborne to report it the next morning."
"It is a sickening attack from the point of view that their own safety and wellbeing was put at risk but also because this area is regarded by tourists to be a beautiful place to come."
