The body of a Czech tourist who fell to his death while hiking the Routeburn Track in Fiordland National Park last month has been recovered.
Police have named the man, whose passing saw his partner left alone in the bush for several weeks, as 27-year-old Ondrej Petr.
(Facebook)
His partner, Pavlína Pížová, spent nearly a month living in a Department of Conservation (DoC) hut after he slipped down a steep slope and died.
(Facebook)
The pair had been in New Zealand since January for work and travel before the incident on the Routeburn Track in Fiordland National Park, but the man Ms Pížová was with died after falling down a slope on the trail.
Search and Rescue teams set out early on Friday morning in an attempt to recover the man's body.
"Unfortunately, weather conditions in the area are not ideal today, but the recovery team headed out first thing this morning and will be making every possible attempt to complete the recovery today, conditions permitting," Otago Lakes Central Area Commander, Inspector Olaf Jensen said.
The interior of the warden's hut (Supplied)
Southern Lake Helicopters operations manager Lloyd Matheson said while it was surprising that the couple weren't reported missing sooner, it does make some sense.
"Knowing that the snow conditions of late are been really thick, the public access would have been restricted," he said.
"I have dealt with others that would have been in similar circumstances, where they've been left seven or eight days before helps turned up. It just highlights the fact that you need to have the new facilities such as [locator] beacons."
Insp Jensen said the woman was right to stay at the hut.
"Some of the comments asking why she wasn't found are unhelpful. No one had been through the area and because of her physical capability, she wasn't able to walk out," he says.
"Given her experience, and the avalanche risk, she made the decision to stay in the hut, and that was the right decision."
McKenzie warden's hut exterior (Supplied)
Police say they were originally contacted by the Czech Consulate, who were worried about the pair's safety.
After police found a vehicle belonging to the couple at the Routeburn Track carpark, they sent out a search and rescue operation, and with the use of a helicopter, rescue teams found the woman in a DoC warden's hut.
Ms Pížová says she was able to traverse down the slope and reach her partner when he fell down on July 28 - four days after they first entered the Routeburn Track. DoC says most walkers finish the tramp within three days.
She spent several nights in the open, before hiking to a nearby DoC hut, where she says she has been since early August, before being rescued on Wednesday.
Newshub.