Czech tourist Pavlina Pizova has described the death of her partner and the month she spent in the New Zealand wilderness after the couple set out on an ill-fated hike.
Pizova heard Ondrej Petr's last breath and spent two freezing nights beside the body before leaving to find shelter at a hut at Lake Mackenzie on the country's South Island.
"As you can imagine the last month was very harrowing for me," a pale and emotional Pizova told a news conference.
"The conditions were extreme and during this time I got extremely cold, exhausted and my feet were frozen."
Pizova said she made a few attempts to leave the hut in the past month but exhaustion and avalanches on the trail convinced her it was safer to wait and hope for rescue.
"Pavlina made the right decision to stay put and wait to be rescued," said Inspector Olaf Jensen of the district police.
She was only found because a consul for the Czech Republic, Vladka Kennett, spotted "a random Facebook post" from fraught relatives in the Czech Republic and informed the authorities.
Pizova expressed her gratitude to the New Zealand Land Search and Rescue, local police and the Department of Conservation for their efforts.
Pizova urged travellers intending to trek through the New Zealand mountains to be informed of the extreme winter weather conditions prior to starting their journey.
"I'm aware we made a few mistakes - not leaving our intentions with somebody, not carrying a personal locator beacon and underestimating the winter conditions."
