Starving Hikers Saved By Giant 'Help' Sign

A mother and daughter missing for four nights in the New Zealand bush were rescued after they used sticks to spell out 'HELP' in a clearing.

American hikers Carolyn Lloyd, 44, and daughter Rachel were starving, dehydrated and freezing when they were eventually spotted by a helicopter in Tararua Forest Park, north of the capital Wellington.

"(Doctors) told me I had hypothermia, and a couple more hours and I probably wouldn't have made it," said Rachel, 22, from her hospital bed.

The pair, from North Carolina, had set out for a day's hike, but misread trail markers and became lost in the bush with little food.

After four nights in the open, they used sticks and rocks to spell out 'help' on a river bed and in a bush clearing.

Pilot Jason Diedrichs, from Amalgamated Helicopters, spotted the SOS and then saw Carolyn waving her arms frantically.

"They were certainly keen to make their presence known," he told the NZ Herald.

"They were physically and mentally very tired, so it's fair to say they were pretty pleased to see us."

He managed to land the helicopter nearby and flew the women to waiting paramedics.

Rachel said she thought she was about to die when she heard the helicopter overhead.

"At this point we kind of knew I was failing health and I was on the verge of dying," she said.

"We were even discussing going through my dying wishes which I'm sure wasn't easy for her."

Her mother added: "(Rachel) couldn't even walk, she couldn't go anywhere.

"We were there at the mercy of everybody, hoping that somebody would rescue us.

"We've never been so happy to see a human being in our life."