Police have rescued two missing hunters from a Southland forest who risked spending a night in sub-zero temperatures without adequate gear.

Sergeant Alun Griffiths said police were alerted to two missing hunters in the Longwood Forest at about 5.30pm on Saturday.

“The hunters had become lost in the dark after losing a trail near the top of the Longwood Range,” he said.

Griffiths said neither of the hunters was adequately prepared for the bush, lacking a personal locator beacon, GPS, and map, and with no basic survival or fire-lighting equipment.

Police eventually established communication with the hunters and their exact location via a cellphone.

A Land Search and Rescue team was deployed, but the pair were eventually able to find their way out of the forest as searchers arrived on the scene.

“While on this occasion the hunters were lucky, the situation could have been horribly different if they lost cellphone coverage by moving from their original position,” he said.

“Forests could be harsh and unforgiving during the winter months.

“The pair were extremely fortunate to get out quickly with overnight temperatures dropping to -4 degrees in the area.”

Griffiths said police would like to use this incident as a reminder to people that no matter what activity they may be doing in the bush, they need to be prepared.