Search and rescue responses on Lake Wanaka are provided by Coastguard Wanaka who are located at that Lake. The initial responses on Lake Hawea are provided by the Lake Hawea Marine Team (part of Wanaka Search and Rescue), with backup from Coastguard.
The low water temperatures of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea and rapidly changing weather conditions mean that a rapid response is required for most incidents on the Lakes. People requiring an emergency response should phone 111 and ask for the Police and/or call for assistance (May Day or Pan Pan) using VHF channel 66 on Lake Wanaka or VHF channel 4 on Lake Hawea. Other methods that can be used are setting off an EPIRB or using flares. Boats should carry at least two means of communication.
Cell phone reception varies over both Lakes but there is now VHF radio coverage in almost all areas of the Lakes. VHF channel 66 for Lakes Wanaka and VHF channel 4 for Lake Hawea are provided by Roys Peak Radio Users and is available to all Lake users for emergency calls, however, only members of that group should use these channels for general communications.
Survival times for people immersed in the Lake waters without floatation devices (e.g. life jackets) can be a few minutes due to cold shock and generally less than an hour due to the onset of hypothermia. Wearing a life jacket keeps the head out of water, delaying the onset of hypothermia. People should get as much of their bodies out of the water by using additional floatation(e.g. a chilli bin) or getting on top of a partially submerged boat.
