About Us

Providing search and rescue support for the lost, missing and injured.

OUR MISSION

IN CONJUNCTION WITH LANDSAR NEW ZEALAND’S MISSION

“Providing search and rescue support for the lost, missing and injured.”

Where we are

Tauranga LandSAR has an excellent record of success in searches for the lost and injured and has a close association with other SAR groups in the area such as Hamilton, Waihi, Rotorua and Whakatāne — often supplying vital support in these areas when searches expand into multi-day operations.

Tauranga LandSAR is part of the Midland Region that encompasses the Waikato and Bay of Plenty provinces of New Zealand, and the two NZ Police districts of Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

tauranga landsar waikato and bay of plenty

Who we are

We comprise of between 50 to 60 volunteer members with operational roles either as operational field members, the incident management team or the communications group. Operational field members work inside the search area and can be deployed as tracking teams, hasty teams, containment teams, general search teams or support teams.

The incident management team works from the Tauranga police station or can deploy to a mobile command trailer as required. Working under a NZ Police incident controller they handle the planning, logistics, research, investigation and communications in conjunction with the Amateur Radio and Emergency Communications group (AREC). AREC deploy with a mobile communications van and set up stationary UHF signal repeaters so that the field teams have a comms link back to the incident management team.

landsar incident management team

What we do

Beyond maintaining personal fitness and quality outdoor equipment, our members train regularly and respond to SAR operations, often at short notice.

Comprehensive training covers search and tracking techniques, bushcraft, navigation, survival, river crossing and water travel, first aid, communications, incident management, helicopter operations, ropes and weather.

Our operations are provided free of charge to the victim and the government, so we rely on outside funding to keep our protective gear and equipment up to date and operating at a safe standard.

card volunteer

Volunteer

Our unpaid professionals offer their specialist search and rescue skills free to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via NZ Police and the Rescue Coordination Centre.

card donate

Donate

Givealittle, owned by the Spark Foundation, offers a free, safe and easy way to make online donations to New Zealand charities and support our work.