SIMON O CONNOR/Stuff
Though conditions appeared calm, Search and Rescue teams were unable to retrieve the bodies of the two men on Wednesday. Stratford man Anthony Wedgwood had been in the same area of the mountain on Tuesday. He had reached Syme Hut, about 500 metres from the summit at about 2pm when he decided to make the three-hour trek back to the Dawson Falls car park.
Anthony Wedgwood/Stuff
Anthony Wedgwood made it all the way to Syme Hut, 500 metres from the summit of Taranaki Maunga, when he decided to turn around on Tuesday. Later that night two people died near the hut.