by Cut off from the road on her way home from rising rivers as darkness fell, Pauline Stuart did the only thing she knew to do and curled up under a clump of ponga as the rain lashed down around her.
Having left her home in Kumara at 2.50pm she crossed over an empty ford to pick up some hay for her sheep on a farm near Cape Terrace Road in the Kumara Inchbonnie road area.
Just 20m later the water had risen to the banks on either side, but Pauline remained confident she could take another route home.
But as the downpour continued and darkness began to fell she realised she wasnt going to make it back and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible by hunkering down under some ponga.
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The plucky 68-year-old endured a wet and miserable night outdoors never hearing the LandSAR rescue teams or the locals who were desperately trying to locate her in the wet and windy conditions.
During the night the West Coast had between 100 and 280 millimetres of rain causing many rivers across the region to rise and a small slip between Kumara and Jackson.
Despite the deluge, Stuart managed to sleep until morning and was relieved to see family and the rescue teams, who eventually found her after she called out to them later on Saturday morning.
Starving, wet and cold and with gumboots full of water, a drenched Stuart was keen to get home.
Speaking to Stuff after she had warmed up in the shower, she said her night out in the elements wasnt a major and she was embarrassed when she saw the emergency services at the scene and heard that police had appealed for sightings of her.
Happy to be heading to her brothers for a bowl of soup she was thankful to everyone who joined the search.
Im really grateful.
