A tourist thought to be lost in bush on Mt Taranaki has turned up on a bus heading to Stratford from New Plymouth.
Ben Rosenblum, in his early 20s, sparked a major search and rescue effort on Thursday when he failed to return from a round-the-mountain tramp.
A large contingent of searchers spent Thursday and Friday morning searching for him.
He had told others he intended to do walk the track anti-clockwise around the mountain when he left from the Stratford Plateau a week ago.
Instead he walked to a hut where he stayed and did day tramps.
A New Plymouth person contacted police to say Mr Rosenblum had been staying with them for two days,
On Friday morning he was found on a bus headed to Stratford from New Plymouth.
Police said it was frustrating Mr Rosenblum had not filled in the hut log books on the mountain.
A team of volunteers, police, the rescue helicopter and Air Force were set to search for Mr Rosenblum on Friday.
NZN