they would return home.<\/a><\/p>\n“We never believed that we were going to get out but we knew that we were going to get out. And that was a thought that if either one of us quivered in our minds, the other would have to reassure,” Isaksson said.<\/p>\n
Keanu Isaksson, 25, and Luca Zylstra-Law, 19, became trapped during an expedition on Mt Popamanaseu. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
The pair said it had all started when they wanted to have “an adventure of a lifetime”.<\/p>\n
To them this meant a location that was tropical with not much of a trail, leading them to choose Mount Popomanaseu.<\/p>\n
“It was going very well and then it most certainly was not,” Isaksson said.<\/p>\n
For several days they had navigated down a river that was leading off the summit of the mountain, when they decided to set up camp.<\/p>\n
Zylstra-Law said there had been a cliff on one side of them and everything had seemed fine at first.<\/p>\n
“When the rain came, it changed… everything changed.”<\/p>\n
The mothers of two Matakana men trapped on the Solomon Islands’ highest peak say time is running out, with worsening weather, rockfall risks and no clear rescue plan. (Source: Breakfast)<\/p>\n
Isaksson said they were in a cloud forest, and the jungle was very dense with little solid ground to stand on.<\/p>\n
“It’s all rotten logs, ferns, and moss. And every step you take, you either fall through and into a bit of an abyss or you end up with your foot on some moss-clad slippery rock.<\/p>\n
“And it’s insanely steep and rather inhospitable.”<\/p>\n
He said they were faced with 300 metre walls going up each side of them with a 50-metre waterfall roughly four metres north of their camp.<\/p>\n
This meant their only protection from the rain was a 3.5m by 3.5m square camp where they were stuck for eight days.<\/p>\n
They had survived on meals of dehydrated mashed potatoes and dried meats, noodles and vegetables with a Whitakers peanut slab every few days.<\/p>\n
The uncertainty over how long they would be stuck meant they had to ration they food they packed, leaving them “very hungry”.<\/p>\n
To pass the time and keep their morale up they made sure not to let their minds wander.<\/p>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/luca-zylstra-law-left-and-keanu-jackson-NOPGJPJ6E5AW3FHHUV4BMJUSZ4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Luca Zylstra-Law (left) and Keanu Isaksson. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
“We’re firm believers in that busy hands is a happy mind, and an idle mind is one that worries,” Isaksson said.<\/p>\n
They did things like improve their campsite, make themselves cutlery to bring back home, journal in their diaries and daydream about food.<\/p>\n
“And a lot of conversing about family and wants and desires and regrets,” Isaksson said.<\/p>\n
“Things we’ll do better when we get back,” Zylstra-Law added. “Poems that we’re going to write… when you have an experience like that, you end up doing a lot of reflection.”<\/p>\n
When they saw the helicopter that would rescue them, they tried not to get their hopes up but finally climbing aboard was a feeling Isaksson said he could not put into words.<\/p>\n
He expressed gratitude to the pilot who rescued them, who he called “big balls Paul”.<\/p>\n
“Because that guy’s got some balls to do what he did, and the feeling of actually getting into the chopper was a relief.”<\/p>\n
The experience, while harrowing, had not discouraged their future hopes of embarking on other adventures to the Amazon or Nepal. However, they do plan on making a few changes next time.<\/p>\n
“One thing we’ve learned and that’s to always pack a deck of cards,” Isaksson said.<\/p>\n
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