{"id":598429,"date":"2026-09-12T20:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T20:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/598429\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T20:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T20:50:10","slug":"teen-climber-luca-zylstra-laws-risky-rescue-in-the-solomon-islands-i-felt-like-rambo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/598429\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen climber Luca Zylstra-Law\u2019s risky rescue in the Solomon Islands \u2013 \u2018I felt like Rambo\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nineteen-year-old Luca Zylstra-Law and his friend Keanu Isaksson, 25, both from Matakana, north of Auckland, set out on July 20 to climb Mt Popomanaseu \u2013 at 2335m, the Solomon Islands\u2019 highest peak. <\/p>\n

But the mountain had other plans for them. <\/p>\n

The pair were both experienced trampers but looking back, Zylstra-Law concedes they might have bitten off more than they could chew. <\/p>\n

He explained that Isaksson, who works overseas on oil rigs, was searching for a rare American fig tree, while he was interested in the island\u2019s wildlife \u2013 hoping to spot an endangered rat thought to have become extinct. <\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law is pictured with one of the villagers near Mt Popomanaseu in the Solomon Islands. <\/p>\n

They saw a few local possums, but not much else. <\/p>\n

A village chief had told him no one had reached the summit in 10 years, so when Zylstra-Law reached the top, he felt euphoric. <\/p>\n

\u201cStanding on top of the mountain was breathtakingly beautiful \u2013 everything I\u2019d dreamed of. I felt invincible.\u201d <\/p>\n

But the adventure of a lifetime quickly became a test of survival. As the pair began their descent into a steep valley, they stopped to make camp for two days to take in the view. But torrential rain came \u2013 relentless and rising \u2013 and suddenly they were trapped on increasingly unstable ground.<\/p>\n

Zylstra-Law describes being stranded on a narrow ledge above a 30-metre drop, beneath a waterfall. Their shelter was a single hammock strung between two trees, with a tarpaulin over it to protect them from the weather.<\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law and his friend Keanu Isaksson became stranded on unstable ground. They shared a hammock tied between two trees in an effort to keep warm and dry.<\/p>\n

For several days, the pair slept and woke to thunder and lightning as the heavy rain battered the mountain. Soaked and freezing, they huddled together for warmth and lost track of time. <\/p>\n

Rocks tumbled around them. They texted their parents, but their satellite phone battery was running low, and they had no idea whether a rescue was even possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe made sure to stay calm. We rearranged the camp and rationed the food to one portion to share. We ate dried fish, meat and mashed potato, sometimes mixed with cold water, and half a peanut slab before bed; that was our treat. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt rained so hard that if you put a pot outside the tent, it would be full in no time. It was insane,\u201d Zylstra-Law said. <\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Mila Zylstra-Law describes being stranded above a 30-metre drop beneath a waterfall<\/p>\n

In the darkness, he couldn\u2019t shake the thought that he might never see his family again. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked a lot about our families. I knew Mum and Dad would\u2019ve been stressing out. As the weather deteriorated, I got scared and thought, \u2018this could be it\u2019… but Keanu assured me and said, \u2018Even if one of us has to carry the other on their back \u2013 we will get out no matter what.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

The trick was to keep busy. The hardest part, Zylstra-Law said, was keeping his mind off food. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love food. I couldn\u2019t stop dreaming about burgers, pizza and beer. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked, told stories and reflected on life.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"MilaMila Zylstra-Law, Martin Law, Luca Zylstra-Law and Tanya Zylstra. Luca Zylstra-Law said he thought about his family constantly when he was trapped for 8 days. Photo \/ Michael Craig <\/p>\n

Back home in New Zealand, their families \u2013 next-door neighbours \u2013 received a callout from the stranded men via a satellite phone on July 27. <\/p>\n

Tanya Zylstra told the Herald that she usually hears only part of what happens to her son while he is away. The rest, she says, comes when he returns home. But this time, she had a gut feeling something was wrong.<\/p>\n

The message was brief, urgent and unmistakably desperate. They needed a helicopter evacuation. They could neither move forward nor turn back. <\/p>\n

\"TanyaTanya Zylstra said the last message from her son Luca was “complete horror”. <\/p>\n

Days passed. The ravine was too narrow for a helicopter to land in, and the only one available in the area had no winch. Even if it had, there was nowhere clear in which to lower a rescue net. <\/p>\n

It was Zylstra-Law\u2019s last message on August 3 that alarmed his mother most. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was complete horror. I have never felt so much pain. It was indescribable. Luca said how much he loved us. I thought, \u2018Oh shit, for him to be sending that, you could sense he was thinking, this is it,\u2019\u201d Zylstra said. <\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law and Keanu Issakson had to cut down trees with a machete so they were visible to the helicopter pilot. <\/p>\n

All the pair could do was wait for a break in the weather, hoping rescuers could get through another way \u2013 with fresh water, food, and a radio. <\/p>\n

To pass the time \u2013 and give the pilot a clear sighting of them and somewhere to drop food \u2013 they took turns felling trees with a 30cm machete.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround the top of the waterfall, we had to chop down these big, dense tropical hardwood trees so the pilots could see us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KeanuKeanu Isaksson received a package dropped from a helicopter when they were trapped in bad weather in the Solomon Islands for 8 days<\/p>\n

Zylstra-Law said he was delirious when \u2013 after eight days stranded \u2013 he finally heard the rescue helicopter approaching from Honiara. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe had waited so long, and we\u2019d had our hopes up so many times. They picked us up at the top of the waterfall. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the locals who stayed in contact with us and tried to rescue us, but had to turn back because the ground was so unstable,\u201d Zylstra-Law said.<\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law and his friend were finally rescued by helicopter pilot Paul Hubbard, known as “Big Balls Paul”.<\/p>\n

Paul Hubbard was one of two Australian helicopter pilots working for Helicopter Support Honiara. Everyone called him \u201cBig-Balls Paul\u201d \u2014 a nickname that suggested he wasn\u2019t exactly the cautious type. When the job called for a helicopter pilot who could handle risky assignments, Zylstra-Law said Hubbard was the perfect man for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was insane. He flew extremely close to the trees, inching in and dropping an eight-metre cargo net. I grabbed it and made sure I didn\u2019t let go.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re climbing into the net knowing there\u2019s nothing but a huge 60-metre drop beneath you. When I looked down, it was terrifying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like Rambo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law wants to thank the locals who risked their own safety trying to rescue him and Keanu Isaksson after the pair were stranded for eight days on Mt Popomanaseu.<\/p>\n

Fresh from being plucked to safety, Zylstra-Law phoned his parents to say sorry and then checked his cryptocurrency balance and shares, which had helped fund his adventure. He is the youngest child of Tanya Zylstra and Martin Law and brother to Mila, 23. <\/p>\n

Zylstra says her son could climb before he could talk. As a boy, he would scale the tall t\u014dtara tree at their Mt Eden home \u2013 or disappear, only to turn up next door, happily eating home-baked biscuits in the neighbour\u2019s kitchen. <\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law was a natural climber at a young age.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was an outgoing, bright and gregarious little monkey.\u201d <\/p>\n

Law says his son is an explorer with a business head, dabbling in cryptocurrency and shares \u2013 a passion he picked up at 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuca learnt early on that having money allowed him to do some extraordinary expeditions. The life skills he has gained through his adventures mean he is capable of anything. I want him to carry on doing what he loves. \u201d <\/p>\n

\"LucaLuca Zylstra-Law hopes his next adventure is Nepal <\/p>\n

Last year, after completing NCEA, Zylstra-Law left school with the ambition to explore the world and save the planet. <\/p>\n

He says his next adventure will be Nepal. He\u2019ll be taking a deck of cards, a stash of peanut slabs \u2013 and a new perspective on what matters. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learnt is not to take things for granted. I was definitely guilty of that on other expeditions. Being trapped in the Solomons has made me realise how grateful I am.\u201d <\/p>\n

Carolyne Meng-Yee<\/a> is an Auckland-based investigative journalist who won Best Documentary at the Voyager Media Awards in 2022 and was a finalist this year for Best Current Affairs. She worked for the Herald on Sunday from 2007 to 2011 and rejoined the Herald in 2016 after working as an award-winning current affairs producer at TVNZ\u2019s 60 Minutes, 20\/20 and Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nineteen-year-old Luca Zylstra-Law and his friend Keanu Isaksson, 25, both from Matakana, north of Auckland, set out on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":598430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[51,31047,104263,793,109,16718,95458,78,3096,13840,58138,111,139,69,3766,294910,29445,193853,8527,102566,64675,39309,213,5163,4054,223,20110,8528,294911,294909],"class_list":["post-598429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-auckland","tag-beneath","tag-climber","tag-felt","tag-ground","tag-him","tag-i","tag-in","tag-islands","tag-like","tag-luca","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-parents","tag-popomanaseu","tag-rambo","tag-ravine","tag-rescue","tag-risky","tag-shifting","tag-solomon","tag-sports","tag-teen","tag-teenager","tag-the","tag-thought","tag-trapped","tag-zylstralaw","tag-zylstralaws"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}