A hiker from the Czech Republic waited nearly a month to be rescued from a hut deep in the New Zealand bush after her partner died falling down a slope.

Czech tourist Pavlina Pizova has described the death of her partner and the month she spent in the New Zealand wilderness after the couple set out on the ill-fated hike.

Pizova was rescued on Wednesday from a park warden’s hut on the snowed-in Routeburn Track near Queenstown, and Ondrej Petr’s body was recovered on Friday.

She says she couldn’t free her partner after he slipped down an icy bank and became wedged between rocks and branches. After he died, she stayed with him through the freezing night.

Pizova broke down in tears as she read aloud her account in halting English. Czech Consul Vladka Kennett provided more details.

She said she and Petr made mistakes as they set out on their hike July 26 and the extreme weather conditions they encountered.

Pizova holed up in a hut on the Routeburn Track area, in the wild and remote southwestern corner of the South Island, since late July before being rescued almost five weeks later.

She told rescuers they had entered the track on July 24. Her parter fell down a steep slope four days later, The NZ Herald reported.

She managed to reach him, but he died soon after.

Otago Lakes Central area commander Inspector Olaf Jensen said the “highly unusual” case came to light after concerns were raised with police on Wednesday.

Concerns were raised on Wednesday morning after the couple had not been heard from since starting their 32km trek, and their car was found still in the track’s carpark.

A search-and-rescue operation to find the pair started on Wednesday afternoon.