The son of a missing tramper in dense Tararua Ranges says he trusted his intuition and separated from Search and Rescue finding his dad less than an hour later.

Seventy-two-year-old Brent Harrison was missing in the bush for almost 3 days and was found at 7pm Wednesday night before being choppered out and taken to Palmerston North Hospital.

His son Luke Harrison had dropped him off for a day of hiking on Monday and got a phone call later that day from his confused, distressed and very lost dad.

Despite two days of thermal helicopters and sniffer dogs, Brent Harrison could not be tracked down.

But Luke says he always had a "inner feeling" that he would find him and followed multiple signs from the universe, including a goat, to track down his dad.

Luke Harrison spoke to Charlotte Cook.