SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A worrisome predicament for a British Columbia couple vacationing Down Under turned into fond memories when four Yellowknife women pushed their car out of the sand on an isolated beach in New Zealand.

Richard Cummings and his wife, Dorothy, from Kelowna, B.C., vacationed in New Zealand and Australia in January and part of February. Richard said that on Jan. 14, he and his wife were driving their rental car to the northern tip of New Zealand's North Island. They then decided to drive the 90 Mile Beach road that runs up the island's west coast to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga.

Cummings described it as a rough paved narrow road with a ramp going onto the actual beach. He said that as they were driving on the sand, the car dug itself in after they lost momentum during a 180 degree turn. Alone with his wife, Richard said he stepped out of the car, wondering what to do next.

Then, he said, a car filled with four women, all from Yellowknife, stopped by.

"We've done a fair bit of travelling but this northern tip of New Zealand is very isolated ... It's just a rugged empty part of the country but beautiful. And of all things to meet somebody from very close to home, it was a big surprise," he said.

The women went straight to work getting the Cummings' vehicle unstuck. He said he didn't recall the women's names.

"They did all the work," he said. "I mean, they got down. They scooped the sand out from around the tires. Then they got in front of the car and they pushed me backwards out of the soft sand."

Richard said he's never been to this city but with a nephew and his wife in Whitehorse about to have a baby, he said he just might come up and take a side trip to Yellowknife.

"That would be a good excuse to start heading up North to do some exploring," he said.

Since returning home, Richard said he often smiles, remembering the adventure and what a small world it must be to be rescued by people from so close to home so far away.

"I would give them all a big hug and say 'thank you for rescuing us,'" he said. "We had a great holiday down there and judging by the smiles on their faces, I think they were having a good time as well."