A farmer lost in thick bush is being praised by police for having the presence of mind after he called his wife to tell her he had lost his bearings.

The man's wife then notified police about 5.40pm Wednesday.

A farmer lost his bearings after searching for cattle lost in dense bush east of Matamata overnight.

Constable Dave Pitchford says the 48-year-old famer was overdue in bush east of Matamata after going on a search to find a number of cattle that had broken through a boundary fence and gone into thick bush.

'He was due out before last light but rang his wife on his cell phone about 5pm advising he'd lost his bearings. The man rang back a few times and advised his cell phone battery was going flat.”

Dave says after police were notified, the man called again about 7pm to say he had found a bait line.

'He identified the bait line as being marked "J17". With that information we were able to contact the Waikato Regional Council who relayed where that line runs and with that information, coupled with info from the wife about where the he was likely to have left his motorbike we were start our search.

'The motorbike was located and a search and rescue team, a dog unit, accompanied by two trackers entered the bush and successfully located the man on the bait line shortly before 11pm. He was brought out cold but unharmed about 40 minutes later.”

Dave says a number of factors contributed to the successful resolution to the search which could help other people who find themselves in difficulty in the outdoors.

'Firstly the farmer had told his wife where he was going and roughly when he would be back. When he became disorientated he identified early he had a problem and phoned in on his cell phone he had the presence of mind to have with him.

'The weather conditions were quite rough and there was difficulty for the farmer hearing his wife and the Police on the phone but he had gone out in good wet weather gear.

'Then, when he located the bait line and marker he relayed the information by phone and stayed put which was the real key to our success, find and identifiable point and stay put.”

Dave says last night's search also highlighted the value of the service provided to the community by the land search and rescue volunteers.

'Everyone is aware that last night was a pretty rough one but here we have these volunteers happy to assist police in locating a person and returning them safely to their family.”