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Gus Hutt was at the beach checking his fishing lines at about 7.15 on 26 October when he spotted the 18-month-old boy and reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Even then, I still thought it was just a doll," he told local newspaper the Whakatane Beacon. "His face looked just like porcelain with his hair wetted down. But then he let out a little squeak and I thought 'Oh god, this is a baby and it's alive.' "
The boy, Malachi Reeve, had been traveling to the island while they were sleeping while camping at Matata Beach on the North Island during the quiet spring season.
Murphy's Holiday Camp co-owner Rebecca Salter told the Associated Press the rescue was "miraculous and fateful" after Hutt, a regular at the campground, had decided to fish in a different way than usual.
Salter said they were drinking and planning their day when the drama unfolded. They rushed to help.
"My husband came around the corner with the baby in his arms," she said. "I ran into the house and grabbed a blanket of towels and blankets so he would be warm. He was just whimpering the whole time. "
Salter said Malachi was drenched, and was very pale. It was they who had lost the boy, they said, and then they woke the parents.
"They were horrified and in disbelief," Salter said. "They were woken up to find their baby was not there. It was surreal to everyone involved. "
The boy's footprints were visible in the sand, showing where he'd wandered from the tent into the water. He'd floated about 15 meters (50 feet) before Hutt spotted him.
"If I had not been there or if I had just been a minute later I would not have seen him," Hutt told the …
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