A man winched from cliffs south of Adelaide has claimed rescuers picked up the wrong person during the recovery, but those in charge of the operation say the woman who waved at them was at "significant risk".

Key points: Two men, aged 28 and 31, were rescued with a helicopter from the Second Valley cliffs

Two men, aged 28 and 31, were rescued with a helicopter from the Second Valley cliffs The pair were taking sunset photos when they realised they were stuck

The pair were taking sunset photos when they realised they were stuck One of the men said the helicopter accidentally picked up another woman who waved as it passed

Adelaide man Jonathan Kovarch and his friend David Muggleton were taking "some nice photos of the sunset over at the cliffs at Second Valley" when they became stuck about 200 metres west of the local jetty on New Year's Day.

The alarm was raised to emergency services around 7:00pm on Tuesday evening and a rescue helicopter was called in.

Mr Kovarch said they waited for emergency services and watched as the rescue helicopter picked up a woman on the same cliffs.

She was transported to safety, while the man she was with walked himself out of the area.

"Someone else waved at the helicopter and they went [and] picked her up… she didn't need to be rescued," Mr Kovarch said.

"So you shouldn't wave [to] helicopters when they're working."

However, an SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) spokesperson said the woman and man had signalled to the helicopter.

"Assessing that they were at significant risk, the rescue and retrieval paramedics made the decision for the safety of the individuals and others to conduct a winch rescue, before immediately attending to the original callers, who were also successfully winched to safety," the spokesperson said.

Mr Kovarch said they realised they were in trouble when he lost his footing on loose rocks in the area, and noticed they could not get further up or down on the cliffs safely.

They called staff at the general store in town, which is about 90 kilometres south of Adelaide, who contacted emergency services.

Second Valley is a popular spot with tourists and photographers. ( File photo: Mark Lang )

"Turns out the area above us wasn't as secure as below us, but it's hard to go down and so we didn't," Mr Kovarch said.

"It is a little embarrassing but I'm glad we did it [called for help].

"It would have been silly to turn to try and push on or or head back. It would have been stupid."

Adelaide men Jonathan Kovarch (left) and David Muggleton (right) who were rescued at Second Valley on New Year's Day. ( Gary Juleff )

After the pair were winched to safety Mr Kovarch praised the "amazing" emergency service crews who assisted them.

"Once they found us they were very efficient and got us out of there very safely," he said.

"It wasn't scary at all."

He told media at the scene that the photos which they managed to snap "weren't worth it" and urged others to be cautious when climbing for photography.

"Stick to the trail. Do it safely. Use a drone. That way you don't have to fall," he said.