Swedish tourist's death 'extremely rapid'

Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park. Photo / Wairarapa Times-Age

A Swedish tourist hunting in the Nelson Lakes area died from a severe head injury after plummeting 30m down a bluff, a coroner says.

Ivan Bolin, 26, and friend Erik Thuresson arrived in New Zealand on March 7, 2011, to go hunting. It was their first trip to New Zealand but they had hunted together many times, Coroner Carla na Nagara said.

The pair bought guns in Christchurch before driving to Nelson, arriving at Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park about midday on March 12.

They walked two hours to Coldwater Hut then set off, planning to hunt until dark.

"The men separated as Mr Thuresson went to a creek that ran down the mountainside to fill their water bottles,'' Ms na Nagara said.

"As he did so, Mr Bolin indicated he would continue up the hill a little bit, and Mr Thuresson said he would catch him up. However, when Mr Thuresson returned to join Mr Bolin he could not find him.''

Mr Thuresson continued searching for his friend late into the night. He fired two shots, believing his friend would fire back to let him know where he was if he was lying injured. However, there was no response.

Mr Thuresson borrowed a cellphone from some other hunters staying in the same hut and tramped out until he could get reception, raising the alarm about 12.30am on March 13.

Searches that day failed to find any sign of Mr Bolin but early the next day he was found facedown in a pool of water, having fallen about 30m down a steep bluff into the creek.

His rifle was found buried barrel first into the ground, up the bluff, and there was a slip mark about 10m above it.

The searcher who found the rifle and saw the slip mark said the bluff was "very steep and unstable''.

"It seems as if he was trying to sidle the bluff and slipped. He would have had nothing to stop his fall.''

A post-mortem examination showed Mr Bolin died from a severe head injury and had a fractured skull. His death would have been "extremely rapid''.

"Having considered the evidence before me, I find Mr Ivar Bolin, an experienced hunter, slipped to his death while crossing a steep and unstable bluff,'' Ms na Nagara said.

"There is nothing before me to suggest that he lacked the experience to be in the situation he was, and in my view his fall and subsequent death may be seen to be the realisation of a risk assumed by him when he decided to proceed as he did across the bluff.''