Fishing guide and wealthy client die in bush blaze (+photos)

Japanese-born fishing guide Toshiya Babe.

One of two men who died when fire engulfed their camping hut in the Urewera National Park was an expert trout guide who survived the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan.

The men, found at the Pakiaka Hut late on Boxing Day, are both believed to be Japanese.

One is thought to be Meadowbank resident Toshiya Babe, a fishing guide who emigrated to New Zealand to make a new life for himself in 1996, after the deadly Japanese quake that killed more than 5000 people and injured more than 26,000.

The other victim is understood to be a wealthy client whom Mr Babe had taken by helicopter to the national park to catch trophy-sized trout.

Mr Babe was a member of the New Zealand Japan Society of Auckland. President Kumiko Duxfield, who is also from Kobe, said Mr Babe used to own a pet shop in the city.

"I was buried alive for five hours," Mrs Duxfield said. "I was talking to Mr Babe and we had similar experiences. He lost the shop; that's why he decided to come to New Zealand."

Mrs Duxfield said Mr Babe's wife came with him to New Zealand, but returned to Japan.

"He didn't have any children. His wife didn't enjoy the lifestyle in New Zealand and they were separated."

He was thought to be in his early 40s, and had set up a business that he loved, Mrs Duxfield said.

"He had this affection for trout fishing and he was promoting and taking Japanese tourists to beautiful places.

"He was quite a reserved person, a quiet person, but once you got to know him he opened up".

Police could not confirm Mr Babe's identity last night, nor would they confirm that the second body was a client.

Lakeland Helicopters took the pair to the hut on Christmas Eve, and was to have picked them up at 6pm on Wednesday.

But the pilot found the hut burned to the ground. On closer inspection he found two charred bodies.

A spokesman for the company said Mr Babe was known to the company, having set up business about five years ago.

During the season, which starts in October and finishes mid-year, Mr Babe might make the 15-minute flight from Murupara two or three times, avoiding a five-hour hike to the hut.

Fellow fishing guide Craig Farrar, a member of the New Zealand fly fishing team, said trampers had to be safety-conscious at huts.

"It's a terrible way to go, but those huts can go up so easily. They are just wood and corrugated iron. It only takes one spark to set off a fire.

"They generally have only one door. If you were asleep and it started filling with smoke, you'd be knocked out pretty quickly."

Mr Farrar said fly fishermen were attracted to the remote region because they could escape the hordes of anglers in more popular places such as Taupo.

"They are attracted to the area by the isolation and the chance of catching bigger fish."

Detective Sergeant John Wilson of Rotorua CIB said that although the helicopter company might have records of who the pair were, this was not conclusive identification.

"Common sense would say that's the case, but that's not enough for the coroner."

The bodies were flown out of the Urewera Ranges yesterday afternoon by the BayTrust rescue helicopter from Rotorua.

Mr Wilson said a post-mortem examination was scheduled for today in Auckland and DNA testing would follow.

A fire investigator had been at the scene, but it was far too early to say what caused the fire.

Police are not treating the deaths as suspicious.

The nine-bunk wooden hut, owned by the Department of Conservation, was in the isolated Waiau Valley, near where the Wairoa and Parahaki Streams converge.