His friends and visitors tried to save him but ended up needing to be rescued themselves.
Mr Bade, whose family live in Hyderabad, India, had just completed a degree at the University of Auckland.
He visited the waterfall on a day trip with a group of 12, which included his friends, and some relatives he lived with in Ellerslie.
Inspector Ian Booker, of the police north communications centre, said the incident happened about 12.20pm.
A highway patrol officer arrived and threw a rope to two people trapped on the other side of the waterfall to drag them to the bank. Another swimmer also had to be helped out by the officer.
A witness then dived down into the water to retrieve Mr Bade's body while the rope was tied around the officer's waist.
"He then tugged on the rope and dragged him and the deceased back to the bank," Mr Booker said.
St John paramedics spent 30 to 40 minutes trying to revive Mr Bade.
The secluded waterfall, which can been reached by a track from Waitawheta Rd, was cordoned off for several hours while staff from the Westpac rescue helicopter and emergency services worked at the scene.
Mr Bade's death came after a 55-year-old man drowned while trying to rescue a dog being attacked by swans near Birkenhead.
Witnesses told police the man went into the lake behind the Chelsea Sugar refinery about 4.15pm on Saturday. The man was pulled from the water but resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.
About 10 hours later, a man in his 30s drowned in the Waitemata Harbour, also near the North Shore refinery.
Inspector Willie Taylor said people on a yacht called police just after 1am yesterday.
"They think they've seen someone in the water but they've been unable to get to him. They could hear a voice calling out in the water.
"A group of mates had been fishing and one of them who had decided to go for a swim got caught up in the tide and got carried a long way and drowned. It's generally thought that alcohol is the aggravating factor as well," Mr Taylor said.
"The tide rips out there, so he's gone a long way. He hasn't read that situation well at all. It's sad, especially when you hear that alcohol and water/alcohol and swimming [aspect]. It's just that message."
Mr Taylor said the water temperature was about 16C and hypothermia might have been a factor in the man's demise.
Last year's drowning toll of 123 was up 41 per cent on 2010 and the worst in eight years.
Water Safety New Zealand statistics showed Maori were over-represented in the statistics - the 24 deaths made up 20 per cent of the toll; Maori comprise 14.6 per cent of the population.
Alcohol was a factor in 18 per cent of all drownings.
Water Safety chief executive Matt Claridge said it was disappointing that advice on commonsense decision-making around drinking and recreational boating had to be made off the back of a death.
"The advice is that skippers don't drink and that those people who are out on the boat don't drink either, because you never know when you're going to need the full benefit of your judgment and alcohol compromises both your judgment and ability to swim."
Coastguard spokeswoman Georgie Smith said the organisation wanted to hammer home the safety message as well. Meanwhile, a Westport man died after he was swept off rocks on the West Coast during a king tide.
David Edward Pascoe, 56, had been fishing at Charleston, about 20km south of Westport, when he was washed into the surf by a freak wave about 5pm on Saturday.
