"She wanted to climb in a beautiful area. It's beautiful here too, but she wanted to experience that in a different place.
"She is happy, somewhat daring and willing to do something most people just talk about doing. She would do a 10-day hike. Put everything she needed on her back and would just go."
It is believed Ms Leman and her climbing partner were on a four-day trek out of Makarora when the incident occurred.
A climbing party nearby alerted emergency services via satellite phone.
Alpine trekking guide Laetitia Campe said the Matukituki Waterfall face was a particularly dangerous area.
"It is quite exposed, it is steep and we usually use ropes there. If you slip, then you go a long way," Campe said.
"It is very remote [so] consequences are severe. [Also] once you get down that face, it is a long way out. It is a long, long valley to follow."
Campe said climbers needed a "decent amount" of experience to negotiate the waterfall face.
The Wilkin Waterfall Face in Mt Aspiring National Park. Photo / Martin Johnston
"If you don't know what you are doing and you make a mistake, I guess it can be fatal. It is in the wilderness area and you are very much on your own out there."
Alaskan television network KTUU reported how New Zealand officials called Mr Leman and his wife, Carolyn, about the news late Tuesday night [US time].
Wayne Leman, Nicole's uncle, says she was spending a year in New Zealand, working on farms and travelling the country.
The Leman family says Nicole had been enjoying the trip so much, she extended her stay in New Zealand by three months.
Loren Leman served as Alaska's eighth Lieutenant Governor from 2002 to 2006.
People have also expressed their shock at her death on social media.
Alaska's Governor, Bill Walker, wrote on his Facebook page yesterday that he and his wife, Donna, were "deeply saddened today to hear about the tragic loss of Nicole Leman, daughter of former Lt. Governor Loren Leman and Carolyn Leman. Our prayers are with the Leman family in this time of heartbreak".
Miss Leman's former school, Grace Christian School Alumni, also posted their shock at her death on Facebook.
"We are sad to share this news, but want our Grace family to know that Nicole Leman has passed away after suffering injuries from a hiking accident while in New Zealand. Nicole was a 2009 Grace graduate and her family has deep roots at GCS. We mourn the loss of her on earth and yet we are comforted by God's promise of salvation and peace that He gives to all who call upon Him."
Friend Nikki Misurelli posted on Facebook that Miss Leman was her inspiration and one of the "sweetest girls I've ever met".
"She was such a smart, bubbly and positive person and was always very passionate when talking about her travels. I enjoyed seeing her at her going away party before she left for her New Zealand trip but I'm sad that I will not get to see her smiling face again. My deepest condolences go out to her family and friends, especially Kenton, who was one of her best friends. (I really wanted them to date because they were always so cute together).
"Nicole will always be remembered and although she was way too young to leave this world, I'm glad she didn't let the dangers of life stop her from chasing her dreams! She is an inspiration to me."
Kenton Curtis said Nicole was "having the time of her life" in NZ. Photo / Facebook
Her partner Kenton Curtis wrote a long, heartbreaking post on Facebook and added pictures that her family were yet to see from her time in New Zealand.
He wrote how he'd lost his closest friend and apologised to her family but reassured them that she died happy.
"I want you to know that she was having the time of her life in New Zealand, and had no regrets. She died in one of the prettiest places in the world, in a place we ourselves can only wish we could die."
However, he said he felt guilty as she had told him a dozen times that he was the biggest reason she came to New Zealand.
"I wanted her to take advantage of her post-college 20's, her independence, her freedom, and see the world that God made for us in person, one trail at a time. She made friends with everyone she crossed paths with. She stayed in more than 200 huts in New Zealand, and hit almost every single trail in both the North and South Islands. She was telling me how excited she was to come back, and how amazed she was that she only had a handful of trails in the entire country she hadn't done."
Ms Leman's death is the third in Mt Aspiring National Park this year.
On January 4, Wellington tramper Scott Oliver, 42, drowned in the Wilkin River in Otago during a family tramping trip.
In a report released on Monday, coroner David Crerar said Oliver, a fit but inexperienced tramper, appeared to have tripped on an obstruction or been knocked off his feet by the strong surging river.
Loren Leman, right, in 2004. The former Lt. Gov. of Alaska described his daughter as a happy daring child.
His body was found 19 days later after it had been carried down the river.
On April 25, Allison Lynn Willen, a 20-year-old American tourist, drowned after falling into the Young River while tramping on the Gillespie Pass in the park.
