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There was no way a United States tourist could have survived a 300m fall down a rocky bluff near Wanaka, police said yesterday.
American hunter Clifford Wayne Senter, 57, of New Hampshire, fell to his death when he left a helicopter and plunged down the bluff at Albert Burn, 6km north- east of Wanaka, at about 3pm on Monday.
Police retrieved his body yesterday.
Sergeant Aaron Nicholson, of Wanaka, said Senter, a friend, and a local hunting guide travelled to the area by helicopter on Monday afternoon and sighted chamois in the valley.
"The helicopter pilot positioned the party on a small outcrop so they could shoot the chamois and when Mr Senter exited the helicopter he slipped on the wet ground and started to slide down the slope with no chance of holding his fall," he said.
"It was clear the fall was not survivable as he had sustained very serious head and body injuries."
Alpine Cliff Rescue team leader Gary Dickson, who helped police retrieve the body yesterday, said the ledge was a reasonable landing spot for a helicopter but the ground nearby was mainly slippery rock with bits of tussock.
"It was an unfortunate accident," Dickson said. "Somehow he's slipped off there. When you do start sliding you've got no way of stopping yourself."
Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Bill Sommer said it was an unusual accident. The authority would investigate but it was not expected anybody would visit the site.
The authority hoped to clarify whether Senter slipped from the helicopter skid or the ground.
"Whenever there's an accident or incident like this the pilots will fill out a report form. We use that information and if we want anything further we go back to them," he said.
Senter's wife did not go out with the hunting party. Yesterday, she was still in Wanaka where she was expecting family from the United States to join her.
Low cloud and fog enveloped the valley on Monday, preventing police from reaching the body, but it was a straightforward operation yesterday, Dickson said.
Police officers were able to walk to Senter's body at the bottom of the bluff and connect it to a strop on the helicopter.
Digital photos had been taken of the scene, which would allow police to more accurately establish the distance of the fall.