Insurance scam by any chance?
I very much doubt it Crab!
Ending up in the ocean near the Milford Sound an hour or so before dark at this time of year (winter) would not be something any Kiwi pilot would do willingly. Two hours sitting on a rock when you are wet and very cold would have been terrible, and he could have well had to spend a lot longer out in the cold if he hadn't been able to attract the attention of a passing cray boat. That is definitely a sparsely populated area! (except for the sandflies!!) But, that is his play ground had he knows the risks of flying there.
I am not surprised his beacon didn't work.. not many do work, let alone under water. A Spider GPS/Satellite tracker would have worked perfectly though and had he needed finding then rescuers would have known he was in trouble within a short time and been able to start looking for him - within 2 minutes flying time of his crash site.
I'm pleased that the only loss was metal and that can always be replaced.