August 20, 2018
A 28-year-old woman fell up to 120 metres to her death while climbing a popular cliff face on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Her climbing partner was with her at the time and hurried to raise the alarm.
The woman was a United States citizen who was living in Auckland.
She was with her climbing partner on an excursion at Castle Rock - a 525-metre-high rock formation southeast of the Coromandel township - on Sunday morning, eastern Waikato Detective Chris Smith said.
"She has been rock climbing with a friend and there has been an incident that has taken place whereby she has fallen a considerable distance, up to 120 metres.
"As a result of that fall she has sustained non-survivable injuries and has sadly passed away."
Officers have spoken to the woman's climbing partner who gave an account of what took place.
Smith confirmed the man was with the woman at the time and raised the alarm at 10.30am.
"We're just in the process of making inquiries in regards to what he's told us has happened and confirm that."
Police are still looking into the circumstances of what exactly happened.
Her body was walked out of the bush with the help of search and rescue on Sunday afternoon.
Smith said police were still making inquiries to ascertain the woman's level of climbing experience.
"It was just the two of them at the time but there were other people in the area."
A full post-mortem was being conducted on Tuesday and her death will be referred to the Coroner.
Police are working closely with the United States Consulate, who are in contact with the woman's family.
Castle Rock is set amid dense bush is popular with rock climbers and walkers.
Kuaotunu Land SAR members also responded to the call for assistance.
Coromandel Fire Rescue, St John Ambulance and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter also attended.
Website Climb NZ lists Castle Rock as having three climbing walls with a total of 17 routes. Most of the routes are bolted.
Earlier this year Shannon Earle Makowharemahihi's body was found at the bottom of Castle Rock following an 11-day search.
The 37-year-old outdoor enthusiast's father Earle Makowharemahihi believed his son "slipped and fell backwards" off the rock, while trying to meditate.
His body was found at the base of a large bluff, "in very thick vegetation and steep terrain" on June 23 - more than 20 days after he last made contact with anyone.
Police found his green Hiace van parked off the 309 Rd, which accesses Castle Rock, on June 12.
Martin Necas, a recreational climber with more than 20 years' experience, earlier told Stuff that Castle Rock was a challenging climb and best suited to more experienced climbers.
"It's very tall and access can be a bit tricky for people who don't know the area," Necas said.
"In some places you abseil down in order to climb up. That's unusual because most of the time you would start from the ground and climb up. It's a more technically challenging climb, not necessarily in terms of strength, but you have to be able to do long routes."
