"Earlier there were a couple of fire engines, an ambulance, at least six cop cars. The cop cars actually blocked the neighbours from getting back into the house."
The steep, slip-prone path to the falls has long been closed and people have been warned to stay out but authorities have struggled to keep locals and tourists alike away in spite of fences and warning signs.
Their efforts have not been helped by numerous social media posts promoting the beauty of the dangerous spot.
Student Kishore Kumar Arvindan, 27, drowned in the pool at the base of the falls in 2018 and over the years several people have been injured trying to access the falls, some seriously.
This summer cultural ambassadors - kaitiaki - from local hapū Ngāti Hangarau have been at the entrance to the falls warning people off.
They have turned away dozens but said people were still going in when the kaitiaki were not there. It is understood they left when the rain started today, before the group the man was with arrived.
The hapū is also working with the Tauranga City Council and Tourism Bay of Plenty on a nearly $4 million plan to make the access safe and eventually reopen the falls to the public. The plan is at the design stage.