New father dies in stag stunt

Fun-loving Michael Rozijn was due to stand alongside one of his old school friends as best man at his wedding.

But his mate's big day will now be tinged with sadness after the 29-year-old fell 60m to his death while climbing a tree in the Bay of Islands.

Mr Rozijn, who was recently married and had a three-month-old son called Nathan, had left a stag do at Tapeka Pt, just north of Russell, with some friends. They walked to a lookout point at the end of a track 10 minutes from the Du Fresne Place cul de sac.

The keen rower, who friends said was always taking risks, climbed over a cliff onto the trunk of a Pohutakawa tree growing horizontally out of the side of the peak.

He was trying to get back onto land when he slipped just before midnight, hitting jagged rocks and landing in the shallow water below.

A rescue helicopter attempted to winch a paramedic down to retrieve his body but it was too dangerous so the Coastguard came from Kerikeri. Mr Rozijn, nicknamed "Pony" because of his lanky stature, got married at the end of last year to Kristina.

He had recently moved back to Auckland after two years in Cambridge, where he went to join the town's rowing club because he felt it had better training conditions.

Former coach Monty Wawatai said Mr Rozijn couldn't do a single press up when he began as a novice at the Auckland Rowing Club in 2004. He was about 2m tall but only weighed 74kgs. "My arms were bigger than his legs," he said.

But in three years he had gained at least 25kgs in muscle and was winning North Island and national championships. He had retired from rowing in February but was considering taking up a coaching role.

Friends said Mr Rozijn was a practical joker. Another former coach, Clive Williams, said: "Mornings when you used to go out rowing in the fog and you couldn't see anyone and all you'd hear is him making fog-horn noises somewhere ahead of you, tricks like that he used to play on you."

Close friend, Campbell Winter, said Mr Rozijn was a family man. His father had passed away soon after he had finished his education at Auckland's Sacred Heart College.

He lived with his mother to keep her company throughout university until he moved to Cambridge.

He had been working as an architect for a firm in Onehunga for a number of years.

Kerikeri Senior Sergeant Peter Robinson said toxicology results from a post mortem held on Monday would reveal whether Mr Rozijn had been drinking before he climbed onto the tree trunk.

The death would be referred to the coroner, he said.

Mr Rozijn's family, who were too distraught to speak last night, said in a death notice he was a "beloved husband, father, son and good friend". They have asked mourners to make donations to a "good cause" rather than send flowers.

A funeral will be held at St Benedict's Church, Newton, tomorrow followed by a private cremation.