Jawad had stopped at the swimming spot with friends Faizan Mir and Hassan Naqu shortly before 3pm. He began to struggle in deeper water and disappeared.
"He jumped in and was swimming for a while and we realised he was panicking a little," Mir said. "Some other people jumped in to help and my friend [Hassan] jumped in to help but they couldn't ... he just went under the surface."
The men yelled to bystanders to call 111 but by the time ambulances and police arrived, their friend had disappeared.
"I'm gutted, it's tragic," Mir said.
The trio were visiting for the weekend and were looking for a good camping spot, Mir said.
The police dive squad was called to the falls last night to find Jawad's body.
Jawad and Mir had been friends for two months after meeting through Jawad's older brother in Auckland.
Mir understood Jawad had recently got engaged to a woman who was studying in Germany.
He had moved to New Zealand this year and the friends were visiting Tauranga for the first time. "He was a swimmer. He went to the pool to swim quite often. He was an athlete, played lots of sports," Mir said.
"He was very happy and jolly. A really nice guy."
Mir's brother in Auckland was last night heading to Tauranga. Next of kin living in Pakistan were being advised overnight.
Meanwhile, the experienced climber who plunged to his death on Aoraki-Mt Cook was part of a group from the Canterbury region who had set out from Plateau Hut early yesterday morning to climb the peak's east ridge.
The group raised the alarm about 7.30am after one of their team fell as they traversed the ridge.
President of the Canterbury Mountaineering Club, Hugh Logan, described the east ridge as a "hard, classic" climb and deaths on that route were not common. Only four had been recorded on the route since it was conquered in 1938.
"It hasn't got any threats from ice cliffs but it's a challenging climb," Logan said.
"It's one that people are very keen on because it's such a beautiful climb."
He said a lof of people climbed the first part of the lower section unroped.
"It provides a bit of speed and it's not an unusual thing to do on the lower part of the route."
Logan said that judging by the time of day, it was likely the climber fell from the lower half of the route before reaching the Caroline Face.
Canterbury Rural Area Commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said it was a tragic start to the climbing season.
"Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the climber and the other members of his climbing party.
"The group of climbers was very experienced and well prepared and had planned the trip in advance.
"Unfortunately very rare incidents such as this occur from time to time."
More than 200 people have died in the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park, 70 on the mountain itself.
