"I'm not afraid of dying."
Those were the words of a Mt Maunganui man who surfed the raging rapids of Huka Falls on a body board.
Timmy Nator added the stunt to his bucket list after watching a video of another man survive the ride, making the jump on February 21.
"There is a chance of dying doing anything," Nator said. "I would much rather die doing something like that and go out with a bang than walking across the road to the dairy and getting hit by a car."
Water Safety New Zealand has slammed the stunt, saying Nator played Russian roulette with his life and the lives of others.
Visitors and tourists watched from the bridge as Nator, dressed in a wetsuit, lifejacket and flippers, leaped into the rapids on the body board. He filmed the ride from a Go-Pro attached to his helmet.
The 34-year-old daredevil described the ride down Huka Falls as "unreal, turbulent, crazy and wild".
"When I went underwater it was pitch black. I got held underwater for a bit longer than I would have liked," Nator said. "I will never forget it."
The keen surfer enjoyed extreme sports and has been skydiving and surfing.
"I always like to push the boundaries," Nator said. "I feel like a cat with 100 lives."
Responding to the criticism, Nator said he had trained for the ride for months and ensured he was equipped with correct safety gear.
"I had a jet pilot lifejacket, my flippers which I tied to my feet with insulation tape to make sure they didn't come off, and my helmet," he said.
Nator, who owned Wyn Architecture in Mt Maunganui, understood body boarding the Huka Falls was dangerous but enjoyed the adrenaline extreme sports gave him.
He said he would not recommend anyone else try his stunt. His next extreme adventure involved skydiving, but he was keeping tight-lipped on the details.
A Tauranga Police spokesman said police were aware of the video and the stunt was not illegal.
Water Safety New Zealand's chief executive Jonty Mills said Nator was playing Russian roulette with his life, and the lives of others who may have had to rescue him.
Mills told the Bay of Plenty Times that Nator had placed himself in significant danger and it was only sheer luck he was not killed.
"It is like playing Russian roulette, and the roulette could have won, and we easily have been talking about a body recovery," he said.
"From a water safety perspective, this 'stunt' was reckless and irresponsible. It's the sort of dangerous act that young thrillseekers do so they can have their 15 minutes of fame.
"The reality is young men make up a significant chunk of our drownings toll in this country," he said.
Nator was not only risking his own life, but if anything had gone wrong, emergency services staff would have had to put their own lives at risk to rescue him, Mills said.
Waikato Regional Council maritime services team leader, Richard Barnett described Nator's stunt as dangerous and rash.
"There is no doubt this was foolhardy and could encourage people less capable to do something similar. He got away with a dangerous act through sheer luck, because it's clear he had no control as he travelled through the water," he said.
Because Nator was on a body board and not in a vessel the act falls outside the responsibilities of harbourmasters, Barnett said.
