One of two trampers who died during an overnight walk in the Tararua Range at the weekend was a married Ukrainian man with two children.
His grieving widow is now urging others to take care when heading into the bush.
Police have released the names of the two trampers. They are Mykailo Stepura (32), also known as Michael, and Pavel Pazniak (32).
Mr Stepura is originally from the Ukraine but lives in Lower Hutt, and Mr Pazniak lives in Auckland and is originally from Belarus.
The men died in mysterious circumstances on an overnight tramp to the Alpha Hut from the Waiohine Gorge campsite.
They set off on Saturday morning and were due back Sunday evening.
They were reported missing by a family member about 7pm on Sunday. A member of the public found one of the bodies at 10.25am on Monday. The second body was found a short distance away. They died just 1km from a hut.
Temperatures overnight dropped to below freezing and police have said hypothermia is a possible cause of death.
Friends of the Stepura family, who lived in Lower Hutt, have rallied around widow Natalia and their two sons aged 6 and 16.
A friend, Slava Knyazev, set up a Givealittle page to help them as they deal with their loss.
"Michael Stepura, father of two boys and loved husband, tragically died recently. This was completely unexpected and the family is shocked with this tragic loss.
"Michael was the main breadwinner for his family, and we are reaching out to the wider community to support his family during this hard time. Your donation would be used to assist in paying for the funeral and helping Michael's wife Natalia to transition to a life without her husband."
Natalia Stepura, who is also from Ukraine, did not want to talk about the circumstances of her husband's death when contacted by the Herald today. However, she reminded people to be careful when tramping.
A Stepura family spokesperson, who did not want to be named, said the family still did not know how Michael died and they were keenly awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.
Mt Stepura was from the Ukraine capital of Kiev, she said.
Mrs Stepura was a well-known dressmaker in the Lower Hutt community, she said.
A Givealittle page has also been set up for Mr Pazniak, who is described as a "loving husband and father for his partner and two young kids, and a sole provider for his family".
The page aims to raise money for Pazniak's partner and children to "cover their expenses associated with funeral and loss of main income during this very difficult time".
According to Mr Stepura's LinkedIn page, he has been in New Zealand for four years and worked for accounting software giant, Xero.
Department of Conservation Wairarapa operations manager Kathy Houkamau said the tragic deaths coincided with bitterly cold temperatures in the forest park.
"I understand that overnight on Saturday it was very cold with the temperature dropping several degrees below zero."
Ms Houkamau said a lot of things were not clear about the ill-fated weekend trip, including whether the men were carrying communication equipment, what type of clothing they were wearing and if they were intending to stay at a nearby Doc hut.
A post-mortem examination on the bodies is expected to be completed today.
Police said they would not be making any comment around how the pair died, what they were wearing or any personal details until they had the autopsy results.
