Witness Nathan Goodwin said he had been speaking to the man in the hours before the incident. "My partner and another couple spoke to him prior to all this and he seemed like such a friendly guy," he said. "I had been right in the water around half an hour before this unfolded." The Adelaide man said as soon as it became clear the New Zealander was in trouble, onlookers began jumping into the water to try and save him. "It quickly became apparent that he was in trouble as he was trying to grab onto the ledge," he said. MacKenzie Falls in the Grampians National Park. Credit:AAP

"Next thing you know, he is gone. A group of around 10 of us had been in the water trying to find him and save him to no avail. Someone gave some goggles to see under the water. One tourist could make potentially make out his body, however, it was too deep." "He (the tourist) didn't want to give up ... but it was clear if we kept trying to save him we could have been sucked under too and we urged the tourist that we had to stop." MacKenzie Falls is a popular tourist attraction where swimming is not allowed. Mr Goodwin criticised the signage surrounding the area. “We've since learned that four died there in 2004 and then others recently," he said.