Police have named the young boy who died at Piha Beach at the weekend.
He was five-year-old Savva Lopoukhine, a Russian boy who lived in west Auckland.
Police say his death was a "tragic accident".
His mother said on Thursday that he liked playing on the rocks, but went on a track he wasn't familiar with and fell off.
"He never did anything like that - it was just strange," Elena Lopoukhina told Fairfax.
"It was like something was calling him on that track."
Savva's death has been referred to the coroner.
Newshub.