The identity of the body found in a park in central Rotorua park is expected to the revealed by police later on Wednesday.
The dead man, thought to be in his 60s and wearing shorts and a top, was discovered by members of the public about 1.30am on Tuesday in Kuirau Park.
Police launched a homicide investigation after the find with Detective Inspector Mark Loper saying the man had suffered serious injuries.
A post-mortem on the body was being carried out in Auckland and once his identity was confirmed and his next of kin informed the man's name would be released.
Police would continue to search the park and the surrounding area and would continue to canvass streets bordering the park.
Det Insp Loper said a specialist search team was looking for any items associated with the investigation and the police dive squad may be used to search two geothermal lakes in the area.
"It's critical that we locate every piece of possible evidence and it's important that we search as much of the Kuirau Park area that is safely possible.
"Obviously there are safety restrictions around how much work can be done in and around those geothermal areas, but we are working with local experts to search as much as we can," he said.
Some cordons at the park were lifted on Tuesday afternoon but others remained in the centre of the park. Road blocks preventing vehicles going through the park were also going to be removed on Wednesday.
NZN