A woman walking her dogs in Havelock North over the weekend had no idea there was a body in a burned out vehicle she noticed along the way.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, was walking her dogs around River Rd on Sunday when she saw the burned out vehicle where the body was later discovered.

"The car looked like a burnt out skeleton and the dogs were going crazy," she said.

Detective inspector David de Lange said in a statement the body was found in the vehicle in the car park on Monday.

The death was being treated as unexplained.

"It appears the vehicle, which has been consumed by fire, has been parked in the reserve for several days."

The scene examination began Monday and a post-mortem is expected to be carried out
on Tuesday.

"While we are treating the death as unexplained, we are in the very early stages of understanding what has happened to our victim.

"The reserve is a popular area for cyclists and people walking dogs, providing access to the Tukituki River and adjacent cycleways."

Anyone with information which could assist the investigation is asked to contact police on 105 and quote event number P051805886.

• Homicide enquiry after 'incident' at Napier's Clive Square
• Police release name of person found dead in Lake Rotorua