North Island Waterfalls

This page depicts a random selection of North Island (New Zealand) waterfalls. There are a huge number of waterfalls in New Zealand, most of them small and known only locally, the more you go looking, the more pop up. This site just lists a few that I've noticed. Some of them I didn't even know existed, I'd be driving down a back road and see a sign that said 'Waterfall' - Waitanguru, Mount Damper and Te Reinga falls come into that category. Some quite good-sized falls don't even have signs.

Any heights given here I've found by searching the net, though I have to say that some of the figures cover a fairly wide range of opinion. I've quoted the figures that seem most likely to bear some resemblance to reality. To do any better, I may have to resort to visiting some of these falls with a very long tape measure with a weight on the end.

Rainbow Falls Starting in the north, in the Bay of Islands popular tourist area, the road from Kerikeri to Waipapa runs across an almost flat plateau, so the sign "Rainbow Falls Road" comes as a surprise. What is more unexpected is the falls themselves, which are on a good-sized river and of a quite impressive height, of 27m (89 feet).
	Haruru Falls Just inland from Paihia is Haruru Falls, not very high, but with a good flow in the Waitangi River. It's dropping into the tidal water of the inlet. The height is said to be 5m (16 feet), though presumably this varies with the tide.
Whangarei Falls Just on the edge of Whangarei, Northland's biggest town, is this sizeable waterfall, 26m (85') high. It could almost be the twin of Rainbow Falls. This is taken from the viewing platform overlooking the crest.
This was taken at 8-38pm, ten minutes after sunset, when there was just sufficient light for the camera (Panasonic TZ-3). The image has had the colour adjusted to compensate for the strong blue tint that resulted. Fifteen minutes later it was dark.

Waitakere Waterfalls

Waitangi Falls (Waiuku) Near Waiuku, southwest of Auckland, is this surprising little waterfall. Surprising, because this is low barely rolling country right by the edge of the Manukau Harbour. Though I've passed Waitangi Falls Road (which turns off the main Waiuku road towards the shoreline) many times, I never bothered to look because there just didn't seem to be enough height in the land for a waterfall. Well, this little fall uses all the height there is. The bottom of the fall is only just above sea level, 50 yards further down the stream drops over a four-foot cascade to high tide level. It probably looks quite picturesque from a boat at high water when the mudflats are submerged. The fall is so well proportioned, though, that it looks bigger than it really is. I estimate it at about 15 feet (5m) high. Note: Do not confuse this with the (probably many) other 'Waitangi Falls'. 'Wai' means 'water' and 'tangi' means (so far as my Maori reaches) 'crying out'; hence an obvious name for a waterfall.
	Hunua Falls The Hunua Ranges lie southeast of Auckland. They're larger in area and a little higher than the Waitakeres, but due to some quirk of geology they only seem to have one significant waterfall. Like Waitakere Falls, it, too, suffers from a water supply dam upstream, though in this case the dam is much further up and at least the fall is always flowing. Quoted as 30m (100 feet) high on the Auckland Regional Council (Parks) website.
	And this a couple of days after heavy rain, when the falls were flowing more vigorously. From the way the reeds on the stream banks were flattened, the river must have been up six feet higher than this at the peak of the flood.
Wairere Falls The Kaimai Ranges are an impressive line of mountains that run in a straight line along the eastern edge of the flat swampy Hauraki Plains. The side facing the plains is steep, but on top, they're almost a plateau, which is how waterfalls of good size can exist. Wairere Falls can be seen in the distance from the road, and looks good in telephoto, but in real life the falls are most impressive close up, where their size is apparent.	The upper falls, seen from the road
There's an interesting and pleasant walking track that runs up the steep gorge of the Wairere Stream, then climbs to a timber viewing platform - thick bush hides the view from anywhere else.
The track climbs steeply beyond the platform to reach the top of the plateau, then descends gently into the shallow valley of the stream above the falls. The view from up here is equally impressive, in a different way - the stream is wide, shallow and tame, flowing gently across the flat plateau - then it just disappears abruptly over the edge. Beyond is a lot of airspace and, a thousand feet lower and miles away, open fields. These are the highest falls in North Island, at 502 feet (153 metres). (Height quoted on the DOC - Department of Conservation - website, so I should hope it's correct). Ananui Falls, 345 feet and second highest in North Island, is also in the Kaimais, 15 miles to the north but on the other side of the ranges. No photo because I haven't been there yet.	The edge of the world
Down the west coast From Auckland, heading south-west down towards New Plymouth, the area bordering the coast is hill country, thinly settled, with no sizeable towns. It has a 'back-of-beyond' feel to it that appeals to me.
	Bridal Veil Falls 20 miles west of Hamilton, 8 miles down a turn-off off the Raglan road, is Bridal Veil Falls, a single drop of quite respectable height. A walking track leads gently downhill through the bush for four hundred yards to the head of the falls, then steeply down to their foot. This is really a very elegant and simple fall, the stream flows to the edge of the cliff, it goes straight over, it hits the bottom 55 metres down, that's it. No rapids or cascades to complicate things. And the water stays in a concentrated jet which makes the patterns in it the more fascinating. (180 feet, in case you were wondering. Sounds much more impressive in Imperial units, doesn't it?) (55m is also a DOC figure).
	Taken from the stream at the base of the fall. A gust of wind is blowing the bottom of the fall sideways. This fall faces west, I got there at 12-30 just after the shadows were off it (my first bit of lucky timing on my Easter trip, I couldn't have afforded to wait here very long).
	There's something fascinating about falling water. The shadows are helping, for once.
Awaroa waterfall 20 miles south of Bridal Veil Fall, in the 'back of beyond' well away from the tourist trails, is Awaroa valley, and as the gravelled Hauturu Road winds round the side of the valley to reach the ridge, this quite respectable minor fall can be seen right across the valley. This is after rain, in late summer.
The lower picture is as close as you can get on the public road.
And this is in early spring when there's a lot more runoff. Taken in the late afternoon, hence the warm colours.
From a little further up the road, another fall can be seen, half a mile above the main one. And it looks like yet another small fall on the right.
	Marokopa Falls 15 miles west of Waitomo (with its well-known tourist caves) on the winding but tarsealed road to Te Anga, are Marokopa Falls, a quite substantial and handsome fall of four-square proportions. Again, it's reached by a gentle hike downhill through bush from the road. Figures I've seen quoted for the height range from 30 metres, 36m, 120 feet (same thing), to 57 metres (optimist!). DOC quotes 30m, I'll go with that. Taken on a very grey day.
	And this was taken in late afternoon on a brilliant sunny day. I was hurrying to get there, I guessed the shadows would be creeping up but I didn't know what the critical time would be. I got there at 4-30 p.m. which was only just in time as can be seen. I was lucky for the third time on the trip. Note how dark the bush is when in shadow.
	Aside note: These falls were used in the title shots of several episodes of the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys where 'Hercules' and 'Iolaus' (or their doubles) were seen walking towards the falls. Curiously, the editor flipped the image left-right reversed on this occasion for no apparent reason.
	Mangapohue Natural Bridge Four miles upstream of the falls, a tributary stream for no sane reason cuts straight through a limestone ridge in a sheer-sided gorge, actually a large collapsed cave, part of the roof of which survives as Mangapohue Natural Bridge. The stream itself has a clean sandy bed, which makes no sense to me, but that's limestone country for you.
Waitanguru Falls Ten miles due south of Marokopa Falls, in the middle of nowhere, are the Waitanguru Falls, with a surprising volume of water for a rather small catchment. I think I caught it on a good day. Again, a short track leads down from the road. Most easily reached (for those who, unlike me, don't love loose gravel roads) on the sealed road from Piopio ten miles away on State Highway 4.
	Mt Damper Falls And, heading further south and west, into the real back country, are Mt Damper Falls. They're off Okau Road, a gravel road off the Ahititi-Waitaanga road. The walking track to the falls leads alongside a stream which drains an upland swampy area, gradually descending through the bush, and then drops dramatically into the head of a sheer-sided valley of its own making. Heights I've seen quoted range from 74m (243') (DOC figure) to 85m (280'). It isn't stated whether this includes the short upper falls. This would make them probably the fourth highest in North Island (after Wairere, Ananui and Waitakere Falls). (DOC then go on to state 'highest in North Island', which is a disconcerting gaffe). (A track branches off from here signposted 'Te Rerepahupahu Falls - experienced trampers only', it gives the time as 7 hours but omits to mention if that includes the return trip. I haven't tried it.) This is a composite of three photos taken with a 35mm (equivalent) lens from the viewpoint on the opposite side of the valley. The photos were combined using Hugin/Enblend, and a beautiful job it did too. The 'bend' in the fall of the water is real, not an optical illusion or a 'feature' of the software - there was a strong wind gusting around the semi-circular valley head and blowing the water sideways. (Easter 2006)
	The picture on left was taken with a 28mm (equivalent) lens, which got it in one. The picture above left was taken on a day with a light overcast; that on the left on a clear sunny day - note how much sharper and darker the shadows are. Note also the rainbow at the base of the fall. The falls face east, and this photo was taken at 11a.m. in mid-April. I was lucky for the second time on the trip - much later and the shadows would have got to it. (Easter 2007)
Dawson Falls Mt Taranaki is a graceful conical 8000-foot volcano on the far west of North Island. It seems to have just one waterfall of note, Dawson Falls. The track from the road (inevitably, downhill!) gives a close view of the falls, it needs a 28mm lens and standing as far back as the track will allow (which is not far) to get the whole falls in shot. 54 feet (16.5m) high, according to A Guide to NZ Waterfalls - it looks believable to me.
	Kawautahi falls Back towards the centre of North Island, 12 miles west of Raurimu, are these falls, of quite respectable size. Just from the look of the riverbed, I would expect the flow to normally be greater, but this was taken towards the end of the driest summer for 40 years. I was driving along a gravel road in the middle of nowhere, as one does, and there right below the road were these falls, in a scenic and lush setting in contrast to the otherwise rugged countryside. They don't seem to be marked on the map (though they can just be discerned on Google Maps satellite view), but they're on the Kawautahi Stream, alongside Kawautahi Road just over a quarter of a mile north of its junction with Oio Road.
	And this is in late spring, with a lot more water about. It was a pretty obvious guess, wasn't it?
Raukawa Falls On the road from Wanganui up towards the central plateau is Raukawa Falls, on the Mangawhero River. This is a quick shot taken from the roadside pull-off area (where everyone takes a quick snap). I think, given a little more time, other equally interesting viewpoints could be found. According to A Guide to NZ Waterfalls this fall is 15m high and 50m wide (that's 50ft and 165ft) - that seems about right to me.
Waterfalls seen from the train One doesn't normally go waterfall-hunting in a railway train, so I find it intriguing that I've spotted six from the Auckland - Wellington passenger train, the Overlander. And none of them would be easily spotted from the road. I've listed them from north to south.
Waiteti waterfall This one is un-missable, just a few yards from the main railway line. It's a charming little cascade on a tributary of the headwaters of the Waiteti Stream, about 6 miles south of Te Kuiti and just before the Bodley Road railway crossing. I'd guess it's maybe 50 feet high (scaling off the fenceposts at the top and knocking off a bit for perspective). I saw it from the southbound 'Overlander' train, though too late to snap a photo; on the return trip I was waiting and got this quick shot. This was after heavy rain, so it has a better flow than usual.
	Waimiha waterfall This one's included just for completeness - this is actually a suspected waterfall only. Just south of Waimiha, the line runs along the edge of a little gorge on the Ongarue River, and this stream drops over the edge in what is very probably a waterfall. Most likely, it could only be seen from private property across the gorge; the local road down the valley is in the wrong place, up the hill behind the railway, and with no view of this spot.
Mangaturuturu waterfall Up on the volcanic plateau, south of National Park, the train crosses the high Makatote viaduct while the main road winds down and across the gorge below. Beyond this, road and rail run straight, side by side across the plateau, and cross the next gorges of Mangonui-o-te-ao and Mangaturuturu in the otherwise flat plateau quicker than you can say their names. Which is probably why I'd never noticed this waterfall from the train before, and from the road it's hidden behind the span of the railway viaduct. I was planning to take a shot of Mangaturuturu gorge from the train as we crossed it and as you can see, my hasty snap was only just quick enough. The waterfall was a complete surprise.
On the return trip, I was ready and waiting, but even so I only had time for one snap. The ride on the observation platform of the Overlander's baggage car is quite lively at speed, so the fact that the photo is viewable at all is down to my Panasonic LZ2's very effective Optical Image Stabiliser. The waterfall is on an unnamed side stream which drops into the main Mangaturuturu River gorge so 'Mangaturuturu Falls' is probably not the right name.
And here it is, seen head-on across the gorge on a day in late spring. This time, I parked on the road and walked across the railway line (beware trains!) to the edge of the gorge.
Caught me by surprise going.... ... and coming back.	Hautapu (Turangarere) waterfall On the descent from the high plateau at Waiouru to the valleys at Taihape, the line follows the valley of the Hautapu River. At Turangarere, the river doubles back on itself, and the railway sweeps round in a horseshoe curve of 200 degrees to follow it, and right in the neck of the horseshoe is this fall. I believe a better view is possible from the train, if I got the timing right, and possibly better still from the track alongside the railway line, if it were public - but it isn't (it has a gate on it, which is shut). At a rough guess, and assuming that's a patch of water we can see below the fall in the second photo, it might be around 20 feet high.
Toitoi waterfall 50 miles south of the volcanic plateau, beyond Taihape, the line reaches the Rangitikei River. This is an area of curious and dramatic scenery, where wide flat valley bottoms have been cut into by deep narrow sheer-sided gorges. As if, geologically, the landscape had reached the 'mature' stage, then for some reason the Rangitikei River and all its side streams started down-cutting furiously again. Just after the Rangitikei gorge is sighted, the line crosses the Toi Toi Viaduct, where a small tributary stream has cut down to match the level of the main river. This is looking up the side valley, this small waterfall seems to be permanent (I've seen it still flowing at the end of a very dry summer) and its height is quite respectable - the viaduct is 58m (190') high, and the fall wouldn't be much short of that. The reflections in the glass reflect my unreadiness - I wasn't on the outside viewing platform in time.
And this is the same fall, seen from the end of the road bridge on State Highway 1 where it crosses the gorge some yards upstream of the railway. It's such a narrow, knife-edge gorge that it's impossible to see the full height of the fall from one place; the stream at the bottom is hidden by the curvature of the gorge walls.
	Rangitikei Gorge waterfall Just south of here, the railway crosses and re-crosses the Rangitikei River gorge on a pair of high viaducts. It never fails to startle people - one moment you're racing across flat fields in the wide shallow valley bottom, with no sign of a river to be seen, then without any warning at all you're in mid-air 250 feet up.
	This waterfall appears to be an ephemeral one, flowing only after heavy rain. I can state its height fairly accurately - the railway viaduct is 75 metres (246 feet) high, so are the cliffs, therefore so is the waterfall. And that estimate is probably at least as accurate as many of the other heights quoted on this site! (Apologies for the bad framing of the photo - I was zooming in a hurry.) I suspect there may be many other small waterfalls in the Rangitikei gorges area, maybe only flowing after rain - with the sheer gorge sides, any side stream that hasn't managed to cut down to river level must end in a fall. But the only practical way to find them would be by rafting down the river.
Central North Island waterfalls These are waterfalls on the 'central plateau' of North Island, on the rivers flowing off the volcanic mountains of the Tongariro National Park. (Strictly, Mangaturuturu and Turangarere waterfalls could be included here, but I've already mentioned them elsewhere. Any classification scheme always comes up against the 'where to draw the line' problem).
Huka Falls This is probably the best-known waterfall in North Island, on the Waikato below Lake Taupo. The Waikato is North Island's largest river, but has no high waterfalls. This is really just the last and biggest of a line of rapids in a straight, narrow trench-like gorge. Its small drop is made up for by the volume of water flowing over it. It's a violent waterfall and looks it. A few 'extreme' kayakers have gone over it deliberately and survived. The flow ranges from 32 cumecs (cubic metres per second) to 270 cumecs, average 160. (This is 1130 to 9500 cubic feet per second, average 5600). The height of the falls, excluding the rapids in the channel above them, is 7 to 9.5m (23 to 31 feet), depending on depth of water. Aratiatia Rapids, a few miles downstream, may well be just as dramatic when flowing, but most of the time they don't flow, having been robbed of their water by a hydro dam. The white water was so bright in the sun that my camera under-exposed everything else into shades of black - I had to tweak these shots drastically to get any detail of the surroundings to show up.	Looking upstream from the footbridge across the rapids .... and downstream. Huka Falls is at the far end of the 'trench'
Looking upstream from the bridge. It looks as if there's another fall or rapid just round the corner, but no way to see it without rock-climbing.	Waikato Falls Above Lake Taupo, the river continues as the Tongariro River, famous for trout fishing; only in its headwaters does the name change back to the Waikato Stream. However, to help the confusion along, 15 miles up the Tongariro River are the Waikato Falls. The river twists through a deep, narrow gorge, the bottom so narrow and undercut in places that it's difficult to see the water from the road bridge which spans the gorge high above. This area is reached via Kaimanawa Road, which turns off State Highway 1 ten miles south of Turangi.
Looking downstream from the bridge. Beggs Pool and its shingle bank just visible at top of photo.	At the lower end of this tortuous defile, the gorge opens out and the river pours over the last barrier of rock into a large pool - Beggs Pool.
From further to the left - this looks like the bottom of a cascade or fall coming in from the right.	Near the lower end, a sizeable stream from the south east apparently falls into the river, but only a hint of it can be seen from the bridge.
Seen from the shingle bank in Beggs Pool.	A turnoff before the bridge leads down to a barrage across the river which provides road access to the bottom end of Beggs Pool, into which the gorge opens out in a final waterfall. This is, presumably, Waikato Falls itself - or maybe the name encompasses all the various cascades in this area. I estimate the lower fall at 3.4 metres (11 feet) high.
Mangamate Stream, Tongariro River in foreground.	Mangamate Fall ...but this piece of enthusiastic scenery hasn't finished yet - as you turn to leave, straight in front of you as you re-cross the river on the barrage, is this waterfall on the Mangamate Stream as it drops into the Tongariro gorge. Again, not shown on any map (yet). A tortuous chain of calculations involving downloaded aerial photos from Google Maps (to establish the camera's distance from the falls), the focal length recorded by the camera in the EXIF data, a photo of a scale rule taken at a known distance and focal length, and measuring lengths on my monitor, suggest that this fall is 14m (46 feet) high, not including a small upper fall not visible in this photo. But I think it looks higher.
Tukino Higher up the river, above the point where its tributaries dry up in the 'desert' for much of the year, is an unlikely spot for a waterfall - a skifield. Well, this was autumn on Mt Ruapehu, with no skiers and no snow. There's still snow two thousand feet above, which is where these waterfalls are coming from. This is at 5500 feet on the east side of the mountain, the headwaters of the Mangatoetoenui Stream, just above the Tukino ski club lodges. As you can see, it was windy: a waterfall when it left the top, just heavy rain when it reached the bottom.
Mt Ruapehu is the highest mountain in North Island, at 9175 feet, and is a sporadically active volcano. The commercial skifields are on the west side of the mountain where they get most snow. Tukino is on the east side, operated by a few ski clubs for members only, reached by a rough 4-wheel-drive track. It's a little under half-way up the mountain, directly below the second dark rock peak from the right. There's a gate where the track gets really rocky in the foothills but someone had left it open so we drove all the way up anyway (after all, the mountain is public land). The stream in the foreground is the Waikato River, or at least, the nominal headwaters of same. People won't believe me when I say I've jumped and driven across the Waikato.
	Tawhai Falls Heading over towards the more fashionable west side of the mountain, just off the road up to Chateau Tongariro and the Whakapapa skifield, is this very pretty fall. In fact I think it actually looks higher (and better) in this shot, than when more water is going over. According to A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls, this is just 5m (16 feet) high, though the survey map gives it as 13m (42 feet). Just from the look of it, I'd like to believe the map. However, scaling off my photos indicates 6.5m. This one would be easy to sort out with a piece of string and a weight on the end. All I need to do is go and do it. This is on the Whakapapanui Stream, which was still flowing quite well even at the end of a long dry summer.
The East Over on the eastern side of the island, around Lake Waikaremoana and on to the Urewera Ranges, are hills covered in thick bush, heavy rainfall and probably lots of waterfalls. I've only seen a few, here they are.
Waipunga Falls Not so far east, in fact just beside the main Taupo-Napier road, are Waipunga Falls. Easily seen from a signposted viewing area, and unexpectedly impressive, since the landscape looks arid and scrubby, not the sort of countryside to expect good-sized rivers or big drops. The falls partly visible to the left are Waiarua Falls. Unfortunately the viewing area is as far as you can go, steep slopes and thick bush prevent you from getting any further round to better view Waiarua Falls.
Both falls are 40m (130 feet) high.
	Pungahuru Falls Also within 1/4 mile of the Taupo-Napier road (as the crow flies) is this rather nice waterfall, where the Pungahuru stream drops into the gorge of the Mohaka River. Not visible from the road itself, you have to turn down McVicar Road a half-mile north of the bridge, then take a side road (signposted for anglers and please shut the gate!) down towards the river. There, facing you across the Mohaka River, is an amphitheatre of high pale cliffs with a fringe of pines on the top and a small side valley from which the Pungahuru stream falls. A delightfully peaceful spot to stop for lunch.
	The falls are, according to the map, 25m (80 feet) high.
Rere Falls 20 miles north-west of Gisborne by remote country road, lies Rere Falls, a very graceful broad waterfall and quite surprisingly 'tame' in this rather wild countryside.
The river tears across a sloping rock shelf... ...and over into the chasm. A small stream takes the 'long way round' and cascades down the end of the gorge (top of picture).	Te Reinga Falls South of Rere, 15 miles northeast of Wairoa and just beside the secondary 'inland' road to Gisborne, lie the Te Reinga Falls. These falls are neither tame nor graceful. They look dangerous, violent and rough. The water flows smoothly through the remains of a large concrete V-notch measuring weir then races across a broad sloping shelf of water-worn bare rock riverbed before plunging 35m (115') into a deep narrow chasm. You can approach the side of the torrent but everything about it says "This river means business - don't fall in".
Seen from the top end by the V-notch weir This is as close as I'd ever want to get. That water's moving like an express train	What can it be like in flood when the water fills the whole width of the rock riverbed?

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