Wairere Falls is the highest fall on the North Island, New Zealand. It was created by an uplift caused by the Okauia Fault; which even today the base of the fall continues to drop approximately 2 mm a year.
From Auckland, it took slightly over 2 hours drive to get to the trailhead. There are ample parking spaces for camper vans as well as cars. The drive towards the Kaimai-Mamaku range was very scenic, passing many farms and ranches. This time the weather was very cloudy; as the clouds were pregnant with rain. Met Service had issued an Orange Status warning for heavy rains and a slight chance of hail. We braved the weather, and hoped that in the end it would be perfect weather for a waterfall visit!
The first section of the track to the first lookout point was very well built. As usual, we were amazed by how neat and tidy everything looked - literally, like someone's manicured garden. We would be spoilt in New Zealand as the trails in Hawaii are way rougher than this!
Soon we could hear the running water which led to several wooden bridges, as the track followed the stream towards the base of the fall. We could hear many birds singing, as the rain subsided. Here we had to be careful as there were several wooden bridge crossings over mossy rocks and a full flowing stream. As we worked our way up, there were quite a handful of hikers cautiously working their way down as the ground was quite saturated with water and the exposed rocks were slippery as they glistened from the recent downpour.
Along the way, there were many sections with wooden steps built into the track as a good preventive measure to mitigate erosion, as well as to help one secure a good solid footing against the steep climb. Since we were travelling fairly quickly, we reached the first waterfall lookout in approximately 36 minutes (although the signs indicated an average arrival in 45 minutes). The surrounding foliage on the viewing deck provided a natural frame of the fall giving it a pleasant but mysterious feel.
The next section to the upper viewing deck takes one to the edge of the waterfall's top plunge, and provides a commanding view of the valley and plains below. It starts with a steep climb along the edge of the cliff with multiple wooden steps and some rock scrambling until one gains the top of the ridge.
The track then plateaued, with a trail sign greeting you. The sign indicated that this was a junction to a lesser traveled track called the Ancient Maori Trail. It provided an alternate route over the spine of the ridge. This route could be taken in order to make a loop back to the trailhead. However, because of the rain, we decided to give it a pass as it was not maintained and would have been a slippery ride down the ridge.
In slightly over an hour, we came to the end of the Wairere Falls Track; marked by a wooden viewing platform built directly over the edge of the fall. We were ready with our rain jackets as we had seen from other hiking videos, that on a very gusty day, the wind will blow the water upwards and back onto the viewing platform. Fortunately for us, it was a rather calm moment at the top, and we had little to no blow back of the water from the falls!
Crazy calm day it was!
To the right of the platform, the top of the falls is a flat rocky stream bed that is wide and not at all deep (at least for today).
Just before the edge of the waterfall plunge at the top, there is a beautiful cascade fall; which just begged to be photographed.
In retrospect, this cascade fall reminded me so much of another cascade in Hawai'i called Wailele. I wonder if Wailele is the Hawaiian equivalent to the Maori's Wairere. The set of photos above compare both falls side by side. Don't they look alike?
In all, this was a great hike that provided some challenging vertical climbs and rewarded the hiker with some great views at the top. A must see if you are visiting Matamata!
Comments