Hi,
I was thinking to do a little update from our travels we did on the North Island in September and some place i would recommend everyone to visit.
I will start with all the amazing Waterfalls we did.
Bridal Veil Falls.
Our first waterfall and the best one . The water fall is located about 2 hours outside Auckland in the Waikato area.
It's 55m and the Maori name is Waireinga. It's only a 20 mins return track from the car park so it's very easy to get there.
Wairere falls
It's one of the tallest waterfall, 153m! I went there on my own as the other guys did Hobbiton.
The waterfall is in Matamata. It's about a 90-2 hours return walk in beautiful bushland. To get to the top of the waterfall it is a steep hike up. I run to the waterfall so it took me maybe half of the time to get there.
Huka Falls
Is located in Taupo and it is only 11 meter but very powerful. The sheer volume of water flowing over the falls amounts to 220,000 litres per second! Enough to fill one Olympic sized swimming pool in 11 seconds. The colour in the water is amazing too. It is crystal clear blue. The waterfall is just next to the carpark so very easy to get there. Only few minutes drive from town.
Taranaki falls
Is located in Tongariro National park. It is a bit confusing that Taranaki falls is in Tongariro national park and not in Taranaki National Park. It's a beautiful waterfall with a 2 hours return track or you can make it a loop. On a clear day you have views over Mt Tongariro, Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe. The track starts at Whakapapa visitor centre. If you are in the area Tawhai falls is located only a minute drive before you get to the visitor centre.
Part of the track to get to the waterfall
Tawhai falls
Tawhai fall is only 13 metre high, and it is an easy 20 mins return track to get there. It's located on the way to Whakapapa village. It's famous as the filming location of Gollum's pool in Lord of the rings.
Mangawhero falls
It's located in Tongariro national park. It's only 5-10 min return walk from the car park. But when we arrived there it was snowing and the road was closed so we had to walk in the snow for about 30 mins to get there. It was worth it. It's located on the way up to Turoa skifield.
The waterfall is 28 meter and it is also one of the film locations in Lord of the rings.
Mt Damper falls
It's located 59 km north of New Plymouth. It's 74 m high and one of the highest on the North Island. It's 1 km walk to the waterfall over privat farmland.
Dawson Falls
Is located in Mount Taranaki national park. Is only a 10 min walk to get to the waterfall. But there is lot's of nice hikes in the area.
The waterfall is 18 m.
Photos from one of the hikes near the waterfall.
This was all the waterfalls we visited on the North Island.
// Gina Johansen xx