This beautiful walk is just outside Raglan, a must visit little town I can’t believe I haven’t visited until now!
Track Facts
- 40 minute walk (to the bottom of the falls and back)
- 2.6km
- 261 steps
- moderate level of fitness required
- kid friendly & part of the kiwi guardians campaign
- easy option: 10 minute to the top of the falls (one way) which is wheelchair and pram-friendly. This option still gives you epic views of the falls
- No swimming (the water isn’t safe)
We visited Raglan for a brief weekend for our 5th wedding anniversary (we had planned 2 nights but a work catastrophe meant we had to drive the 4.5 hours on Saturday morning, then back on Sunday before the next week of work!) It was 100% worth the long drive and although it rained most of the weekend we were so impressed we will likely be back MANY times.
These falls are also known as Wairēinga (wai=water, rēinga=leap/place of leaping), which is a beautiful name and an very apt description. Although I did also read in my research that the name can be translated to water of the underworld as “rēinga” can also be translated to ‘the departing place of spirits.’ I will need to check in with some fluent reo speakers and update this 🙂
To get there, head towards Raglan on State highway 23. Shortly before Raglan town, turn left on to Te Mata Road. 9.4km later, when you’ve passed the school and little village, turn left on to Kawhia Road. The falls carpark is 3.5km later on the right. The turns are well signposted from SH 23 and there is a massive sign at the entrance, you can’t miss it! (Although there is no cell reception to check instructions and there is a point where you feel like it can’t be the right way because it’s all farmland. Just watch for road signs and trust the process!)
This waterfall is a 55m plunge waterfall (plunge waterfalls fall directly vertical with no contact with the rocks on the cliff face) on the Pakoke River in the Waikato. It is one of the biggest falls in the North Island!
The area is really interesting, for a number of reasons. The first is that while all the surrounding area is farmland, the falls themselves are found in a little 217 ha (514 acres) patch of pristine native forest, predominantly tawa broadleaf trees. It feels like you have walked back in time to a prehistoric gem of natural New Zealand.
The second interesting thing is the formation story of the falls. 2 million years ago an Okete volcanics vent erupted, blocking The Valley and creating the basalt (rock formed by the rapid cooling of slow moving lava) cliff that the waterfall plunges over. You can read all about this at the base of the cliff, and it definitely adds to the sense of wonder, and small-feeling you get standing at the base of the falls.
Speaking of views of the falls, there are 4 places to view the falls. And each is different and just as amazing as the others (though my fave was the mid viewing platform). The first is right at the top of the falls, where you look down and can watch the moment the water plunges vertically to the pool below (this was way too scary for me, as I’m afraid of heights and I knew it was 55m down).
Then there’s a viewing platform at the top of the stairs, the mid point of the 261 step journey to the bottom, and then at the bottom, where you can stand on a bridge over the water that then continues to flow on its journey to the sea.
I highly, highly recommend this walk and visiting this waterfall. We intend to get back to Raglan later this year for a week or so of surfing, and I’m sure we will visit this amazing waterfall again! The feeling in the place was just soo peaceful and was such an amazing display of nature and the wonders of papatūānuku/mother earth.
Happy waterfall chasing
Xx
Moochelle
