Wairere Falls
| Wairere Falls | |
|---|---|
 Wairere Falls from the viewing platform | |
 | |
| Location | Waikato, New Zealand |
| Type | Tiered |
| Total height | 153m |
| Watercourse | Wairere Stream |
Wairere Falls, the highest waterfall in New Zealand's North Island,[1] plunges 153 metres (500 feet) in two steps over the Kaimai escarpment.[2]
The waterfall is located between Te Aroha and Matamata.[1] A walking track runs from the car park at the end of Goodwin Road, up the valley of the stream to a viewing platform, and thence to the top of the plateau and the crest of the falls. The track is about 5 km (3.1 mi) return to the lower lookout[3] and climbs about 380 m (1,250 ft) from Goodwin Road to the top of the falls.[4] Once at the top one can continue onto the North South track that runs the length of the Kaimai Ranges.
The Wairere Falls receives around 60,000 visitors each year.[5] In 2017, the farmer who owned land close to the falls closed off a paddock to stock and constructed a seat for visitors that he dubbed "The international seat of peace".[6]
A road from Te Aroha to the falls was built between 1886[7] and 1892, when a coach service was started.[8] It was extended about 1915.[9] In 1903 the falls were considered for hydro power,[10] but were protected by declaration as a Scenic Reserve on 12 November 1908.[11]
The Kaimai Range's western boundary is the Hauraki Fault. This part of the Range is formed of Waiteariki Formation, a crystal-rich, welded, dacite ignimbrite.[12] The rock was erupted about 2.1m years ago.[13]
Ngāti Hinerangi value Te Wairere Falls as in Māori mythology it is the place where an early explorer, Ngahue, killed a moa, to use for food on his voyage back to Hawaiki.[14] They used the Wairere track during the 1864 Tauranga campaign. In July 1896 the Native Land Court gave ownership of the falls to the Crown.[15]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Waikato offers mighty good fun these school holidays". NZ Herald. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ Jock Phillips. Waterfalls – Causes of waterfalls, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage. ISBN 978-0-478-18451-8. Updated 21 September 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
- ^ "Wairere Falls Track". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Wairere Falls, Waikato". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ Blommerde, Chloe (22 November 2020). "Waikato farmer closes popular tourist attraction at Wairere Falls". Stuff. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ Hope, Sharnae (17 March 2020). "The man behind Wairere Falls' international seat of peace". Stuff. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "PIAKO COUNTY COUNCIL. Te Aroha News". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 December 1886. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "THE WAIRERE FALLS. Thames Advertiser". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 10 March 1892. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Matamata County Council. Te Aroha News". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 4 June 1915. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Local and General. Thames Star". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 16 October 1903. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ "Reserves made in 1908-9 under the Scenery Preservation Acts". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1909. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ Rotorua 1 to 250,000 geological map (Map). GNS. 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ Adrian Pittari, Marlena L. Prentice, Oliver E. McLeod, Elham Yousef Zadeh, Peter J. J. Kamp, Martin Danišík & Kirsty A. Vincent (3 December 2020). "Inception of the modern North Island (New Zealand) volcanic setting: spatio-temporal patterns of volcanism between 3.0 and 0.9 Ma" (PDF). p. 257.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Deed of Settlement between Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown" (PDF). 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Ngāti Hinerangi deed of settlement" (PDF). 4 May 2019.
External links
[edit]- Wairere Falls Track, Department of Conservation
- Flickr set of the hike to the falls
37°44′02″S 175°52′48″E / 37.734°S 175.88°E
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