Whangarei
17.89°C
Whangarei
17.89°C
Waitakere City
16.98°C
Manukau City
17.11°C
Papakura
24.46°C
Hauraki
17.26°C
Waikato
17.67°C
Matamata
18.46°C
Hamilton
17.51°C
Otorohanga
18.52°C
Rotorua
16.6°C
Taupo
15.44°C
Tauranga
19.27°C
Kawerau
18.6°C
Whakatane
19.64°C
Gisborne
15.51°C
New Plymouth
16.98°C
Stratford
8.97°C
Ruapehu
14°C
Wanganui
17°C
Palmerston North
16.41°C
Wairoa
19.19°C
Hastings
18.84°C
Napier
18.49°C
Masterton
15.49°C
Carterton
15.66°C
Porirua
15.99°C
Lower Hutt
16.45°C
Wellington
15.79°C
Tasman
9.35°C
Nelson
16.27°C
Marlborough
3.22°C
Kaikoura
15.48°C
Christchurch
12.59°C
Ashburton
12.52°C
Timaru
13.37°C
Waitaki
11.32°C
Waimate
13.08°C
Queenstown
12.38°C
Dunedin
14.33°C
Southland
9.98°C
Gore
11.31°C
Invercargill
12.06°C
Blenheim
14.73°C
Te Anau
27.35°C
Wanaka
11.17°C
Kaikoura
13.38°C
Stratford
13.54°C
Upper Hutt
15.9°C
About
One of Tongariro National Park’s best short walks, this easy loop is jam-packed with fascinating natural sights including Taranaki Falls themselves which tumble 20 metres into a boulder-ringed pool.
The track is in two parts – an upper and lower – which form a loop with the falls around the halfway mark.
The lower track passes through tussock, alpine shrublands, and beech forest where you may see cute native birds. After a while, it meets the pretty Wairere Stream and climbs past Cascade Falls before Taranaki Falls come into view.
The falls tumble over an ancient lava flow formed by the Ruapehu eruption of 15,000 years ago.
From the falls, the track climbs through forest to join the Tama Lakes Track, crossing interesting old lava flows as it goes. As it meanders back to Whakapapa it passes through tussock and manuka as it crosses a series of eroded gullies, their layers telling of successive eruptions.