Purakaunui Falls

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Purakaunui Falls

Purakaunui Falls.jpg

Purakaunui Falls
Location The Catlins, South Island
Coordinates 46°31′13.46″S169°33′47.56″E / 46.5204056°S 169.5632111°E / -46.5204056; 169.5632111
Type Cascade
Total height 20 metres (66 ft)
Watercourse Purakaunui River
Purakaunui Falls in full flow Purakaunui.jpg
Purakaunui Falls in full flow
The falls in a drier period Purakaunui Falls In Caitlins New Zealand.jpg
The falls in a drier period

The Purakaunui Falls are a cascading three-tiered waterfall on the Purakaunui River, in The Catlins of the southern South Island of New Zealand. [1] As one of very few South Island waterfalls away from the alpine region, [2] it has long been a popular destination and photographic subject. [3]

The Purakaunui River is a river in the western Catlins, New Zealand. It rises west of Houipapa and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Purakaunui Bay.

The Catlins

The Catlins comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions. It includes the South Island's southernmost point, Slope Point.

South Island Southernmost of the two main islands in New Zealand

The South Island, also officially named Te Waipounamu, is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area; the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island. It has a temperate climate.

Contents

The falls are an iconic image for The Catlins region, and were featured on a New Zealand postage stamp in 1976. [4]

Postage stamp small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage, who then affix the stamp to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —that they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. The item is then delivered to its addressee.

Location

The falls are located 17 km (11 mi) to the southwest of the small town of Owaka and 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the river's outflow into the Pacific Ocean. They can be reached via a short 10-minute bush walk from a car park on the Waikoato Valley / Purakaunui Falls Road, a gravel side-road off the main Owaka-Invercargill road. There are toilets and a picnic area. The small, well-signposted detour to the falls is popular with tourist travellers along the Southern Scenic Route, and prominently mentioned in brochures about the area. [5]

Owaka human settlement

Owaka is a small town in the Clutha District of South Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest community in the rugged, forested Catlins area, close to the border with Southland, some 35 km (22 mi) south of Balclutha on the Southern Scenic Route. The town's population was 334 in the 2006 census, a decrease of 39 from 2001. In the census figures, 72.9% of the population were European, and 15% were Māori.

Pacific Ocean Ocean between Asia and Australia in the west, the Americas in the east and Antarctica or the Southern Ocean in the south.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

Invercargill Place in South Island, New Zealand

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff, which is the southernmost town in the South Island. It sits amid rich farmland that is bordered by large areas of conservation land and marine reserves, including Fiordland National Park covering the south-west corner of the South Island and the Catlins coastal region.

Although the Purakaunui Falls are not part of the Catlins Conservation Park, they are surrounded by native bush consisting of podocarp and silver beech, in a scenic reserve of 5 square kilometres (2 sq mi). A small viewing platform near the top of the falls is accessible by wheelchair. Steps continue down to the main viewing platform at the base of the 20 metres (66 ft) three tiered cascade.

<i>Podocarpus totara</i> species of plant

Podocarpus totara is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and lower subalpine forest at elevations of up to 600 m.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Purakaunui Falls, Southland, South Island, New Zealand". World of Waterfalls. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  2. ↑ "A land of waterfalls". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  3. ↑ "Photograph of Purakaunui Falls, from 1908". National Services Te Paerangi (NZ Museums). Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  4. ↑ "Waterfalls, New Zealand postage stamps". New Zealand Post . Retrieved 2014-03-21.
  5. ↑ "Southern Scenic Route, A Traveller's Guide, pg. 16" (PDF). Department of Conservation NZ. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
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