| 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]
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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]
