The Rainbow Falls, Māori name ''Waianiwaniwa'', (''Waters of the Rainbow)'', are a single-drop

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

located on the

Kerikeri River The Kerikeri River rises in the Puketi Forest inland from Kerikeri and flows into the western extremity of the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand. A long stream flowing into Raglan Harbour in Waikato also has the same name but it is unoffi ...

near

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Unlike most New Zealand waterfalls which are created by the erosion of soft rock, the Rainbow Falls are sited on a hard basalt layer of rock beside softer mudstone. The falls were formed when water eroded the mudstone. The 27 metre waterfall is popular with tourists and is regularly photographed from an adjoining

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

area. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

gives a translation of "rainbow waters" for . The Rainbow Falls Walk is along a track which takes about 10 minutes to traverse to connect to the Kerikeri River Track which is about 3.5 km long and takes about 1.5 hours to walk. It leads to the Kerikeri Basin where Kerikeri's old buildings are sited, the

Stone Store The Stone Store at Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands is New Zealand’s oldest surviving stone building. Part of the second Church Missionary Society station in New Zealand, the store was designed by John Hobbs to replace an earlier wooden store ...

Mission House The Mission House at Kerikeri in New Zealand was completed in 1822 as part of the Kerikeri Mission Station by the Church Missionary Society, and is New Zealand's oldest surviving building. It is sometimes known as Kemp House. Samuel Marsden esta ...

and St James Church, plus

Rewa's Village Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...

and historic Kororipo Pa. The track follows the north bank of the River and passes through

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

habitat and regenerating native trees such as stands of young

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

and

totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

References

Waterfalls of New Zealand Far North District Bay of Islands Landforms of the Northland Region {{Northland-geo-stub

See also

References