Wainui Falls is a waterfall in

Wainui Bay Wainui Bay is within Golden Bay, and at the south-eastern end of Golden Bay, in the Tasman Region of the South Island, New Zealand. Bordering the Abel Tasman National Park, it is approximately north-east of Tākaka Tākaka is a small town ...

, in the Tasman region of

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 ...

. The waterfall is part of the Wainui River and cascades over

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

bedrock into a deep pool at its base. It is the largest and most accessible waterfall in the Abel Tasman National Park and the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Golden Bay Golden Bay may refer to: * Golden Bay / Mohua, a bay at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island * Golden Bay (Malta), a bay and beach on the coastline of Malta * Golden Bay High School Golden Bay High School is a secondary school A s ...

area, and can be reached via the short Wainui Falls Track. The track is popular as a day walk among tourists, and while the waters of the Wainui River can be too cold for swimming much of the year, the

plunge pool A plunge pool (or plunge basin or waterfall lake) is a deep depression in a stream bed at the base of a waterfall or shut-in. It is created by the erosional forces of cascading water on the rocks at formation's base where the water impacts.Mars ...

is a favoured swimming hole in the summer months.

Location

The falls are located up the valley from Wainui Bay, within the Abel Tasman National Park. The nearest town is

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 runs through Takaka and follows the river valley ...

, a drive away, and the nearest city is

, around a 2.5 hours' drive.

Wainui Falls Track

The waterfall can be reached via the Wainui Falls Track, a round-trip bush walk that follows the Wainui River up to the waterfall. The track is accessed via a carpark at the end of Wainui Falls Rd, from the main road (Abel Tasman Drive). A cafe and toilets are available at the carpark area. The track takes about 1 to 1.5 hours round-trip. The track meanders through a native forest of

ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

, nikau palms, and rata trees. Giant carnivorous land snails of the genus ''

Powelliphanta ''Powelliphanta'' is a genus of large, air-breathing land snails, pulmonate gastropods in the family Rhytididae, found only in New Zealand. They are carnivorous, eating invertebrates, mostly native earthworms. Often restricted to very small areas ...

'', among the largest land snails in the world, can sometimes be found on the forest floor near the track. The waterfall has been a popular sightseeing destination since at least the early 20th century. Older locals report that "in the early days" when people used to drive out to the track in

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

s, the track was very steep and that it was common for trampers to fall in the river. The track was closed for maintenance in 2015 for several months while the track was re-engineered and a new 10-person-capacity suspension bridge was built to replace the old suspension bridge, which was a one-at-a-time crossing and could result in significant queues during summer months. The bridge crosses the Wainui River above large granite blocks and tumbled logs that pile up after winter floods. While some locals lamented that the track had lost a bit of its charm and feeling of danger (with regards to the old bridge), they also commented that it was a huge benefit that the track was now more accessible to everyone. The track is maintained by the New Zealand

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 ...

In Māori mythology

In the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

of the local Tākaka

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, a ''

taniwha In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respected ...

'' (water guardian) called Ngārara Huarau terrorises a local village, who eventually retaliate by killing the monster. Upon the ''taniwha's'' death, its severed tail lands in the pool at the base of Wainui Falls. The rocks downstream from the falls have rusty red-brown staining that the story attributes to the seepage of blood from the tail.

Gallery

File:Wainui Falls Tyree Collection 1.jpg, Sightseers visiting Wainui Falls, late 1800s or early 1900s. From the Tyree Collection. File:Wainui River Tyree Collection 1.jpg, Sightseers in the Wainui River and another small waterfall visible from the Wainui Falls Track (not Wainui Falls). Late 1800s or early 1900s. From the Tyree Collection. File:Wainui Falls in full flow.jpg, Falls in full flow, 2015

References

External links

Department of Conservation
{{Tasman District Waterfalls of New Zealand Hiking and tramping tracks in the Tasman District Abel Tasman National Park Landforms of the Tasman District