Wainui Falls, Golden Bay

From the car park about 300 m past the Wainui River bridge, follow the track briefly across farmland and over a stream on stepping stones, then into forest of nīkau palms, rātā and ferns. It climbs gently up the Wainui River past huge granite boulders, crosses a small bridge and then a suspension bridge, and ends at a viewpoint facing the falls and their pool, the largest waterfall in Golden Bay/Mohua. Return the same way.

It is 3.3 km there and back with 104 m of ascent; allow about an hour. The grade is Easy: a gentle forest track with one suspension bridge.

The unbridged stream near the start floods and can be impassable during and just after heavy rain, and the viewpoint itself can go under water, so pick a dry day; rockfall is also more likely in the wet. There are unfenced drops beside the track, and the rocks at the end are slippery beside fast water: do not climb down to the pool, and keep children within reach. Giant carnivorous Powelliphanta snails live in this forest.

The car park on Abel Tasman Drive at Wainui Bay is free, about 20 km from Tākaka, which is reached over Tākaka Hill on SH60. We found no scheduled public transport.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.