Tawhai Falls walk

Tawhai Falls walk

Whakapapa Village

8 Rankers Reviews

7 Face-to-Face

11 Tongariro / National Park Village

Your Nature Guide

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Marios Gavalas

Author And Researcher

Nau mai, haere mai

Nau mai, haere mai

I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.

I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!

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Photos

Birds eye view - Tawhai Falls
Tawhai Falls, full frontal

Information

Tawhai Falls walk

800 m return | 15 minutes return

A little beaut of a waterfall, tricking over an old lava bluff. The sort of place Gollum would hang out.

The bottom of the waterfall is a deep, clear pool - adrenalin hooligans have been known to hurl themselves off the top into the blue unknown...

A pretty spot to stretch the legs on the way to Whakapapa.

Walking Track

Access

Tawhai Falls Walk is signposted 3.9 km south of Whakapapa Village, where there’s a small parking bay.

Track

It’s an easy stroll through mountain toatoa and stunted beech forest to the waterfall.

Geology

The 13-metre high falls tumble over an ancient lava flow.

European History

Some people have nicknamed the plunge pool ‘Gollums Pool’, as it was used in the filming when Faramir and his archers were watching Gollum fish. This is on account of the rock formations at the base of the falls, which resemble stone trolls from the Hobbit.

Details

Feature Value Info

Organisation

DOC Central North Island

Central government organisation

Location

North IslandRuapehuTongariro / National Park Village

Categories

  • Activity__walking_and_trekkingWalking
  • Free

Directions

To Coordinates

Coordinates

-39.1822397629457

175.527362823486

Latitude
-39.1822397629457
Longitude
175.527362823486

Nearby

Reviews

    • A short and easy walk to a nice waterfall.
    • Short walks to a great waterfall.
    • Beautiful falls, about 25/30drop.
    • Easy to get to and a great spot to have a look.
    Rating Count Percentage
    10/10 2
    25%
    9/10 3
    38%
    8/10 3
    38%
    7/10 0
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    6/10 0
    0%
    5/10 0
    0%
    4/10 0
    0%
    3/10 0
    0%
    2/10 0
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    1/10 0
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  • 4.5/5

    Stumbled across this little walk (15 minutes) during a lunch break and enjoyed pictures in the sun by the falls.

    Easy to get to.

    Reviewed over 7 years ago and experienced in February 2017

  • 4.0/5

    Easy to get to and a great spot to have a look.

    Spectacular waterfall!

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.5/5

    Really nice, short walk to a beautiful waterfall.

    Very easy walk. Pretty scenery at the end.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 4.0/5

    A short and easy walk to a nice waterfall.

    Reviewed almost 8 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    Short walks to a great waterfall.

    Reviewed over 10 years ago and experienced in February 2014

  • 4.5/5

    Only a short hike, but a beautiful waterfall at the end.

    Reviewed over 10 years ago and experienced in February 2014

  • 5.0/5

    Beautiful falls, about 25/30drop.

    Cold water, rainbows in spray. If mad, you can jump from the top and land in the deep pool underneath.

    Reviewed almost 15 years ago and experienced in November 2009