Marokopa Falls

The Marokopa River drops about thirty-five metres over a broad ledge into a bush-walled amphitheatre, spreading across the full width of the rock rather than falling in a single column, which is why it is often described as one of the more beautiful falls in the country and why photographs of it look wider than tall. The walk is five to ten minutes from a small roadside car park on a good track through tawa forest to a viewing platform; you look at it from across the gorge rather than from the base, and there is no legitimate way down to the pool. It sits on the Te Anga Road, the winding route west from Waitomo toward the coast, and the sensible way to see it is as one of three stops with Mangapohue Natural Bridge and the Piripiri Caves, all within a few kilometres. After rain the fall is heavy and loud; in a dry summer it thins noticeably.

What you actually see

• The thirty-five metre curtain - spread across the full rock lip.
• The viewing platform - across the gorge, five minutes from the road.
• The tawa forest - the short bush track in.
• The Te Anga road stops - natural bridge and caves nearby.

When to go

Any season; after rain it is at its most impressive. The road is winding and slow - allow more time than the distance suggests.

Honest expectations

You view from a platform across the gorge; there is no access to the base and scrambling down is dangerous. Thirty minutes covers it. The car park is small and the road narrow.

Nearby

Mangapohue Natural Bridge and Piripiri Caves are on the same road; Waitomo is east.