Purakaunui Falls

Purakaunui Falls drops about twenty metres in three broad steps, the water spreading across mossy rock rather than falling in a column, in a gully of silver beech and podocarp - and that combination of shape and setting is why it has been photographed for stamps, calendars and tourism campaigns for decades and is probably the most reproduced waterfall in the country. The walk is ten minutes each way on a good gravel track and boardwalk, mostly flat with a short set of steps at the end to the lower platform, which is the angle everyone knows. There is also an upper viewpoint. It is one of a group of Catlins waterfalls - with McLean, Matai and Horseshoe - that are usually done as a day loop from Owaka or Papatowai. After rain the falls are much heavier and the track is muddy; in a dry spell they thin considerably.

What you actually see

• The three tiers - water spread across mossy steps rather than falling clear.
• The lower platform - the standard, much-reproduced angle.
• The beech gully - silver beech and podocarp around the fall.
• The short track - ten minutes each way, mostly flat.

When to go

October to April; after rain for volume. Early or late avoids the tour vans. The Catlins waterfall loop takes a day from Owaka.

Honest expectations

It is a short stop, forty minutes at most. The last steps can be slippery. The access road is partly unsealed. In dry weather the fall is noticeably thin.

Nearby

McLean Falls and Cathedral Caves are south; Owaka and Nugget Point are north.