Waterfalls and Hidden Puzzle Worlds in Hokianga

Delving into the wildly dense forest

We are greeted by the sound of silvereyes and fantails as we get out of the car, but the sound is quickly replaced by rushing water as we make our way along the Waiotemarama Loop Track. We are high above a cascading stream only seen in glimpses between the incredibly dense and beautiful native forest. Nikau palm trees, hanging vines, ferns and various hard wood trees. On the opposite of the stream, we can see stands of kauri trees, the largest type of trees found in New Zealand. The forest floor is just as varied with hundreds of different mosses covering every surface they can with their vibrancy! We can’t believe we have walked into a place as beautiful as this when a moment ago, we thought we were driving to the dodgiest place ever.

Stream hopping with a broken arm

What tops off a beautiful walk more than a waterfall? Only about 15 minutes down the track, we hear the increasingly loud roaring of the falls. We walk down some concrete steps which lead straight into the stream below. What? We can’t even see the waterfall without crossing the stream! With Robin’s broken arm, it proves to be a bit of a mission of passing cameras and tripods across the stream, but with one last giant leap, we make it across with only minimal splashing in our shoes!

This is definitely not a bad-looking forest!

The marvellous Waiotemarama Waterfall!

The scramble was worth it because now we are facing a three-tiered waterfall tumbling into pools of the clearest water! The canyon and forest rise high above us now. This place is stunning!

We take some obligatory photos of and with the waterfall, scrambling further up the stream to get some better shots, and revel in it’s beauty. What else is there to do at a waterfall? Now, we head back. Robin crosses the stream first, shouting and jumping about when he reaches the other side.

Is that a giant snail?!

“I’ve found the carnivorous snail!” he shouts back at Laura, then followed by a: “Ohhhh noooo”. It turns out that the kauri snail shell is empty, but it’s pretty impressive to see the size. These snails, that are carnivorous and cannibalistic, can have shells up to 79mm in diametre. This one isn’t that big, but it’s close!

Do a u-turn!

Back at the start of the trail, he hit the gravel road once again, but something takes Robin’s attention.

“Do a u-turn!” Robin demands in the middle of this narrow gorge road… Yeah, right! But Laura can keep the sass because we do manage to find a place to turn around and check out if Robin saw what he really saw.