Waitaanga South Road to Te Rerepahupahu Falls Track
Alert/Important notice
Track closed during lambing.
Waitaanga South Road to Te Rerepahupahu Falls Track is closed from 1 August - 30 October each year for lambing. Alternate access to the falls is via the Tatu to Te Rerepahupahu Falls Track.
Track category
Tramping track
Time:
4 hr 30 min
Description
Tramline sleepers on track
This track follows an historic logging tramline, firstly through regenerating kamahi, then silver beech and finally podocarp (totara, rata and kahikatea) forest in the Waitaanga Stream valley.
White poles mark the first part of the route over farmland to the bush edge.
In several places the track crosses the river, on swing bridges (cross one person at a time). The route goes through several grassy clearings and turns left up a ridge, then descends through virgin mixed podocarp forest to the valley floor.
Te Rerepahupahu Falls are 5 min upstream. There is a clearing beside the falls which can be used for camping. There are no other facilities.
From the campsite you can return to Waitaanga South Road, or with prior transport arrangements:
Getting there
Heading from Ahititi to Ohura on Waitaanga Road, turn off at South Waitaanga Road. A sign indicating the route is at the end of the road.
About the area
Waitaanga Forest is unusual in that it contains the only remnant silver beech stand in Taranaki. In addition, poorly drained parts support a number of other regionally rare plants such as giant astelias, dracophyllum, (neinei) and swamp sedges. The forest is also home to the short tailed bat and the endangered dactylanthus taylori (wood rose).
Plan and prepare
Before you go into the outdoors, tell someone your plans and leave a date to raise the alarm if you haven't returned. To do this, use the New Zealand Outdoors Intentions process on the AdventureSmart website. It is endorsed by New Zealand's search and rescue agencies and provides three simple options to tell someone you trust the details about your trip.
Location map
