Access

Wairere Falls are signposted along Goodwin Road off Old Te Aroha Road, 17km north of S.H.24 and 27km south of Te Aroha.

Track

The track has been completely annihilated by storms in recent years, but is now up and running.

Follow the well-formed track to the river crossings. Admire the flow (which has passed over the waterfall) from the bridges.

The track then steepens and has steps, heading to the gorge, where there is a platform at the base of the falls.

Geology

The 153-m high falls tumble over an escarpment which is part of the Okauia Fault Line.

European History

It was this conspicuous presence which gained them notoriety as a landmark for navigation in the days when the only mode of travel was by foot. Travellers were drawn to the falls as they knew this indicated the start of the Wairere Track.

Ngauhue, an early Polynesian explorer from Rarotonga, was said to have killed a moa at the base of the falls and taken the flesh back to his homeland.

Following Hongi Hika’s devastating musket raids in the 1820s, many Ngati Maru became firmly encamped in the traditional tribal areas of Waikato peoples. Tensions mounted and, under the leadership of Te Waharoa, muskets, men and flax were brought over the Wairere Track for the ensuing battles.

Later, Ngati Haua prevented the use by Ngati Maru of the Hauraki Gulf as a port, so the main sea port became Tauranga and all goods were carried over the Wairere Track. Traders carting sacks of flax and kumara caused the route to often degenerate into a quagmire, especially in winter.

During the period of early European occupation, many missionaries, traders, explorers, tourists, prospectors and travellers passed over the Wairere Track. Archdeacon Alfred Brown, the pioneer missionary of Matamata, walked the track many times between 1834 and 1858. His travels were described in journals.

E. Dieffenbach, F. Hochstetter, William Colenso, and Bishop Pompallier were among the early travellers who traversed the route.