The Waipohatu Falls walking track is an enjoyable 5-6km loop through a rainforest in the Catlins Conservation Park (a.k.a. Waikawa Forest).

The best part of the walk? The two waterfalls.

If you have the Waipohatu Falls on your Catlins itinerary, this post will give you all the details you need to know before visiting.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Details About The Waipohatu Waterfall Track
2. Waipohatu Walking Track Map
3. How To Get To The Trailhead
4. My Waipohatu Falls Walk Experience

1. WAIPOHATU WATERFALL TRACK DETAILS

When¹: February 2019

Walk Distance²: Maps.me says it is 1.9km (2.8km) from the car to the Waipohatu Falls one way. According to the DOC signs, it’s 2.5km one-way from the trailhead (plus 200 metres to reach the trailhead).

You can also do complete the Waipohatu loop walk which is about 5.5km loop. We just did the out and back due to time.

Difficulty³: Easy-medium.

Incline⁴: 109 metres one way (map below).

Hike Duration⁵: It took us 49 minutes to walk from the carpark to the first waterfall one way. Coming back was ~42 minutes due to going downhill and less photo stops. We spent 50 minutes at the waterfalls. Our total time on the Waipohatu walking track was 2 hours 21 minutes.

2. WAIPOHATU WALK MAP

This is the location on Google Maps.

The map above is a screenshot from the Maps.me app which is an app I recommend to everyone travelling NZ.

3. HOW TO GET TO THE WAIPOHATU TRAILHEAD

Given the sparse population of the Catlins, public transit isn’t really an option here at all. You could hitchhike, but in all likelihood, you’ll be driving to the trailhead which is close to other tourist attractions in the region.

Distance from the trail head to Curio Bay: 10km
And to the Slope Point Carpark: 5.8km

Any car can make it to the car park. As you drive down Waipohatu Road, you’ll come across a car park on the right which you might need to park at if it’s busy up the road. This will mean you need to walk a few hundred metres extra to the trailhead.

Otherwise, continue driving until you reach the end where you’ll see a toilet block, a bench, and this sign. Make sure to park so others can turn around and get out. From here, you’ve got a 200 metre walk to the trailhead following the sign.

4. MY WAIPOHATU FALLS WALK EXPERIENCE

To reach the trailhead, there’s a 200 metre walk through a field. It had been raining earlier in the morning, but thankfully it wasn’t too bad. Once we reached the trailhead, we were straight under the canopy of the rainforest.

There were lots of ferns along the way which DOC has put to good use. There are some sections where it’s muddy, but the DOC team have used ponga (the trunk of ferns) to give you traction through the majority of these sections.

We were visiting in summer, so I can imagine in winter, it could be a bit tougher in some sections. This was confirmed by reading various reviews.

There’s a bridge that goes across a small stream, but there are no crazy epic views as you’re under the dense vegetation throughout. It really feels like you’re in a Goblin forest.

The first half of the walk is pretty much flat with the slightest of undulations. The second half of the walk is where the majority of the 109 metres of elevation occurs.

It’s no crazy hiking though, it’s a gradual incline and thanks to the strategically placed ponga, there’s no real danger of slipping over (unless you’re in a rush).

As you get closer to the waterfalls, you won’t necessarily hear them, but you’ll come to this spot below with two orange triangles.

From here, you’ve basically made it. If you go left, you’ll see the Lower (Punehu) Waipohatu Falls. Go right, and you’ll be at the big one (Pouriwai Falls). The paths down to both only take a minute or two, but it can be slippery, so don’t rush.

We turned left not knowing which is which, and I think it’s best to see this one first. Depending on the water level, you’ll be able to get to some different views spots around the waterfall.

But unless you’re taking lots of photos, you’ll want to spend more time at the larger waterfall.

The upper Waipohatu Falls astonished us as we couldn’t hear it until it was in our line of sight. You’ll need to cross the small stream to get to the best viewing spot (where the photo below is taken from) but there are some strategically placed rocks to hop across.

This is a good spot for a bite to eat if that’s in your plans. For those who love to run around, you can get closer to the waterfall by following the stream around the right-hand side to the rock you can see me on below (I’m in blue).

You could go for a little splash here if you really wanted, but it’s going to be cold!

Now, you have got the choice to complete a full loop which according to the DOC sign is 5.5km compared to 5km if you do the return trip based on the measurements on the DOC sign (you can see the loop on the map screenshot above).

We decided to return the way we came for two reasons. We were short on time, and we figured it’d be more of the same terrain we’d already walked through.

It was a little bit quicker for us on the way back, and we saw two other people who were off to enjoy the walk.

Back at the car, we cleaned up our shoes as they were a bit muddy, before heading to Slope Point.

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You’ll see lots of waterfalls in the Catlins, but I loved this walk and both of the waterfalls. They made for the perfect start to my time in the Catlins.

I give it four out of five stars as the mud is a deterrent, despite the fact that not much can be done about it.

It’d be nice if a viewpoint could be incorporated somehow along the way too.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or email jub@churnewzealand.com.

If you have any updated experiences from the Waipohatu Waterfall walk, please leave a comment to help others out.

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Jub

Hey, it’s Jub here. I’m the guy behind Chur New Zealand, helping you have the best time hiking, trekking, walking…whatever you want to call it…in NZ. I’m based in Queenstown and am always out and about exploring trails, old & new. If you have any questions, reach out.