At least 1,500 waterfalls are marked on maps of Te Waipounamu!
It’s impossible to count how many waterfalls inhabit Aotearoa’s Te Waipounamu (New Zealand’s South Island), but at least 1,500 are marked on the maps.
Ever-changing landscapes of jagged mountains, glacial valleys and thick rainforests mean many waterfalls come and go with the weather, regularly shifting their shapes and positions.
Then there’s the ongoing debate around what a waterfall technically is; does it require free-falling water to qualify, or is fast-flowing water over bedrock enough?
Māori language has several words to describe waterfalls, which can differ depending on the location and significance to various iwi (tribes). It all adds to the excitement of chasing waterfalls for me and gives new meaning to “going with the flow!”
The waterfalls on Te Ika-a-Māui (North Island) were largely formed by volcanic activity and erosion of soft rock, making their shapes relatively low and wide.
Being easily accessible to early inhabitants, many of these northern falls are deeply entwined in Māori tradition.
Falls on Te Waipounamu are mostly the result of glaciers travelling down mountainsides, cutting into deep river valleys. The alpine region’s falls tend to be higher and less accessible than those in the north, with many of them drying up over summer and remaining unnamed.
Since Māori settlement of Te Waipounamu occurred later and was sparser than on Te Ika-a-Māuiand – and the waterfalls were less accessible – records of related southern Māori traditions are often harder to come by.
Despite all the transient waterfalls, there are plenty of consistent, stationary ones to admire on Te Waipounamu. Short, sturdy boardwalks and well-maintained yet wild-feeling trails lead you to many of the more famous attractions.
Some have adjacent toilet facilities, but rubbish bins are not usually provided. Therefore, anything you bring in must be taken out again.
The idea is to leave the area as untouched as possible to enjoy the environment in its natural state!
Though Pūrākaunui is featured on many postcards, stamps and magazines due to its beauty, the Māori legend around the origin of its name is far less pretty.
The settlement of Pūrākaunui is located in the southern region of Otago; “rakau” roughly translates to wood, with “pu-rakau-nui” meaning a large pile of wood. Some sources claim the area was named after a bloody massacre sparked by a family feud, resulting in a snow-covered pile of bodies that resembled a gloomy stack of wood.
Nowadays, a wooden platform has been built at the base of Pūrākaunui Falls for a picture-perfect view of the tiered cascades. Most of the 20-minute walk follows a bubbling creek fringed with ferns, often occupied by flitting fantails.
It was steadily raining when I visited in May, adding extra oomph to the falls which rarely run dry.
In the Tautuku River valley in the southern Catlins Coastal Region, McLean Falls is at the end of a spectacular 40-minute in-and-out trail.
Along the partially boarded walk, a few smaller waterfalls whet your appetite before you reach the impressive main event. The top portion of the main falls features a 22-metre straight drop, which then pools and cascades beautifully around a bend of stepped shelves and into a deep gorge.
The falls are reportedly still named for an Invercargill farmer, Alexander McLean, who would bring visitors to the area in the 1900s before an official trail was built.
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