Say that 3 times fast
One of Lil's friends posted on FB the other day about a walk up to a waterfall we had never heard of. So that was todays mission.
OK, end of the road, looking out over Nth Taranaki
OK, must be the right place.
All uphill from here though.
OK, 15 mins across pasture, and we are at the National Park boundary. Well it's a fence, but there is a sign and a style to cross, so it's the right spot.
Into the forest.
Sometimes short legs are a handicap, like when you get stuck on a fallen log.
Other times it's an advantage. Part fallen logs for example.
OK, in the rainforest now. Some real trees here.
This might be a sleeping Ent.
General look at the track. Just look for the next orange arrow tacked to a tree / stump / tree fern.
This a a big old Rata tree beside the track. Rata starts out as an epiphyte vine in the top of other big trees. It's roots get down to the ground, and when the original tree eventually dies, the vines are left as free standing trees. The Rata can live for another 400 years after the original tree dies, so this could be ~1000 years old.
Looking up, it has it's own epiphyte community going on up there now.
Think you could make a log out of this Kamihi?
Then a bit of an obstacle course down to the waterfall.
Ohhh, BIG Orange arrow might mean something...
Yes, there is a waterfall. Not a heck of a lot of water due to the dry Summer, but it's a waterfall as promised by the sign.
Lil taking pics from the Big Orange. The track is down the tree roots on the left.
I climbed down to give the pictures some scale, that's me down in the bottom corner.
Looking up from the base there is a lot more water coming down than there appears from a distance.
And I still had to get up out of the gulley.
Next mission might be up to the top of the peak. The waterfall was 1/2 way distance, but only about 1/4 of the height. So the track gets steeper after that. Plan that for a full day, and pick a good one for the view from the top. Sign said 3 hours round trip, we did in 2.5 (plus lunch), so we were keeping a decent pace. But I'm figuring about 6 hour return trip to the top.
Bonus points, Mangakotukutuku is a combination name in Maori. Manga means "branch" as in a stream or tree, and Kotukutuku is a type of tree (a large fuschia with edible berries).
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January 28, 2003, 05:30:48 AM
