Tawarau Falls Loop Track, Waitomo (Reupload from 2018)

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We came across amazing ancient limestone features covered in moss, which I can only describe as Tolkien-esque, or a place where children could imagine that gnomes and fairies may live (at least, that is what I would have done as a kid). The forest has a cool and damp climate, and was noticeably colder than the surrounding farmland that we drove through to get there. It has some of the best remaining examples of virgin forest growing in a limestone landscape. The forest is home to many New Zealand birds, native frogs and an exceptional diversity of land snails, although we did not find any. We did however find a few interesting types of fungus, including some examples of the famous New Zealand blue mushroom, known as werewere-kōkako by Tūhoe Māori (Entoloma hochstetteri) and one example of a grey-coloured relative (Entoloma aromaticum), and also a coral fungus of some sort.

From the Appletree Road end and heading to the Tawarau Falls, the track climbs briefly then drops to the Tawarau River. It then runs along the northern bank of the meandering river before crossing a bridge to the south bank. There are three river crossings from this point (which we decided to do in our undies), and you walk through a section of forest where the understory is lush with Prince of Wales feathers fern. A sign marks the entrance to the falls located five or ten minutes off the main track. A chain is in place to aid access to the bottom of the falls. Amazing limestone bluffs, beautiful ferns and the small falls of water along the track make this a memorable place. (Taken from the DOC website).

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