Purakaunui Falls

Purakaunui Falls is situated 5 kilometers from the river's outlet into the Pacific Ocean and 17 kilometers southwest of the little town of Owaka. They are accessible via a parking lot on the Waikoato Valley/Purakaunui Falls Road, a gravel detour off the main Owaka-Invercargill road, through a quick 10-minute bush hike. A picnic area and restrooms are available. Tourists traveling along the Southern Scenic Route frequently take the brief, well-signposted detour to the falls, which is also extensively noted in local tourism literature.

If you want to make a long day journey out of it, the falls are around 2 hours from each of the towns of Invercargill and Dunedin. The falls are about a 15-minute walk from the parking lot on Purakaunui Falls Road and were featured on a postage stamp in the late 1970s due to their stunning appearance. If you want to stay all day, the picnic tables and restrooms are both useful amenities.

Although the Purakaunui Falls are not located within the Catlins Conservation Park, they are encircled by native podocarp and silver beech trees in a 5-square-kilometer scenic reserve. Wheelchair users can access a tiny viewing deck near the top of the falls. At the base of the 20-meter-tall, three-tiered cascade, there are more steps that lead down to the main viewing platform.

Location: The Catlins, South Island, New Zealand