It's no secret, I love chasing waterfalls! And lucky for me (and you if you are a waterfall hunter too) New Zealand has hundreds of amazing waterfalls from the Far North of the North Island all the way to the very bottom of the South Island down in the Catlins. There's so many worthy waterfalls worth visiting that I've broken them down into regions so you can plan your visit accordingly - you're welcome!
Photographing waterfalls is a great past-time for any landscape photographer during the day when you're in-between sunrise and sunset and looking for a way to pass the day. You'll get the best results from your waterfall shots if you use a set of neutral density filters and a circular polariser - I use KASE filters and highly recommend them as they are drop-proof and are multi-coated so that they're easy to clean when they get spray on them at waterfalls!
I've also rated each waterfall for:
Ease of Access: 1 = a long or hard walk or drive to get to vs 3 = easy to get to by car and/or on foot
Photography Options: 1 = hard to photograph with a lot of spray or to get good compositions vs 3 = lots of choice and easy to photograph
Overall Experience: 1 = I wouldn't necessarily go back vs 3 = I'd want to visit anytime I was in the area
Ease of access: 2
I would normally give this a 3 since it's right in the centre of Kerikeri and only a short walk from the car, except for the fact that if you want to get the classic shot looking out from behind the waterfall it involves clambering across a stream and around the side of a slippery bank - which I didn't have time to do and not everyone would be comfortable doing.
Photography options: 3
There are quite a few different composition options here, you can shoot from behind the waterfall (I didn't), at the base of the stream that runs away from the waterfall, to the right of the waterfall looking up at it, on the path on the way down framed by trees or from the top viewing point.
Overall Experience: 2
I had to make two trips here to get the shots I wanted. The first time I turned up mid-afternoon it was HEAVING with people, the sun was right above the waterfall and the sky was really hazy - the photos just looked yuck! Admitting defeat, we left pretty quickly and returned the following morning for sunrise instead. There was no-one around and we had the place to ourselves and all the time in the world to spend composing shots. My favourite image from here is the one I took from the path framed by the trees. So visiting early is key!
Ease of access: 2
After our failed attempt at visiting Rainbow Falls in the afternoon, we decided to hunt some other waterfalls in the area. Charlie's Rock sounded the most interesting so we headed off along a short walking track to find it. It was only about a 10-15 minute walk on a rough track and proved easy enough to find.
Photography options: 1
You are a little bit limited here to either shooting right beside the top of the waterfall, or finding some spots in the bushes to get a better vantage point looking straight at it. As it's a well-known watering hole with the locals, I had to put up with people doing Manu's (big bombs) into the water which meant I had to be very patient to get shots without people swimming through them.
Overall Experience: 2
I liked the fact this wasn't a very well-known spot and it is in a pretty setting - it reminded me of the outback of Australia with the gum trees over the back of the waterfall. My favourite shot here was a close up of the columns of rock with the waterfall spraying over them.
Ease of access: 3
I still can't believe such a beautiful place exists in the middle of a city in New Zealand! This makes it very straightforward to find and the loop track is well set out and provides an easy walk to discover lots of vantage points.
Photography options: 3
There are so many different angles for shooting here that you really are spoilt for choice - I think I shot at least half a dozen different compositions during the hour or so I spent here. I especially loved shooting down by the rocks near the bridge to get the water flowing by with the waterfall in the background.
Overall Experience: 3
This is now one of my FAVOURITE waterfalls in New Zealand - I absolutely loved the early morning I spent here and I feel like I could return again and again in different light and get a lot of variety in light and shooting conditions. It's a spot we'll be visiting on my Whangarei Waterfalls, Beach & Astro Photography Workshop!
Ease of access: 2
You do have to drive down a gravel road to get here from either end, which was a bit interesting in a large campervan. That being said, we found it easy enough to do in the Wilderness NZ Alpine 4 motorhome which handles off-road very well, and it's only 10 minutes of gravel road in either direction, and 45 minutes total drive from Whangarei. It's only a very short 5 minute walk down the track to reach the waterfall too.
Photography options: 1
There's really only one angle that you can get of the falls which is straight on, I haven't really seen any other views than this. That being said, you could play around with focal length or foreground shots with rocks and leaves to add some interest here.
Overall Experience: 2
It's a nice spot and worth a visit if if you're in the area but it's probably not somewhere I'd rave about for its photographic options!
Ease of access: 1
If you like a bit of a hike, then you'll probably think it's a bit unfair to give this a 1. That being said, to get to the best spots for capturing the essence of this place, you need to be prepared to walk for about 40 minutes up the valley - at points the track is a bit rough and you definitely need to watch where you're walking.
Photography options: 3
There are quite a few different composition options here, you can shoot from below the first bridge - a favourite spot of mine, or you can continue walking until you reach the last bridge before the stairs start. Shooting from this bridge and the rocks below the bridge provides some great lush scenes. You do have to be prepared to be interrupted on the bridge by walkers the whole time though if you are doing long exposures!
Overall Experience: 2
Even though this is my closest waterfall to home, I'm yet to make the trip right to the top - the views over the Waikato are meant to be pretty magnificent, but this post is all about shooting waterfalls not views! I don't really rate the lookout point halfway up as the trees are pretty overgrown and cover the view. However, there's enough different spots along the first 40 minutes of the walk to stop and get a variety of compositions of the lovely river flowing. BUT you do need to very careful when shooting in and around the slippery mossy rocks - I had a workshop attendee have a very close miss with both injury and camera damage here!
Ease of access: 2
I really want to give this a 3 so that it gets top marks as it is my FAVOURITE waterfall in the Waikato and it's a location that we visit during my Spring Cherry Blossom & Astro Potography Workshop. But I have to rate it down slightly as there are a ton of steps to walk down and back up if you want to get to the base of the falls so you need to be prepared for this! It's on the way from Hamilton to Raglan but you do need to turn off onto a side road and drive approximately 15 minutes on a windy road to get there.
Photography options: 3
Shooting here is FUN! You can shoot from right beside the top of the waterfall looking out over the valley, or looking side on to the waterfall from across at the viewpoint. Halfway down the steps there's another lovely vantage point framed by trees, and then there's the classic shot from the bottom looking up with the pool at the bottom.
Overall Experience: 3
Getting good light and conditions here can make or break your experience. Try and avoid bright sunny days as it can be too contrasty especially later in the day if the sun is on the falls. My best experiences here have been on cloudy, still days where the light is nice and even. I've mostly been here mid-afternoon which is probably when it's been the busiest, yet there always seems to be enough room for everyone to get the shot they want here if you are prepared to be patient.
Ease of access: 2
It's a pretty long and windy drive into the back blocks of the Waikato countryside to get here, i.e. you have to carry on past Waitomo Caves for another 40 minutes of driving before you reach it. That being said it's a pretty quick and easy walk down to the viewing platform once you're there. BUT, if you want to get any other shots of the waterfall from down below or with a person in the shot for scale you'll have to navigate down the very steep and often muddy and slippery slope to the bottom. One time when I did attempt this I sunk up to my thighs in mud - it wasn't my favourite waterfall moment - I'm just glad I had a change of clothes in the car. Can you spot me behind the umbrella in the shot below?!
Photography options: 1
Unless you want to brave the slippery trip down to the base of the waterfall, you'll be limited to taking shots from the viewing platform. And depending on which way the wind is blowing, there can be a huge amount of spray coming off the waterfall which can make it tricky to get sharp shots when you're trying to do long exposures.
Overall Experience: 3
Don't let anything I've said above put you off visiting - this waterfall is a MUST SEE! It is one of the most IMPRESSIVE in New Zealand for the sheer volume of water going over it at all times - it's never going to run dry like some others are prone to. And even if the conditions there mean you might find it hard to get a shot you really love, it's worth visiting just for the experience! Also just down the road and worth a visit is the Mangapohue Natural Bridge.
Ease of access: 2
This is another spot that's fairly off the beaten track - a good 23km on a windy country road from Pio Pio. That being said, the drive is so lovely as it's very much Middle-earth countryside through here, in fact you'll even pass Hairy Feet - a Hobbit movie location along the way. The walk to the waterfall is very easy once you get there - only 2 minutes down the track.
Photography options: 2
You can shoot from the viewing platform which is nice enough OR if you're feeling brave, you could clamber down to the base of the waterfall for a much nicer composition. It is a bit of a steep climb down holding onto roots and bush but nowhere near as bad as at Marokopa.
Overall Experience: 3
I love this spot - I think the fact that the drive in is so lovely AND that you're likely to have the place to yourself while you're there makes it very worth the visit.
Ease of access: 1
Waikato seems to have its fair share of waterfalls to be found down back country roads! Omaru Falls is about the same distance from Piopio as Waitanguru but in the opposite direction on the road towards Taumaranui. Once you reach the carpark, it's a gentle and scenic 30 minute walk through farmland to get to the waterfall itself.
Photography options: 1
There are limited compositions once you reach the waterfall - the only possible shot is really from the viewing point because you're looking across a steep canyon towards the waterfall. It's a spot that tends to look better with an aerial view if you can get it. At times the waterfall does tend to run quite dry so it's probably one to visit in winter or spring if you want to guarantee good flow.
Overall Experience: 2
I think I enjoyed the walk to the waterfall more than actually seeing the waterfall itself. This might be because we didn't end up staying long as the heavens opened on us just as we started trying to take photos. It's a spot I'd like to try and shoot again one day to see if I have better luck!
For more NZ waterfall inspiration, why not check out the other posts in my NZ's Best Waterfalls series:
NZ's Best Waterfalls - Coromandel, Rotorua & Tauranga
NZ's Best Waterfalls - Fiordland & Milford Sound
5 reasons Tarawera Falls is NZ's most epic waterfall location
NZ's Best Waterfalls - The Catlins edition
And if you'd like to visit some of these amazing waterfalls with me, join one of my weekend landscape photography workshops!
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