Tag Archives: Omanawa Falls

Te Rere o Ōmanawa/Ōmanawa Falls (Update)

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Public access to view Ōmanawa Falls opened in December 2023 after a lengthy closure. Extensive work has been done on a new parking area, toilets, information panels, access tracks, steps and viewing platforms. For information about the falls and the previous viewing access see the post Omanawa Falls. Official information about the falls, including opening times, and a downloadable map of the new tracks can be found on the Tauranga City web site.

Development work was done with the involvement of Ngāti Hangarau, for whom the falls are a sacred place, a place for reflection, interpretation and healing. There is no public access to the lake at the bottom of the falls or the underground power station. The end of the track and last lookout is almost directly above the top of the falls.

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Omanawa Falls

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NOTE – December 2023: For an update post with information access and new facilities see the post Te Rere o Ōmanawa/Ōmanawa Falls (Update).

NOTE: There is no longer any public access to the falls viewing area, and there has never been public access to the base of the falls. The access track has been closed for safety reasons, and will remain closed until safe access can be provided, including, hopefully, to the base of the falls. Please see the comments at the end of this post, which remains as a historical record, and please do not attempt to access the Omanawa Falls.

Omanawa Falls and the plunge pool below it can be seen from a viewing area above the falls, about 15 minutes easy walk from Omanawa Rd. The falls are about 20km by road south-west of Tauranga.

There is a small parking area by the road, but no facilities or information except for a small sign pointing to the access track.

The Omanawa River plunges about 35m in a single fall. The water from the river is partially diverted through the Omanawa Falls Power Station, the first underground power station to be built in the Southern Hemisphere. The original power station was built in about 1915, and rebuilt and restarted in 2008 after being closed for some years.

Unfortunately with the power station running again there is less water in the waterfall, being reduced to almost a trickle despite ample recent rainfall.

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