Huka Falls: Taupo Travel Guide (4.8★)

A wide river forced through a slot

Upstream, the Waikato is a calm, broad river. Then it reaches a gorge of hard volcanic rock roughly 15 metres wide. All of that water drives into the gap at once, and for a few hundred metres it turns into a white, shuddering chute before it drops about 11 metres into the basin below.

The water is a vivid blue-green. That’s not filtered by a camera: it’s Lake Taupō water, clear enough that the colour shows through the foam. The name comes from the Māori word hukanui, meaning a great body of spray. Stand at the lookouts and you’ll understand why.

On the footbridge and the lookouts

The footbridge is the main event. It spans the chute just upstream of the falls, so the river runs right under your feet. Ordinary conversation is hard over the noise. Expect people stopped along the railings with phones held out over the gorge.

From the bridge, short paths lead to viewing platforms along the true right bank. The lower platforms look side-on at the drop and the churning pool. Higher points look down the whole length of the chute. Doing the loop slowly takes about half an hour.

What you’ll find:

• A sealed car park off Huka Falls Road, a short walk from the bridge
• Fenced lookout platforms, most of them reachable without steep steps
• Information panels on the river and its geology
• Track entrances heading north and south along the Waikato

Getting there from Taupō

The falls are about a 5-minute drive north of central Taupō. Take State Highway 1 north and turn onto Huka Falls Road, which runs past the falls and the Huka Lodge turn-off. The address is listed as Wairakei, the geothermal area north of town.

The better approach is on foot. The Huka Falls Walkway starts at Spa Thermal Park on County Avenue and follows the river north, mostly through kānuka scrub with the water in view. Allow about an hour each way at a relaxed pace. Near the start, Otumuheke Stream is a hot stream where it meets the cold Waikato. Locals and visitors both soak there, and on the way back it’s the best stop of the walk.

Beating the coaches to the bridge

Huka Falls is one of the most visited natural sights in the North Island. The bridge is narrow, so how you time it matters more than at most places.

• Go early or late. Coach tours between Rotorua and Taupō tend to stop in the middle of the day. Arriving soon after breakfast, or in the late afternoon, usually means more room at the railings.
• Walk in. If the car park is full, the Spa Park track sidesteps the problem completely. You also come in from the quieter side.
• Keep moving on the bridge. People cross both ways. Take your photo, then step onto a lookout platform to linger.
• Stay behind the fences. The current in the chute is extremely powerful and the rocks are slick with spray. People have died here after ignoring the barriers.
• Keep the river clean. For Waikato Tainui and local hapū the Waikato is a tupuna awa, an ancestral river. Take all your rubbish out with you.

Closer to the spray

The Huka Falls Jet runs from the river downstream and takes boats up into the foam at the base of the falls. You get spun and soaked, and you’ll see the drop from water level, which the bridge can’t give you. Book ahead in summer and check current departures with the operator.

Slower options run from the Taupō marina: cruises on the lake and river boats that come up to the falls pool. From the water, the height of that blue wall is easier to judge.

Pairing it with the rest of Wairakei

The falls are part of a cluster of sights north of town, so most people combine several in half a day.

• Aratiatia Rapids: a little downstream. The dam gates open at set times each day and an empty rocky gorge floods within minutes. Check the release schedule before you go. A track of about 7 km links it to Huka Falls for keen walkers.
• Craters of the Moon: a boardwalk through steaming geothermal ground a few minutes’ drive away.
• Huka Prawn Park: prawns raised in geothermally heated water, with fishing for kids.
• Wairakei Terraces: silica terraces and thermal pools.

Your best order depends on where you’re staying. Do the falls first in the morning, then the Aratiatia release, then soak in the late afternoon. Hours for every one of these change through the year, so check each official site on the day.