Bridal Veil Falls, known also as Wairēinga, drops 55 metres in a single unbroken fall over a basalt cliff into the Pakoka River. It is one of the most impressive waterfalls in the North Island and it costs nothing to visit.
What makes it unusual is the effort-to-payoff ratio. Ten minutes on a flat, well formed track gets you to a platform looking straight over the lip. Very few waterfalls this size are this easy to reach.
Where it is and how to get there
The falls are on Kawhia Road, about twenty minutes south of Raglan and roughly an hour from Hamilton. The turn-off is signposted and there is a free car park with toilets at the trailhead.
The last stretch of road is rural and narrow in places but sealed the whole way. If you are coming from Hamilton the natural way to do it is as part of a Raglan day, hitting the falls in the morning and the coast in the afternoon.
- About an hour from Hamilton, twenty minutes from Raglan
- Free car park with toilets at the trailhead
- No entry fee, open year round
- Sealed road all the way to the car park
The three viewing platforms
There is not one view of the falls, there are three, and they are completely different experiences. Most visitors stop at the first and miss the best one.
The top platform
About ten minutes from the car park on a flat, well formed track through native bush. You look out over the lip of the falls as the river goes over the edge. Easy for all ages and the only one reachable without stairs.
The middle platform
Down a steep staircase from the top. Side on to the fall, roughly halfway down, and the best angle for photographing the full drop against the cliff.
The base
More stairs, right down to the plunge pool. Looking up at 55 metres of water with spray coming off the pool is the reason to make the trip. It is also a solid climb back up.
How long to allow
Twenty minutes return if you only go to the top platform. Allow an hour if you are going all the way to the base and back, which includes stopping to get your breath on the way up and taking photographs at each level.
The staircase is well built with handrails, but it is genuinely steep and there are a lot of steps. If knees are a consideration, the top platform on its own is still worth the drive.
Best time to visit
Unlike a lot of New Zealand waterfalls, this one does not dry up to a trickle in summer, so there is no bad time of year to come.
- Morning, when the sun is behind you rather than in the lens
- After rain for volume, though the tracks get slippery
- Weekdays or early, the car park fills on summer weekends
- Any season, the falls run year round
What to take, and what not to do
Shoes with grip. The bush track holds moisture and the steps get slick, particularly on the lower sections where spray reaches them.
Swimming at the base is not a good idea and is not encouraged. It is a plunge pool under a 55 metre fall with submerged rock and unpredictable flow, and there have been serious accidents there. Look, photograph, and swim at Ngarunui Beach later instead.
- Shoes with grip, the steps get slippery
- A jacket, the bush stays damp
- Water, especially if you are doing the full descent
- Do not swim or climb at the base
Combining it with the rest of Raglan
The falls take an hour at most, which leaves plenty of the day. Raglan town is twenty minutes north with a good run of cafes, and Ngarunui Beach is a few minutes beyond that.
Our half day Pirongia and Raglan tour puts the falls in the middle of exactly that day: a native forest walk on Mount Pirongia first, then the falls, then Ngarunui Beach and a cafe lunch in town. $695, chauffeur driven, lunch included.
