The ups and downs of Kiko Rd

The Tauranga- Taupō waterfall.

Holiday breaks are fun but there is something unbeatable about scrambling round in native bush surroundings.

The sun icons on the previous evening’s weather map and two kerurū soaring overhead as we juddered our way up Kiko Road were all great omens for the walk ahead of us.

A canopy of giant mataī, miro and rimu allowed filtered sunlight to highlight the track but also to emphasis the lack of undergrowth.

After a short while we left the main Kiko Road Loop track to make the descent down to the Tauranga- Taupō waterfall.

This is an unmarked track, steep and slippery in places and requires agility and co-operation when travelling in a group.

We had plenty of avian company for encouragement.

We heard the piercing screech of the koekoeā or long tailed cuckoo, the “weet-weet” of a kōtare and the harsh call of kākā along with the more melodic sound of miromiro and riroriro.

Kidney ferns glistened, smothering some tree stumps and covering complete sections of bank.

Umbrella ferns were seen in patches and the hard ferns provided firm, if slightly prickly, grip holds.

A long downhill and a small stream crossing was followed by a very persistent uphill.

Roots of the trees acted as ladders while tree ferns proved unsafe and rather wobbly handholds.

Later there was a knotted rope hanging from a tree trunk.

It was a slow process as each walker gripped the flimsy rope and lowered themselves down over a steep section of bank.

All this labour was well rewarded as we heard the increasing rumble of falling water and finally viewed the aqua water tumbling over the canyon rim and down to the riverbed below.

Some records indicate the fall’s height at 50 metres but visual estimates from kayakers suggest 18-21 might be more accurate.

Amazingly this waterfall has been run by kayakers, one was injured, required resuscitation but did survive.

Several walkers scrambled down one of the obscure tracks to the boulder lined riverbank but found the falls could not be viewed from the beach.

While the falls height maybe in question their beauty is not.

We lunched at our beautiful al fresco café with a birds’ eye view of the falls.

The story of our return journey is a cautionary one. Our intention was to walk through a flatter section of bush, which was a mixture of scrubby bushes and sporadic tall podocarps, and cut across to an old forestry road which links up to Kiko Road. Thereby avoiding much uphill clambering and the rope climb.

Armed with knowledge from a previous visit, the presence of some markers, known significant features and a waypoint we detoured off our inwards track.

Initially we made good progress but the uncertainty of a clear route, combined with windfall led us to a group decision that it was safer to retrace our footsteps and return to the track we came in on.

All made it safely back up the knotted rope and no poles or humans were lost in the process.

The last slippery uphill section was negotiated, and we were soon back on the Kiko Road Loop track.

We arrived at the vans tired and with a few extra kilometres under our belts but safe and looking forward to next week’s adventure.

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