The hidden gem
Blink and you’ll miss it. Don’t blink and you’ll probably miss it, too. Travel three kilometres along Hikuai Settlement Rd from Pauanui and, if you pay attention, you’ll notice a small layby and an overgrown path heading into the bush.
It meanders alongside a stream, through ferns and toi toi and forestry land. At the end, you’ll find a small waterfall cascading down rocks and through three swimming holes.
It’s noon on a weekday near New Year’s Eve and there are a handful of teenagers enjoying the serene, unnamed falls.
Alexander Romici Goldstein, 17, is here for the first time, with friends.
Water falls about 40 metres from top to bottom. Dotted down its path are three swimming holes. You can’t jump from the top – that pool is too shallow.
The second landing is more accommodating. Goldstein jumps off and splashes into the pool.
‘‘They are pretty cool,’’ he said. ‘‘We didn’t really know about it until this morning. It’s a pretty deep pool. We can’t touch the bottom when we jump off. The water isn’t cold, it’s refreshing. We like to go places to do things so this was a good find.’’
There’s a bit of climbing involved although it looks more difficult than it is, he said.
‘‘When you are walking up you do think about slipping. And then you do have a think when you are about to jump but if you just get on with it, it is fine. It looks slippery but it’s not that bad.’’
Shane Cave was with his brother Cody and sons Kayne, eight, and Alex, 11. They’d heard about the falls through Pauanui locals.
‘‘We come up from Christchurch every Christmas and spend a week or two, we have done the last four years but this is the first time we’ve come to the falls.
‘‘It’s good to find something which is still organic. It’s off the beaten track a little, and there is no real signage that people see so most people drive straight past. You can’t even hear the traffic, just the waterfall, so it’s pretty good.’’