Matai Falls and Horseshoe Falls

Wednesday a few weeks ago in New Zealand was a busy day. I'm going to say that in a lot of blogs because... well, it was a busy day, so there's lots to write about. After hiking Purakaunui Falls in the Catlins region of South Island we drove on a bit further to a two-fer: Matai Falls and Horseshoe Falls.

We started down the trail to Matai Falls. Yes, down— meaning it'd be up on the way back. Again. Matai Falls did not disappoint.



Again, as with Purakaunui Falls, we shared the trail with a small number of other hikers. They were enough to spoil any sense of "Wow, we're out here in the middle of nowhere" but thankfully not enough to spoil our enjoyment of nature's own sights and sounds,.

We were also few enough in total that we could snap pictures without getting in each other's way.



Yes, I carried my tripod again on this hike. I debated whether or not to do so as this trail is longer than the previous one, but I'm glad I did. Capturing photos like this makes it worth the effort to carry.



Horseshoe Falls (photo above) was an unexpected bonus on this trip. It in the lists of waterfalls we hastily researched this morning (in calling an audible on the day's plans) but it was an easy add-on of just a few extra minutes of walking each way. Bonus! It'd bring to at least five the number of waterfalls we'd see today.

Lunch in Papatowai and McLean Falls

Wednesday two weeks ago we were on a scenic drive through the Catlins area of New Zealand. Well, it wasn't so much a scenic drive as a drive through remote areas on the South Island's southeastern coast (the Catlins) to see waterfalls. And see waterfalls we did! After visiting Purakaunui Falls and then the two-fer of Matai Falls and Horseshoe Falls we stopped for lunch in the small town of Papatowai (this link includes a map).

How small was Papatowai? "Maybe 1,500," I thought when we were there. I looked it up that night, and it turns out I was off by about 10x. 10x high. Yeah, it was one of those towns with one gas station, restaurant, and general store all rolled into one. And the "dining room" in the restaurant had just one table! 😂

After lunch we headed back out on the road and the trail. Our next hike was at the track for McLean Falls.



I realized that I haven't included many pics of what the trails themselves look like. On our adventure so far today the trails have been lovely— well constructed, well maintained, well marked, and yet at the same time also pleasantly... natural. You can see in the photo above how the Department of Conservation (NZ's agency that manages parks) has kept the area right around the trail beautifully wild. The trail even meanders a bit side-to-side, rather than following the shortest, cheapest, straight-line route, to keep it feeling more like a... walk in the park... than looking down the lane at a bowling alley.



Lest the first picture mislead you, the well-made trail is not all flat. Waterfalls occur where water pours over a rock ledge, and usually that happens at the back of a canyon, and usually that means climbing up or down from where the trailhead at the road starts. The trail to McLean starts flat but then makes a few steep switchbacks up a hill, followed by a few flights of stairs.

Because of the length of this trail and the amount of climbing I opted not to carry my tripod. I regretted that when the trail broke out to the back of the canyon in front of the falls and there were no fences or guard rails to rest it on for a slow-exposure picture.



Dang, McLean falls is big!

And just because I didn't bring my tripod doesn't mean I can't use something else— a tree trunk, a rock, my own knee— to steady the camera for a slow exposure photo. Watch for those in part 2, coming soon!

McLean Falls and the Chute

Having hiked all the way out to McLean Falls, not that "all the way" was very far (I think it was about a mile), we lingered for a while. Of course, with the beauty of these falls it's hard to rationalize leaving.



As I remarked in my previous blog, I didn't carry my tripod with me on this hike, a decision I regretted by the time I got to these falls, but I free-handed these slow exposure pictures as best I could. For some of them (I forget which now) I braced my camera atop my knee while sitting on a wet rock.



At the bottom of the steep hill below McLean Falls there's a trail sign that points to "The Chute" in the other direction. We saw it on the way in, a much smaller falls that we could really only glimpse through the trees alongside the path. "Let see if we can get a better view of those falls on the way out," we agreed on the way in.



While there no good view from the main trail we found a footpath down to the creek below the falls. It required careful footwork not to slip on mud and wet rocks, but we're experienced hikers wearing good boots.
Still to come: time for one more waterfall today!

Koropuku Falls

After hiking McLean Falls this afternoon it wasn't clear if we'd make it to the last waterfall on our list, Koropuku Falls. Fog was rolling in near the coast where we were and rain was falling more steadily. It was already after 5pm and dusk, usually closer to 6pm, was arriving even earlier. We worried we'd be hiking in the dark... or at least in too little light to really appreciate the falls. Oh, and the directions were imprecise. "Drive 10.2 km from this location"— a location we'd passed before stopping for the previous hike and thus weren't tracking— "And pull off at the small, unsigned parking area, barely big enough for 2 cars." We more or less decided we'd skip it.

Well, somehow I spotted the small, unsigned parking area. Actually there was a sign there, though it was a small one.



I was driving along and noticed a wide spot on the opposite shoulder of the road, with a human-sized gap in the trees and a small wooden sign in front of it. "I'll bet that's the Koropuku Falls trail!" I said as we drove past it, too late to pull over.

We turned around a mile or so further and doubled back. Indeed it was the trail for the falls. And it was still raining out, but we reasoned (a) the rain would affect us less under the dense forest canopy, and (b) we'd been risking getting wet in the rain all day anyway. "In for a penny, in for a pound," we agreed and pulled on our rain jackets.

We put our heads down and sort of force-marched our way along the trail. It went by faster than the 1.5km (each way) distance estimated by the guideblog we were following. The forest was thick and dark, but at least there was (barely) enough light to see. It did protect us from the rain.



Soon enough we reached a grotto at the back of the canyon. Here there was a beautiful bridalveil fall with a drop of at least 6 meters and just enough of an opening above it to let more light into the area.

Once again I hadn't carried my tripod on this trail, but I sat on a small wet bench across the grotto from the falls and braced my camera on my knee. I'm pleased with how the pictures turned out in these far less than ideal conditions.

After sitting for maybe 10 minutes we force-marched our way back through the forest. Again the distance went by faster than expected. We climbed up the bank to our car, shucked off our muddy boots and wet jackets, and settled in for a length drive in the dark to Te'Anau.