Maruia Falls Walk
Murchison
6 Rankers Reviews
5 Face-to-Face
3 Murchison
Your Nature Guide
Marios Gavalas
Author And Researcher
Nau mai, haere mai
Nau mai, haere mai
I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.
I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!
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Photos
Information
A thundering waterfall on the Maruia River
Access
Maruia Falls on SH 65, 40 km from the junction of SH6 and 30 km from the junction with SH7. There’s a large parking area.
Track
From the viewpoint above the falls the track drops to a lower lookout with a side-on view.
Geology
The Maruia Falls were formed in 1929. Geologists can date this exactly to the Murchison Earthquake, when the magnitude 8 quake brought down a huge landslide. This diverted the Maruia River, eroding an old river bank, which then became the falls. At a paltry 1m in height they would not be worth the diversion, but after a year, as more gravels were washed, the falls increased in height to 5m. Today they drop 10m.
European History
This waterfall is popular with river kayakers. Check out the clips on You Tube.
Details
| Feature | Value | Info |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Murchison |
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Categories |
Reviews
Katie Ball
Ranking: 9/10
Great place to stop for a moment. We loved the waterfalls and you can really see the fault line from the 1929 earthquake. Well worth a stop if you're passing through. Only a 10 min walk and plenty of parking and a toilet stop available too. This seems to also be a freedom campsite for self contained vehicles.
Mathilde
Ranking: 8/10
The falls are impressive but would be more with rain. It is only 10 minutes from the carpark. Lots of sandflies.
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Clare Lambley
Ranking: 9/10
Not mentioned in any of our guide books, but well worth a stop to view this wide falls. Decent sized carpark.
Derek
Ranking: 10/10
Nice view of the falls.
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Amanda
Ranking: 10/10
Very pretty waterfall, short walk down to the falls.
Zara Leyden
Ranking: 9/10
Amazing.
DOC Managed
Thanks to all the good people working for the NZ Department of Conservation - for all your hard work - making NZ more beautiful, accessable and healthy! Cheers 😍
