Fairy Falls
The Fairy Falls trail is an enticing walk - not far from Auckland, offering a good-length circular walk, and with the promise of a pretty waterfall half-way round. So having parked at the car park almost opposite the entrance, on Scenic Drive, we set off with high hopes and a bounce in our step.
A short way into the bush, we fork right to do the walk anti-clockwise. The going is easy: it's a well-maintained path, which makes its way downhill at a steady gradient, and the bush is dense and shady. Ferns and lichen festoon the trees, and epiphytes make big nests in the forks of the branches. Fantails hop around in front of us, seeming to say 'Follow me, follow me."
After 15-20 minutes, we pass the end of Goodfellow Track, on our left. From there, it takes about another twenty minutes to reach the falls at a leisurely pace, and we know when we get there for suddenly we're confronted by a steep stairway, running down into the narrow gorge. As we make our way down, the steps give us a personal tour of the waterfall. Today there's not much water, but it's still a pretty sight, as the gentle trickle of the stream picks its way over the smooth, rounded shoulders of rock. At the bottom, the gorge makes a deep amphitheatre, with an audience of trees peering down on us, ready to applaud or condemn our performance.
At first, we don't do too well, and stumble around trying to find out where to go next. It's only at our third attempt that we discover the continuation of the track, 50 metres or so downstream of the steps, and on the same side. For a short distance, we continue downstream, the track wiggling its way across the stream a couple of time, then we start the homeward climb. The gradient is steady - better to have come this way, we tell ourselves, than to be hauling ourselves up that long flight of steps. After a steady climb, we reach the car park on Mountain Road, where we turn left and follow the track along the Old Coach Road. It's uphill most of the way, past the other end of Goodfellow Track, skirting the garden of a house, until we reach Tawari Road. Here, at the highest point on the walk, we go left, back into the bush and amble our way down again, back to the car park.
As we go I'm wondering what theme or image to use to describe the walk. What will I remember most? The steps? The waterfall? The epiphytes? A glimpsed view across the fern-trees to the distant spikes and window-flashes of Auckland?
In the event, none of these. Instead, the pile of broken glass beside our camper van in the car park, where someone had smashed the side-window to raid it while we were on the walk. A sight that, at the time, wiped away all the good memories. The added irony, we discover, as we do a stock check is that the idiots who did it were such hopeless amateurs. They took a back-pack that contained nothing more valuable than a torch and bird book - but missed the Apple laptop and mp3 player and other precious items that sat on the shelf above their heads. So, all they achieved really was to curtail our holiday, put our camper van out of action for a month or so, while we sourced a new window, and perhaps make us think twice about going to the Waitakeres again.
A short way into the bush, we fork right to do the walk anti-clockwise. The going is easy: it's a well-maintained path, which makes its way downhill at a steady gradient, and the bush is dense and shady. Ferns and lichen festoon the trees, and epiphytes make big nests in the forks of the branches. Fantails hop around in front of us, seeming to say 'Follow me, follow me."
After 15-20 minutes, we pass the end of Goodfellow Track, on our left. From there, it takes about another twenty minutes to reach the falls at a leisurely pace, and we know when we get there for suddenly we're confronted by a steep stairway, running down into the narrow gorge. As we make our way down, the steps give us a personal tour of the waterfall. Today there's not much water, but it's still a pretty sight, as the gentle trickle of the stream picks its way over the smooth, rounded shoulders of rock. At the bottom, the gorge makes a deep amphitheatre, with an audience of trees peering down on us, ready to applaud or condemn our performance.
At first, we don't do too well, and stumble around trying to find out where to go next. It's only at our third attempt that we discover the continuation of the track, 50 metres or so downstream of the steps, and on the same side. For a short distance, we continue downstream, the track wiggling its way across the stream a couple of time, then we start the homeward climb. The gradient is steady - better to have come this way, we tell ourselves, than to be hauling ourselves up that long flight of steps. After a steady climb, we reach the car park on Mountain Road, where we turn left and follow the track along the Old Coach Road. It's uphill most of the way, past the other end of Goodfellow Track, skirting the garden of a house, until we reach Tawari Road. Here, at the highest point on the walk, we go left, back into the bush and amble our way down again, back to the car park.
As we go I'm wondering what theme or image to use to describe the walk. What will I remember most? The steps? The waterfall? The epiphytes? A glimpsed view across the fern-trees to the distant spikes and window-flashes of Auckland?
In the event, none of these. Instead, the pile of broken glass beside our camper van in the car park, where someone had smashed the side-window to raid it while we were on the walk. A sight that, at the time, wiped away all the good memories. The added irony, we discover, as we do a stock check is that the idiots who did it were such hopeless amateurs. They took a back-pack that contained nothing more valuable than a torch and bird book - but missed the Apple laptop and mp3 player and other precious items that sat on the shelf above their heads. So, all they achieved really was to curtail our holiday, put our camper van out of action for a month or so, while we sourced a new window, and perhaps make us think twice about going to the Waitakeres again.
Summary
Location: Scenic Drive, ca. 5km west of Henderson
Access: Small parking area on west side of Scenic Drive, ca. 700 metres south of junction with Mountain Road (BEWARE: thieves operate in this area)
Length: ca. 5km
Configuration: Loop track
Grade: Steady gradient, with one steep stepped section (best done counter-clockwise)
Status: on leash
Cafes and restaurants: None locally
More information: Some information is available on the Auckland Council website, though sadly there are no trail maps for the Waitakeres any more: see http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/cascades/track/fairy%20falls%20track. A good description of the walk is also available at: http://www.fetchmag.co.nz/WALKS/NORTH+ISLAND/Fairy+Falls+Walk+Auckland.html
Access: Small parking area on west side of Scenic Drive, ca. 700 metres south of junction with Mountain Road (BEWARE: thieves operate in this area)
Length: ca. 5km
Configuration: Loop track
Grade: Steady gradient, with one steep stepped section (best done counter-clockwise)
Status: on leash
Cafes and restaurants: None locally
More information: Some information is available on the Auckland Council website, though sadly there are no trail maps for the Waitakeres any more: see http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/cascades/track/fairy%20falls%20track. A good description of the walk is also available at: http://www.fetchmag.co.nz/WALKS/NORTH+ISLAND/Fairy+Falls+Walk+Auckland.html