Dawson Falls

Egmont National Park, North Island, New Zealand

About Dawson Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Dawson Falls was our convenient waterfalling excuse to explore more of the conical Mt Tarnaki – the centerpiece of Egmont National Park.

The funny thing about this classically-shaped volcano was that it actually doubled as the iconic Japanese volcano Mt Fuji in the Tom Cruise movie The Last Samurai.

Dawson_Falls_005_11172004 - Dawson Falls
Dawson Falls

In any case, the 16m waterfall appeared as a double-barreled drop that reminded me a lot like a smaller version of Havasu Falls in Arizona (without the colors).

However, on a later visit five years later, the waterfall looked different as it barely had its second parallel drop flowing.

The scenic rating was updated to account for this latest observation, which made it stand out less than our initial impressions.

Accessing Dawson Falls

From the car park of the Egmont National Park Dawson Falls Visitor Centre on the southeastern slopes of Mt Taranaki (see directions below), we walked back along the narrow road towards the signposted Kapuni Loop Trailhead.

Dawson_Falls_002_11172004 - Descending the short track to the base of Dawson Falls
Descending the short track to the base of Dawson Falls

It didn’t look like there was sufficient room to park the car at this trailhead, and I wondered if we were allowed to park here in the first place.

So that was what necessitated the walk along the road.

Once we were on the track, we immediately descended into the lush native bush towards a fork.

At first, we went right at the fork, which took us down to a somewhat contextual view of the falls spilling over the bush.

Dawson_Falls_003_11172004 - Signposted junction after the initial descent en route to Dawson Falls
Signposted junction after the initial descent en route to Dawson Falls

We could have continued on the trail then looped back to the base of the falls.

But instead, we opted to go back up to the fork, then continue to down the shadowy steps leading directly down to the base of Dawson Falls.

From down here, it was a little misty on our first visit in November 2004, which had a bit of volume, which caused me some trouble to take photos from this close.

As we tried to get a little further away for a better photo, we had to be careful of the slippery rocks as we were scrambling around the wet area.

Dawson_Falls_021_01052010 - Making it down to the base of Dawson Falls on our visit in January 2010
Making it down to the base of Dawson Falls on our visit in January 2010

When we came back here in January 2010, the photographing difficulties weren’t as prevalent as it seemed to have significantly lower volume than before.

With the lower volume, Dawson Falls looked like an unbalanced waterfall as the size of each of the segments appeared to have swapped places from when we first saw it back in November 2004.

I guess it just showed us how Nature runs by her own rules, and what we had previously thought would be “normal” was really just a snapshot of Nature being itself at any given moment when left to its own devices.

Even though we spent less than 30 minutes total away from the car, we did have the option of extending our hike towards Wilkies Pools, the Enchanted Track, or other tracks that go up and around Mt Taranaki.

Dawson_Falls_024_11172004 - This was how the base of Dawson Falls looked like on our first visit back in November 2004. Notice how the sizes of the segments seemed to have traded places over the years
This was how the base of Dawson Falls looked like on our first visit back in November 2004. Notice how the sizes of the segments seemed to have traded places over the years

That said, we didn’t do them so we can’t say more about those options.

Authorities

Dawson Falls resides in Egmont National Park near Stratford in the Taranaki region of North Island, New Zealand. It is administered under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: taranaki, egmont, stratford, new plymouth, manaia, opunake, surf highway, north island, new zealand, waterfall



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.