About Dorothy Falls
Dorothy Falls was sort of an obscure waterfall that Julie and I made a short detour to see while we were spending the better part of a late afternoon around the town of Hokitika.
According to the LINZ-based topo maps, this waterfall was listed at 64m tall.
However, as you can see from the photo above, it seemed to be significantly shorter than that.
Perhaps we were only able to see the last 10-15m of the overall drop where the rest of its flow might be visible from the neighbouring Lake Kaniere if we were somehow able to get a boat and float our way onto the lake itself.
Speaking of the lake, it was said to be one of the prettiest lakes in New Zealand and we can see why.
During our visit, it was very peaceful and calm as it was fringed by native bush.
If we had a little more time to spend here, we could easily foresee ourselves just chilling out and relaxing along the shores of the lake.
As for visiting Dorothy Falls, it was very straightforward.
Once we managed to drive to it (see directions below), we made it to a single-lane bridge where we could look directly at the falls.
We were also able to walk along the creek to get even closer to the signed falls, but for all intents and purposes, this was a roadside waterfall.
Authorities
Dorothy Falls resides in the Lake Kaniere Scenic Reserve near Hokitika in the West Coast region of South 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.
The way we got to Dorothy Falls was from the coastal town of Hokitika.
Perhaps the most straightforward route (which was actually our return route) was from the junction of SH6 and Stratford St near the centre of town.
Heading east on Stratford St, it became Kaniere Rd after about 1.5km.
Then, we followed Kaniere Rd for the next 4km before keeping left at its junction with Kaniere-Kowhitirangi Rd and Lake Kaniere Rd.
We then took Lake Kaniere Rd for the next 13km towards the north end of Lake Kaniere.
Turning left at the junction by the lake, we headed east on Hans Bay Rd as it followed the eastern shore of Lake Kaniere.
After about 7.5km (becoming Dorothy Falls Rd along the way), we ultimately reached the falls.
However, we had to drive the last 4km or so on unsealed road, which was a little rough in spots (due to an apparent mud slide at the time).
Overall, this drive took us about 45 minutes or so from Hokitika, which was a charming town that I seemed to have several greenstone (jade) gem shops as well as a very good restaurant (I forgot the name).
We didn’t linger around enough to better appreciate its gold mining heritage.
For additional context, Hokitika was about 30 minutes (39km) south of Greymouth, 100 minutes drive (134km) north of Franz Josef Glacier, and well over 3 hours drive (245km) northwest of Christchurch.
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