Kitekite Falls
We finally made the trip to visit Kitekite (pronounced, I believe, like “kitty-kitty”) Falls, a beautiful waterfall tucked away in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, about an hour from our house in eastern Auckland. This waterfall is really, really close to Piha, the infamous beach featured in the reality show “Phia Rescue.” In fact, all of the signs point towards Piha, and there is nothing directing you to Kitekite until the very last turn.
There is a carpark right next to the entrance to the track - or path - to the falls, and another carpark down the road that you actually reach first. If you end up pulling into the first carpark, you’ll need to continue walking down the road to find the entrance to the track as the carpark is surrounded by private houses.
At the entrance, you’ll need to scrub your shoes and step on a foot spray of fungicide. Until the end of 2018, Kitekite was closed because of the dreaded Kauri dieback. It is important to make sure your feet are clean going in and out to make sure you don’t accidentally take any spores with you. Also, stay on the track! But honestly, when the track looks like this, why would you ever leave?
The walk took us about 35 minutes, though the estimates say 45. The beginning is quite easy, then there is a ten minute section that has a steep incline. The end of the track is a bit slippery and requires sure footing to get to the magnificent pool and waterfall. My three and five year old made the walk easily, but, as you can see from the second picture above, were exhausted for the walk back and both insisted on being carried by dad.
The waterfall itself is quite impressive. You can swim in the shallow pool if you don’t mind cold water and eels. The kids wanted to hang out on the handful of large boulders sticking out of the water, and that makes for a pretty awesome photo op.
For the trek back, I recommend crossing to the other side of the pool and taking that path back towards the main loop. There is a section of steep stairs, but that is a small price to pay to see the full loop. There’s an option to trek up to the top of the waterfall off this side, too, if your kids are older or if you’re feeling bold. That trek is supposed to be another 45 minute walk.
Near the entrance gate, there is a small clearing with exactly one picnic table. We got lucky and found it unoccupied for our picnic lunch. Alternatively, there were several families spreading out small picnics on the rocky shore of the waterfall. On the way out of the track, you’ll be asked to repeat the shoe cleaning and spraying routine that you did on the way in.
Excluding drive time, we spent about two hours on this little adventure. The kids had a wonderful time, and it was the perfect outdoor activity to do on an otherwise sunny and warm day.
