About Matai Falls
Matai Falls was the second of the Catlins waterfalls that Julie and I visited towards the tail end of our first trip to New Zealand in early December 2004.
This falls was said to be about 10m tall, but as you can see from the photo at the top of this page, it had a pleasing rectangular shape and was really conducive to long exposure photographs.
There was also another waterfall called Horseshoe Falls that we were able to visit on the same hike without too much additional hiking.
Accessing Matai Falls and Horseshoe Falls
Our hike began from the signposted trailhead saying it was 30 minutes return to hike to Matai Falls and 35 minutes return to hike to Horseshoe Falls.
At first, we weren’t sure if the stated estimates meant each out-and-back times were for each waterfall individually (suggesting it would take 65 minutes to see both waterfalls).
In any case, after the sign, the track briefly started off open before descending into the shadiness of the bush.
Within a few minutes of walking in the bush, we reached a signed fork where the left fork went to Matai Falls and the right fork went to Horseshoe Falls.
We opted to take the right fork first, which promptly ascended and ultimately ended up at a lookout where we were able to get a partial view at best of Horseshoe Falls.
There seemed to be more of the waterfall that was more or less hidden from us thanks to the overgrowth. There didn’t seem to be a way to improve our views without scrambling off the path so we didn’t linger here for long.
Back at the signed fork, we then took the remaining path, which was pretty flat and brief as we eventually got right in front of the pretty Matai Falls.
In this instance, I had brought a tripod and made use of it to produce that silky photo you see at the top of this page.
We concluded the Y-shaped hike after having our fill of this falls, and it turned out that Julie and I were able to complete the whole thing in about 30 minutes.
Authorities
Matai Falls and Horseshoe Falls are administered under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
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