Christie Falls and the Milford Highway Waterfalls

Fiordland / Hollyford Valley, South Island, New Zealand

About Christie Falls and the Milford Highway Waterfalls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Christie Falls was a roadside waterfall right besides a narrow single-lane bridge on the Milford Sound Highway.

Because it was next to a sign that said “Falls Creek”, I’d imagine this waterfall could also be called Falls Creek Falls.

Julie and I happened to notice this waterfall when we first drove by it and made it a point to come back here for a closer examination on the way out of the Milford Sound area.

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Christie Falls on Falls Creek

We did the same thing five years after our first visit here, but we never really bothered to do more with this waterfall on that subsequent trip other than to look at it.

There was a small pullout on the southeast side of the single-lane Falls Creek bridge so that allowed us to get out of the car and try to photograph the falls as you see above without blocking traffic.

That said, the maps (as well as a sign by the trailhead) did indicate that there was a two-hour bush track that followed along Falls Creek.

We didn’t do that track so we can’t say what else would be out there, but it did get me wondering.

Who knows, maybe next time if the weather cooperates and we allocated enough time to explore some of the less well-known areas of Fiordland, we might have more to say about what the Falls Creek Track would have to offer.

Milford Sound Highway Waterfalls

In any case, this waterfall was really my waterfalling excuse to talk about the plethora of nameless waterfalls that seemed to come down like veins along the Milford Sound Highway itself, especially immediately before and after the Homer Tunnel.

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Waterfall veins coming down the mountainsides near Homer Tunnel as a storm was clearing

It was hard to single out these other waterfalls since there were so many of them, but I’d imagine in order to see the vein-like effect, that would involve some timing for when the clouds would start to lift at the end of one of the typical downpours that tended to affect this part of the Southern Alps.

It was a good thing that they put a car park on the east end of the Homer Tunnel to look towards a cirque that contained a collection of ephemeral waterfalls that seemed to be reliably there for the two New Zealand trips where we made it out this way.

After the Homer Tunnel (the Milford Sound side), there were a few more roadside pullouts to better appreciate the steepness of the valley as well as the possible waterfalls coming down in waves after rain.

Authorities

Christie Falls 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: hollyford, fiordland, te anau, milford, southland, southern alps, south island, new zealand, waterfall, falls creek, homer



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