At the end of Ngāuruhoe Place, take the Upper Taranaki Falls Track. This loop track visits Taranaki Falls and returns by following the lower reaches of Wairere Stream. The falls are often busy with day walkers, but it’s worth making a short detour to see them on the way back. 

The track is easy going, benched and with hard-packed gravel in places. It meanders in and out of beech forest, generally following a single contour line. 

After around an hour there’s a bridge over the Wairere Stream. Below it is an excellent swimming hole, the warmest in the Wairere. However, swimming here is not recommended if the flow is high, as the watercourse tumbles over rocks to reach Taranaki Falls with a 20m drop. 

From here there’s an unmarked ground trail on the true right of Wairere – easy to pick up on the eastern side of the bridge. This continues on the true right of the stream before petering out around the 1400m mark, where the terrain widens and levels off. The trail sometimes disappears briefly, but it’s simple to find again by continuing alongside the stream. 

 A couple of minutes after leaving the bridge, there is another excellent swimming hole with easy entry. Another good spot exists around 1275m, just after the second fork in the stream noticeable on the topo map. 

Between 1300m and 1400m there is a short gorge section where the flow twists and turns in cascades. Here two deep green pools are joined by a short waterfall. Both are alluring but generally cold. Cross the stream from the true right to the true left below the pools where the terrain is easier. Around the pools are large flat rocks that heat up in the sun and are excellent for a warm-up after a dip in the snow-fed water. 

At the top of the gorge section is a mossy waterfall, the last swimming opportunity of note before the terrain flattens out. 

Return back the same way along the ground trail on the true right of Wairere Stream to rejoin the Taranaki Falls Track and loop back via the falls and lower track.

Be aware that parking around Whakapapa Village is sometimes restricted during summer  – check at the DOC visitor centre if in doubt.