Walk: Waitakere Dam and Fairy Falls, Henderson (Waitakere Ranges).

Описание: This is a compilation of three walks: Waitakere Dam 2014, Fairy Falls 2015 and Fairy Falls 2016.

00:00 WAITAKERE DAM 2014
This walk is down a sealed service road, which is mostly used as an exercise track for locals. It is a down hill track - meaning that it is a steep climb back up. If you are like me and steep climbs are not your favourite and you have had enough, instead of stopping - try walking up the hill zig-zag.

This is about a couple of hours plus return walk. It is one of five dams in the Waitakere Ranges that helps to provide water to Auckland City. I remember that this walk was quite a noisy one with a lot of bird life towards the end of the track, closer to the dam. I recorded the audio of the birds and have put it against the track of photos.

I didn't find this walk as appealing because it seemed more like an exercise route.

02:52 FAIRY FALLS - FAIRY FALLS TRACK RETURN 2015
I did this track in Spring and the flow down the streams and water falls was decent as it was after Winter, which is our rainy season here in Auckland, New Zealand. I really enjoyed this return track along the Fairy Falls Track from Mountain Road as it was through the bush crossing several small stream crossings with a wider towards the base of the main waterfall, which was really quite cool.

I remember I was quite tired coming back from this track as it is two to three hours return especially when wet with all the stream hopping. I remember having to climb over a large fallen tree and navigate a couple of slippery clay slopes in the bush. When I had returned, I happily chugged down a chocolate milk, which I vividly remember brought me back to life again haha

05:24 FAIRY FALLS - OLD COACH RD TRACK, GOODFELLOW TRACK AND FAIRY FALLS TRACK LOOP 2016
Cousin dearest B and I did this loop of Fairy Falls from Mountain Road. There is a fork from the car park with the Fairy Falls Track veering to your left, which I did in 2015 and the Old Coach Rd Track to your right which is part of a loop around and up to Fairy Falls from above.

I remember this walk well as it was not a favourble start for me as I hate walking up steep hills from the get go on any walk because I have always endured sore and crampy calves. I need a good 10 minute warm-up to be able to walk up steep hills without too much discomfort. So, this was not fun for me but we walked up and I would stop as often as it took my calves to adapt. It is a pretty walk through bush aside from the steepness but one is basically walking up the hills side of the cascading waterfalls.

There are views on both sides - on the left there are views of Auckland City, Rangitoto Island and of the Waitemata Harbour and then on the right, the ridge lines of the Waitakere Ranges. Once we reached the top and walked past some majestic Kauri both young and old, we proceeded to walk across the hillsides towards the waterfalls and the terrain was more damp, slippery with man-made steps through the bush that felt more like a jungle with hanging vines and swampy parts near small streams running throughout.

Finally, we came off Goodfellow Track and began our descent down a long staircase right next to the cascading waterfalls of Fairy Falls. There are several small cascades falling into small lagoons below and filtering off to a couple more before reaching the bottom large waterfall of them all. As we did this walk in April, which is early Autumn after Summer - there was not as much flow in the streams or waterfalls compared to when I walked the track the year before in Spring.

I remember several trail runners had lapped us three or four times by the time we had finished the Goodfellow Track and we were envious of their fitness and ability to do so - I don't like those fit buggers! haha

The Waitakere Dam and the Fairy Falls are near to each other and behind a small township in which I grew up as a child and teenager - Henderson. It was a rough place when I grew up there and in some ways, it is still is an outcast place in many ways against all the many other emerging places in nearby suburbs. I have never liked Henderson because it has a lot of dark history behind it and a lot of crime that remains unsolved but I can't deny that it helped to shape my resilience, strength and grit in life to deal with darker situations and people.

It's surprising in ways to know that beautiful places like the Waitakere Dam, Fairy Falls and many others in the Waitakere Ranges are only a five to 10 minute drive from this small township.

Henderson.

2014.
2015.
2016.

NOTES:
As of 2026, Fairy Falls tracks are closed but Waitakere Dam Track is open. Please see link below for other open tracks in the Waitakere Ranges.

https://aucklandcouncil.maps.arcgis.c...