New photos seen by Hawke’s Bay Today reveal a dramatic transformation of what was once one of Hawke’s Bay’s most loved and visited waterfalls, most likely caused by the sheer force of Cyclone Gabrielle. Te Ana Falls was, pre-cyclone, a 15-minute walk from the carpark up the Tāngōio Falls Scenic Reserve tracks. The closest significant waterfall to Napier, it was one of two falls along the track, with Tāngōio Falls a bit further uphill.
Both waterfalls have been inaccessible and unviewable to the public for more than a year since the Department of Conservation (DoC) closed the destroyed tracks. Lindsay Tallman, senior ranger community for DoC, confirmed the tracks were still closed until further notice as the area was unsafe due to flooding damage, slips and tree falls. “DoC has not yet re-evaluated the site, as we are focusing our limited resources to evaluate and restore other sites at this time.
We do not currently have an estimated reopening date for the Tāngōio Falls Scenic Reserve tracks,” Tallman said. Hawke’s Bay Tourism describes Te Ana as a “breathtakingly beautiful” 20m waterfall on its website. But a group of walkers who appear to have breached DoC’s strict rules about accessing the site, found a far smaller waterfall than they were expecting.
A local woman, who declined to be named, compared photos of the waterfall before Cyclone Gabrielle with photos she took on her recent excursion through the ruined track at the end of last week. Sh.