New Zealand 
In numbers.
12m³/s
Average flow
estimate
May–Aug
Best months
4m
Elevation
The water at Tarakihi Rapids, month by month
It roars from May to August.
The fullest months: from May to August.
- 4.4 m³/sJan
- 4.1 m³/sFeb
- 5.4 m³/sMar
- 7.9 m³/sApr
- 16 m³/sMay
- 19 m³/sJun
- 22 m³/sJul
- 21 m³/sAug
- 16 m³/sSep
- 11 m³/sOct
- 5.6 m³/sNov
- 5.7 m³/sDec
From about 4.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 22 m³/s in the highest. Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from May to August.
Estimate: the timing comes from rain, snowmelt and evaporation (NASA POWER, 1991–2020); the amounts from the river model of HydroATLAS (WaterGAP, 1971–2000). Dams upstream can change the real flow.
Rapids on the Hoteo River, New Zealand
Tarakihi Rapids is a waterfall in New Zealand.
Getting there.
- Wellsfordnearest town · 16 km in a straight line
- Auckland International Airport (AKL)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 71 km in a straight lineCar hire at AKL airport (Auckland)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- From May to Augustbest months to go (estimate)
Plan your visit
Stay, explore and get there
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Seen from the sky.
8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.
Around the falls the river drops 9 m in 3.6 km. Here the river runs about 22 m below the lower rim of its valley.
What is around.
- —viewpoints
- —waymarked walking routes
- —car parks
- —swimming spots
- —picnic sites
- —toilets
- —information boards and visitor centres
- —bus stops within 1 km
- —other named waterfalls within 4 km
- —caves
- —campsites
- —hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 km
- —restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Wellsford16 km in a straight line
- Warkworth17 km in a straight line
- Kaukapakapa22 km in a straight line
- Snells Beach22 km in a straight line
Weather
The weather, month by month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon °C | 22 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 20 |
| Night °C | 18 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 59 | 59 | 68 | 74 | 110 | 100 | 113 | 101 | 80 | 71 | 51 | 71 |
| Wet days | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| Sun h/day | 8.7 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 7.7 |
Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (4 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.
Recent years
Wet years and dry years
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 21% | 31% | 91% | 63% | 140% | 135% | 177% | 133% | 62% | 77% | 179% | 47% |
| 2021 | 91% | 127% | 103% | 122% | 65% | 157% | 125% | 114% | 189% | 219% | 117% | 119% |
| 2022 | 54% | 172% | 141% | 149% | 109% | 182% | 247% | 125% | 148% | 178% | 422% | 183% |
| 2023 | 620% | 390% | 76% | 176% | 213% | 158% | 92% | 76% | 161% | 131% | 124% | 150% |
| 2024 | 102% | 61% | 90% | 105% | 86% | 132% | 121% | 105% | 93% | 133% | 124% | 93% |
| 2025 | 152% | 40% | 58% | 333% | 100% | 161% | 195% | 118% | 135% | 141% | 249% | 96% |
130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual
Compare with the waterfalls nearby.
Tarakihi Rapids
New Zealand
- —Height
- 12 m³/sAverage flow
- May–AugBest months
About these numbers
| Names, height, width, river | Wikidata (Q34854162) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| River flow and catchment | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Relief, river profile, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Paths, viewpoints, parking | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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