New Zealand 
In numbers.
Jun–Sep
Best months
106m
Elevation
The water at The Cascades, month by month
It roars from May to September.
The fullest months: from May to September.
- 34%Jan
- 32%Feb
- 36%Mar
- 47%Apr
- 76%May
- 92%Jun
- 100%Jul
- 97%Aug
- 81%Sep
- 63%Oct
- 44%Nov
- 42%Dec
Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from June to September.
Estimate from rain, snowmelt and evaporation month by month (NASA POWER, 1991–2020) around the falls. Dams upstream can change the real flow.
Waterfall in Auckland Region, New Zealand
The Cascades is a waterfall in New Zealand. It lies within Waitākere Ranges Regional Park.
Getting there.
- Waitakerenearest town · 4.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 420 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Auckland International Airport (AKL)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 27 km in a straight lineCar hire at AKL airport (Auckland)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- From June to Septemberbest months to go (estimate)
Plan your visit
Stay, explore and get there
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
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 116 m in 1.9 km. Here the river runs about 15 m below the lower rim of its valley.
What is around.
- 3viewpointsCascade Kauri Picture Frame
- 4waymarked walking routesMontana Heritage Trail, Hillary Trail Public Transport Option, Te Piringā Walk and 1 more
- 7car parks
- —swimming spots
- 6picnic sites
- 3toilets
- 7information boards and visitor centres
- —bus stops within 1 km
- 5other named waterfalls within 4 kmWaitoru Falls, Fairy Falls, Waitākere Falls and 2 more
- —caves
- 5campsitesŌpanuku Campsite, North Piha Campers’ Club Campground, Pae o te Rangi Campground and 2 more
- 2hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmWaitākere Resort & Spa
- 1restaurants 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
- Waitakere4.7 km in a straight line
- Waiatarua7.3 km in a straight line
- McLaren Park7.8 km in a straight line
- Western Heights7.9 km in a straight line
- Henderson8.8 km in a straight line
- Lincoln9.4 km in a straight line
- Sunnyvale9.6 km in a straight line
- Massey9.7 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 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 19 |
| Night °C | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 68 | 68 | 77 | 88 | 127 | 124 | 129 | 123 | 103 | 89 | 67 | 86 |
| Wet days | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Sun h/day | 8.8 | 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 (106 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 | 36% | 44% | 107% | 60% | 117% | 104% | 122% | 120% | 81% | 69% | 175% | 68% |
| 2021 | 104% | 101% | 163% | 86% | 71% | 127% | 107% | 96% | 158% | 156% | 104% | 119% |
| 2022 | 68% | 191% | 100% | 73% | 106% | 158% | 191% | 129% | 130% | 148% | 267% | 137% |
| 2023 | 430% | 272% | 102% | 127% | 161% | 119% | 75% | 67% | 129% | 83% | 124% | 152% |
| 2024 | 108% | 79% | 119% | 93% | 66% | 97% | 109% | 106% | 98% | 126% | 120% | 90% |
| 2025 | 116% | 39% | 72% | 192% | 90% | 157% | 188% | 111% | 127% | 147% | 205% | 105% |
130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual
Compare with the waterfalls nearby.
The Cascades
New Zealand
- —Height
- —Average flow
- Jun–SepBest months
About these numbers
| Names, height, width, river | Wikidata (Q34760719) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| 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.
The family
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