The CJ way Guide to Marokopa Falls

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 AT A GLANCE 

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Epic 35m high waterfall 

Located in Waitomo

5-10 minutes to lookout

Easy to lookout, hard if going to waterfall 

Free

Best time to visit: early to mid morning 

Sneakers are best

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 WHERE IS THIS EXACTLY? 

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• Coordinates of carpark: (-38.2596537, 174.8498539)

• Coordinates of  Falls: (-38.2614004, 174.8520044)

• Park at the car park and follow the track to the lookout (only about a 5-10 minute walk).

• From the lookout you can venture down to the base of the waterfall (at your own risk!!).

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 best time to visit? 

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• We think the best time to visit is early to mid morning before the sun hits the waterfall (with harsh highlights). 

• After winter/decent rain would be amazing (we have only ever visited during the peak of Summer but have still been blown away). 

 cj travel tips 

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• Arrive early and you’ll most likely have the place to yourself!

• The rocks are crazily slippery so if you are planning on climbing/walking down to the falls be VERY very careful and have good grip water shoes on (you might also like a jacket as the spray is pretty ferocious).

• There is no toilet here so make sure you go before coming.

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 cj photography tips 

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• We love getting a person in our shot to give a sense of scale to the waterfall.

• Use a zoom lens to fill your entire frame with the waterfall - this creates a really powerful image. 

• A tripod and polarising filter is essential but because the water is flowing so fast, we preferred exposure times of 0.3-0.7 seconds so the water was slightly blurred but not fully smooth. This slight roughness, in our opinion, represented the falls much better.

 what we found useful to pack 

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​In addition to the usuals (camera gear, suitable clothing, water and food, first aid, etc. we found the following items useful for

following items useful for Marokopa Falls  (if you're climbing down!):

• Water shoes;

• A bright piece of clothing so you stand out against the water (basically any colour but white will work!);

• A towel to dry yourself afterwards! (maybe even two haha); and

• A cloth (and even an umbrella) to keep the camera semi-dry from the spray (even up top your camera will still get soaked!