Everyone likes a bit of water. Better still if the water is flowing over some rocks, above your head. In New Zealand if there is a bit of water in this situation a path is created and a sign is erected.
This sign is a magnet for many people, ourselves included. If I see a sign to a waterfall I want to go to it. So Peter and I have seen some lovely places that have water gushing over stones and swirling down narrow channels. We are never alone. There are always others who have been drawn by the same sign.
Usually the track on the way to the waterfall keeps you out of the water. There have been times however when to see this gushing extravaganza we’ve had to walk in the water ourselves and climb over rocks.The waterfall at Maruia is one you can just about see from the car.
Waterfalls cause meandering streams to become quite wild. They cause people to sometimes become wild themselves. Often there is a sign warning of the dangers of swimming at the bottom of the fall or diving off the rocks. Not a sign that I need as gazing with awe at the flowing water is enough.
We are lucky in New Zealand that there are so many streams heading from the mountains to the sea. Peter and I have never regretted stopping to follow a track to a fall. Hopefully as we head south there will appear more waterfall signs that draw us in.