Stream Coal Creek

Greater watershed Grey River/Mawheranui → Tasman Sea

Height Twice or thrice a human's size

Form Gentle river-wide cascade

Volume Medium

General location Runanga, NZ

Specific location from the SH6 at the convenience store in the middle of Runanga, follow yellow signs indicating Coal Creek Falls. The carpark is in a cul-de-sac at the end of a suburban-looking street. A DOC sign indicates the trail.

Trail access A well formed track drops into the Coal Creek valley and follows it about 1km upstream to the falls. Hard to get lost. From the viewpoint, a fairly obvious scramble path drops down to creek level with multiple views of the falls.

Bonus waterfall A wee one about halfway there—you may see it from the trail in wet conditions. Probably about 10m/33ft on a tiny (ephemeral?) stream

 

The terrain and climate of New Zealand tends to produce waterfalls that are tall and skinny. Even a fairly high volume watercourse like the Bowen River, when facing a 162m drop, is not going to spread out into a majestic curtain of water like Niagara Falls. Coal Creek Falls is one of the rare exceptions—a waterfall that is much wider than it is tall, and all the more scenic for it. Along with a few other more famous examples (Maruia Falls in Nelson, Huka Falls in Waikato) it is one of the finest examples of this type of waterfall in the country.

 

Coal Creek is not a particularly large river, though the West Coast rains occasionally swell it to a respectable size. Much of the appeal of the waterfall comes from the way the dark tannin-stained water forms fascinating patterns as it intersects the dappled bedrock. The beautiful native bush and peaceful surroundings only contribute to the experience as one sits and watches the shifting patterns. This waterfall makes an amazing slow shutter study, though wind can be problematic (I never managed to be completely free of it on this occasion) due to the close tree cover. If you find yourself in the Greymouth area this is certainly a much nicer place to visit than almost any part of Greymouth itself (it's also close enough to Greymouth to get there by cycle rather than car, though on New Zealand roads, this can be a somewhat nerve-wracking activity) and also makes a good stopover/leg-stretcher on a trip to/from the Pancake Rocks, Westport or Karamea.