Purakaunui Falls – Buy or view the Ōtepoti | Dunedin gallery

With international visitors now being welcomed to New Zealand without any covid restrictions, I was interested to see what visitors were told about some of New Zealand’s iconic attractions. Turning to The Lonely Planet Guide, I looked up the Purakaunui Falls and discovered that it is described as ‘ a magnificent cascade down three tiers of jet-black rock.’ 

Having discovered what visitors are told about the falls, I then turned to online reviews to discover what people thought of the falls which were featured on a postage stamp in 1976. In an exercise of pure interest, instead of turning to the reviews that were categorised as excellent, I turned to the poor and average reviews. To sum up, the feeling was that the bathroom facilities were clean, there’s a good timber deck for viewing, the forest walk is pleasant and the falls would be better in full flow. 

Deciding that these reviewers might have missed the point of reviewing the falls themselves, I turned to the excellent reviews for balance. Amongst the many comments that listed the falls as a memorable sight, once again the viewing platform being ‘well constructed’ was a common topic. This goes to show one thing, people have a healthy respect for quality outdoor construction in New Zealand.