Omanawa Falls is located about 20 minutes by car from Tauranga or approximately 1.5 hours from Hamilton. The entire route is sealed, including the car park, which is spacious and well-maintained.

From Tauranga, head east on State Highway 29 for 13 km, then turn left onto Omanawa Falls Road. You might see a sign near the Peers Road intersection—note that this sign points to McLaren Falls, not Omanawa Falls. Continue along Omanawa Falls Road for 10.3 km, then turn left into the car park for Omanawa Falls. The car park is large and equipped with picnic tables and toilet facilities.

From the carpark the trail begins quite quickly with a gentle downward slope. After about 5 minutes of walking, you’ll hit the first lookout. This is a little confusing to some as the main track veers to the right and up your first set of stairs, however right at the end of this original path is a lookout of Omanawa Falls.

There are stairs galore on this trail. You’ll encounter a mix of ups and downs along the way, but the trail is well-kept, winding you through beautiful native bush.

Once you reach the first lookout, known as Wairere Tapu, if you have a good level of fitness and feeling up to it, you can then continue to Te Harikoa Lookout. This stretch is a bit tougher, starting with a downhill section. However, the 750 steps that await you is split fairly evenly between up and down.

The second lookout has the perspective of looking at Omanawa Falls from behind. It’s a great view of the valley so I would highly recommend walking this section too.

You can opt for the shorter return walk, which takes about 40 minutes, or take on the more demanding route that lasts approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.