Fish Ladder Waterfall is roughly a 10-15 minutes' drive away from Wellington CBD. The road surface is sealed.

From Wellington head north on Hutt Rd, which runs along the SH-1. Then take Kaiwharawhara Rd, which becomes Ngaio Gorge Rd. And finally, turn left onto Trelissick Cres. Follow this road for 270m until you reach a car park. There is a map at the entrance (the red line on the photo below shows a direction to the waterfall).

From the main entrance follow the track to Northern Walkway. From there head right and go left on the next track that appears. Follow that track then stay left joining onto Ngaio Gorge Track. Then look out for a path coming off the right with a sign saying Fish Ladder. Then follow the side track for the next few minutes until you reach the waterfall. The walk is easy but can be slippery when muddy. It is more of a shoe track than jandals.

Return via the same route (tatal walking time is about 30 minutes), or walk Trelissick Park loop (2hrs).

Many thanks to Emir de Souza Photography for the waterfall's description and photos.