Whirinaki Falls is roughly a 1.5-hrs' drive away from Rotorua. The road surface is gravel for the last 5 km.

From Rotorua head south-east on the SH-5 until an intersection with SH-38, then turn left onto SH-38 and stay on it for the next 55.7km. Turn right onto Minginui Rd, which is a sealed road. Follow this road for a few kilometers until you reach a signposted intersection ("Whirinaki Forest"), turn right onto River road (gravel road) and follow it until you reach a DOC car park. There are track signs and a long-drop toilet there.

There are two tracks start there which lead to two different waterfalls. First track, to your left (through the main entrance), leads to Whirinaki Falls, while the second one, to your right, leads to Waiatiu Falls. Take the first one and walk alongside the Whirinaki River, over Te Whaiti Nui A Toi to Whirinaki Falls. We do recommend to walk the track anti-clockwise, so don't cross the river when you reach the first bridge, and continue to walk alongside the river. In 5-7 min you'll see Whirinaki Forest Iconic Waterfall (to your right), then the track climbs through the native forest and reaches the second bridge over the river. The top of the waterfall is seen from the bridge. Highly unfortunately, the whole waterfall is not seen from the track or bridge. There are some un-official side-tracks but they don't look safe.

From here cross the river and return via the track on the other side of the river (total walking time is 3hrs).