Tanekaha Waterfalls are roughly a 1hr 40minutes' drive away from Auckland or 1-hour from either Warkworth or Whangarei. The road surface is always sealed.

From Auckland travel north along the SH-1 for roughly 72km until you reach Wayby Station Rd. Slide right onto Wayby Station Rd and follow it for the next 6km. Turn right onto Whangaripo Valley Rd, then slide left onto Waiteitei Rd and follow it for the next 8km. Slide right onto Mangawhai Rd and stay on it until you reach Mangawhai. Then turn left onto Moir St, then turn right onto Tara Rd. After 3km turn right onto Cove Rd and follow it for the next 3.5km, then turn left onto King Rd and follow it for the next 4.5km. The car park, at 300 King Rd, is reached via a 100m gravel road through the private property. There are no facilities there.

From the parking follow the gravel road for first 5 minutes , then cross the stream via a swing bridge and then the track leads into the forest. It is a typical New Zealand track, hence it can be a bit muddy.

Follow Tanekaha Falls track. First waterfall (about 7-8m) is reached after 30-40 minutes. 

Continue on to the main track for 10-15 more minutes and you'll reach the second waterfall. It's a very tall (roughly 25m) multi-step waterfall. It's marked as two waterfalls (second and third) on the local map, but in reality it's one very tall waterfall. If you follow the main track for 2 more minutes you'll reach the top of the lower leap and will have a better view of the top of the falls.

The walk involves multiple stream crossings, but all easy. There are lots of benches along the way.

Return either via the same route (total walking time is 1.5-2hrs), or continue walking the Tanekaha Loop track (total walking time is 4-5hrs).