Billy Goat Falls is roughly a 2-2.5 hours' drive away from Auckland or 45-60 minutes from Thames. Kauaeranga Valley Rd is not a well-maintained road with gravel surface as well as huge holes and cracks on it. There is an official sign at the road entrance saying that it's not a public road, the road is maintained by DOC and DOC takes no liability for the vehicles entering to this road. We highly recommend a 4-WD vehicle for this trip.

From Auckland travel south on the SH-1, then turn left on the SH-2, then left on the SH-25 which brings you to Thames. In Thames turn right into Banks St (well signposted) which becomes Parawai Rd. Eventually, this road becomes Kauaeranga Valley Rd. Follow this road until you reach the end of the road (roughly 18.5 km). There is a huge car park at the end of Kauaeranga Valley Rd. There are lots of different places to stay with toilets and picnic areas along the road.

A walking Billy Goat track (a part of Billygoat circuit) leads to the waterfall's lookout where you'll see a couple of falls' leaps from a distance. To take a good photo use a camera with a huge optical zoom. There is a suspension bridge in the middle of the walk which can be an exciting attraction for the kids. There is a junction after the bridge, turn right and walk for 3-5 more minutes before you'll see the falls.

There is one more option to see the top of the waterfall:

• Billygoat circuit –  4-5 hours tramping circle track passes through the waterfall top. A fantastic view to the waterfall perfectly compensates 2 hours moderate climb then 2 hours of descent. 

Many thanks to Tony Searle for a couple of great photos (please refer to the logo photo and Gallery).