Important: This track has been closed to prevent the spread of kauri dieback.

Ananui Falls is roughly a 2.5 hours' drive away from Auckland or 45 minutes from Tauranga. The road surface is sealed, except for the last 1 km which is a gravel road.

From Auckland travel south-east on the SH-2. From Waihi travel south on the SH-2 for the next 21.5 km, then turn right into Woodland Rd and stay on it for the next 6 km until you reach a small parking. A car park (on your left just before the river ford) has a DOC sign and doesn't have any facilities.

Note1: Just before the gravel road, you will see a gate with the note "Entry to private land beyond this point by arrangement only....." - don't stop here, it doesn't apply to the road leading to the walking tracks.

Note2: There are two roads with the same name in this area - Woodland Rd and Woodlands Rd. Choose the right one, if you use GPS select Woodland Rd in Bay of Plenty (the wrong one is in Waikato Region).

From the parking follow a tramping 4.5hrs return Ananui Track, which brings you to the top of the waterfall. The first part of the track is very simple; you need to cross a river via a suspension bridge, then turn right at the junction and walk along the Waitengaue Stream. About 30 minutes later the difficult part of the track would begin. You need to cross the river for the first time, then after 5 minutes one more time, then you cross smaller streams a few times and cross the river again 3 more times. Always use appropriate gear. The last part of the track is a moderate climb to the top of the waterfall. There are excellent views of the whole falls from the track.

Allow at least 4.5 hours if you want to reach the top of the waterfall. Alternatively, you may choose not to go up to the waterfall's top but to enjoy a view of the waterfall from the lookout - in this case, allow at least 4 hours for the whole track.

As an option, you can approach this waterfall from the end of Franklin Rd. It will require 6-7 hours of tramping and one river crossing (refer to the Toilet Bowl Waterfall for driving instructions and more information about the track).

If you’re looking for a more difficult adventure, you might choose the same option as we did: a two-days’ loop track from Woodland Rd: from the parking follow the Wairoa Stream (tramping Wairoa Track) for 4 hrs, until it meets Waitawheta Tramway; then follow Waitawheta Tramway for the next 2 hrs (visit Waitawheta Waterfall in the middle of the track); and stay a night at the Waitawheta Hut. Next day follow Ananui Track and return to the parking at the end of Woodland Rd. As an outcome, you'll see 3 waterfalls: Ananui Falls, Toilet Bowl Waterfall and Waitawheta Waterfall. The track requires a few river crossings and have lots of uphill/downhill sections. The most difficult downhill section is reached on a first day – it can be slippery and has lots of fallen trees on it, hence be extremely careful!