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 Ananui 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 tricky 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.

Kauri Grove Waterfall is found almost a halfway between the parking and Ananui Falls, at Kauri Grove. It’s a nice spot to relax for a couple of minutes before the final river crossings and the climb to Ananui’s top. From the waterfall continue to the main track until you reach Ananui Falls.

Return via the same track, or refer to the Ananui Falls article for more options.