One of the most significant waterfalls along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Track, un-officially named, Ketetahi Falls is located in Tongariro National Park. The waterfall is easily accessible from the Ketetahi parking and it’s a nice spot for the final stop if you’re doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Track.
Most people miss it as they are too tired by this point in the Tongariro Alpine Crossing to look around them and spot the turn off to the viewpoint, which is a shame!
The cache:
The good news is that you do not have to walk the full crossing to find this cache – it is located about 700m from the Ketatahi carpark at the end of the walk.
There is 4 hours free parking here - that’s plenty of time to walk to the cache and back, along a well-formed path. At peak times, you may have to park at the overflow car park, which will add about 1km each way to the walk, if you cannot get a ride on a shuttle..
As you head up the track, you come to a sign to a viewpoint. The cache (an ammo can) is within 15m of this. The cache is not visible from the path, but you will be, please take care whilst searching, and let groups of walkers pass by. Please ensure the cache is covered when you leave it.
A few metres further along the track, you can see this waterfall…
This cache has been rated as T3 – because there is another cache closer to the end of the track which has that Terrain rating. It takes less than an hour to walk there and back from the carpark, along a ‘front country’ path / track, and although there is a bit of a slope, it’s not steep, or uneven. Someone with a baby buggy could get within 10m of the cache with ease. It doesn’t get especially high (still within the trees), so will often remain accessible when the crossing is unavailable (assuming people are sensible and dress for the conditions). Personally, I would have rated it a T2.
Further information can be found at:
https://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/
https://www.doc.govt.nz/tongariroalpinecrossing
https://www.tongariro.org.nz/