Maruia Falls Murchison

Easy 5-minutes' return walk leads you to the waterfall's upper lookout platform, then to the waterfall's base

The Murchison earthquake of 1929 created the Maruia Falls by triggering a landslide which diverted the course of the Maruia River westwards, forcing it to cut a new channel over an old riverbank. 

The river eroded gravels below the bank, forming the Maruia Falls.

Immediately after the earthquake, the falls were only about a metre high, but after a year, the drop was 5 metres. In the early 2000s it was 10 metres, as shown here.

From Murchison going South 15 min (21.5 km) via State Hwy 6 and State Hwy 65