David Falls was discovered by David Johnson during an expedition into Nikau Gully in Wainuiomata. After reaching the end of the Nikau Creek Track, he continued upstream in an attempt to follow Nikau Creek towards its source.
Venturing into a remote area that had never been logged and with no historical or current track, David began climbing the lower slopes of McKerrow Ridge. He eventually encountered a waterfall that prevented further progress along that creek. An attempt was made to climb one of the steep ravine walls beside the falls and continue upstream, but the terrain proved too difficult and would have required ropes and specialist equipment.
The waterfall hasn’t been measured but a rough estimate at this stage puts it at 10 metres high. Although several smaller falls and cascades occur along the same creek, David Falls is considerably taller and more striking. It does not appear on historic or modern standard or topographical maps and lies in a particularly remote and difficult-to-access area, well away from established tracks. Given the rugged terrain, isolation, and lack of any known historical record of the falls, it is possible that no one has ventured this far up the creek and seen it prior to its discovery on the 18th of May 2026.
