We often ask our community on the Getting Lost page for recommendations when we head somewhere new. So when we headed to New Plymouth we asked where we should explore and Dawson Falls came up many a time as a place we had to check out.
I knew we didn’t have too much time so I asked what the walk was like to the falls. Kayleigh came back and said she walked to Dawson Falls in Ugg boots (which lets be fair she did admit wasn’t the best idea). So I thought great – it’s an easy stroll…
Kayleigh – I don’t know you but I have a whole new respect for you and your magic Ugg boots!
The path to the first look out is pretty easy. Definitely manageable in Ugg boots. Or in my case my pink Con’s. But as all things that are easy usually turn out to be – the view wasn’t so great.
The path down to the foot of the waterfall was considerably steeper so James decided to stay at the top while I picked my way down with my usual plethora of camera gear.
If you read our blogs a bit you’ll know that organisation isn’t my strong suit (we named our blog Getting Lost after all). So it won’t surprise you to know that once I got down the bottom I realised that I had left my ND filter up the top of the hill in the car. And while I had remembered my tripod I had completely forgotten the shoe for it to actually attach to my camera. Thus rendering it completely, well, useless.
Undeterred I scrambled over rocks and used my phone and some rocks to make a makeshift tripod to take some long exposure shots of the waterfall.
After a bit I decided to head back up the steps. I paused at the bottom to take a photo of the crazy steps that Kayleigh the Ugg boot wearing mountain goat had conquered and at that moment realised my phone was no where to be seen. Now it is of course a good thing to realise this at the bottom of the hill and not at the top.
I hunted around but the phone was no where to be seen. I was about to give up when suddenly I saw a flash of glitter (thank god for my love of all things shiny!) and spotted my phone in a hand sized cave. Now I don’t want to know what lives in a hand sized cave at the foot of the falls. I’m just thankful that my phone doesn’t live there anymore and that the resident of the cave gave it up without saying hello.
So was it worth it? Definitely. If nothing else for this amazing tree tunnel on the drive into Dawson Falls!
Did I take the most amazing photo? Not even close (and I can’t even blame the gear).
Would I recommend it in Ugg Boots? Umm, no.