Access to Te Waihou Walkway/Blue Spring is closed from Monday 13 November 2023 until November 2024 due to rockfall and landslips. Additional information can also be found via South Waikato District Council(opens in new window)

3 Hrs (return) 10 Km

Highlights

  • Crystal clear Blue Spring
  • Small waterfalls
  • Native forest and bird life

Proximity

GRADE: EASY

From easy walking to a few steeper areas.

Near Putāruru you can walk to the famous Blue Spring, which supplies around 70 per cent of New Zealand's bottled water.

Follow the Te Waihou Walkway to the famous Blue Spring, one of the purest water sources in the world. 

Travelling alongside the Waihou River, the track winds through wetlands, across rolling pastures and past small waterfalls to the turquoise water of the spring.

Flowing at a rate of 42 cubic metres per minute (9240 gallons per minute), The Blue Spring could fill a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool in just over 12 minutes. It maintains a constant 11°C in every season.

Click the link below for more information and detailed maps of this hike.

Blue Spring - Te Waihou Walkway(opens in new window)

More information

Alternative route

Leslie Road: Leaving from Leslie Road this shorter walk, takes just 15 min (one way).

 

Getting there

  • The walk begins from the Whites Road carpark. 
  • Whites Road links SH1 and SH5 near the town of Putāruru.

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