Most people start the Heaphy Track from the Collingwood side, but being already on the West Coast, I decided to begin at Kohaihai. 

It was after 4pm when I arrived at the road end, so rather than become exhausted in a mad dash to Heaphy Hut, I walked a short distance to Scotts Beach and made camp for the night. It was an eerie setting with powerful waves crashing onto the beach, and despite being just 3km from the road end, it was isolated; as though in an untouched and uninhabited land.

There’s a DOC campsite just off the track, but I pitched the tent on the beach, far above the high tide mark.

– Jack Austin