Scott Beach – Heaphy track

Heaphy Track

SCOTTS BEACH WALK / ESTUARY

If you want to experience the Heaphy track without the hard slog then this is the walk for you. A picturesque forest walk along the Heaphy track coastal route. Look out for birds pied stilts, black swans, oystercatchers and blue herons. There are picnic tables, BBQ and toilet facilities. Perhaps there are seals on the beaches and in early summer the flowering rata among the nikau palm groves make for a New Zealand postcard scene.

Duration: 1 hour
Grade: easy

HEAPHY TRACK

A Department of Conservation (DOC) supervised region, described by DOC as, “Travel through expansive tussock downs, lush forests and nīkau palms to the roaring seas of the West Coast. Heaphy Track: Golden Bay area.

Great Walk recommendations are:

Look and listen out for great spotted kiwi/roroa and takahē around Gouland Downs.
There are nocturnal carnivorous land snails around Heaphy Hut on a damp night.
Mountain bikes are allowed between 1 May and 30 November.“

Time and skill level: 5 days between Karamea and Golden Bay.

Traverses varied and diverse landscapes through coastline, rainforest and alpine grasslands. The longest of the Great Walks, it traverses through Kahurangi National Park. For Heaphy Track tramping details scroll through the DOC online resource for relevant information.