After winding through several small farming districts and beach communities such as Paton's Rock, Onekaka, and Tukurua, State Highway 60 arrives at Collingwood, a small seaside village at the mouth of the giant Aorere River, 26 km (16 mi) west of Takaka. The earliest European settlers came here in the 1840s to build small ships from the timber lining the beaches and to farm the fertile river plains that spill out of the surrounding mountains. In the 1850s, gold was discovered nearby and Collingwood became a thriving port-of-entry town; at one time it was even under consideration to be the country's capital. Arriving here you'll find that very hard to believe now.

These days Collingwood's main claims to fame are as the northern access point for the Heaphy Track and as a base for trips to the Farewell Spit and the West Coast beaches. The old 1910 council office building houses a small museum with a good photographic record of the area from colonial times. You might also want to make a sweet stop by Rosy Glow Chocolates on Beach Road.