There's a certain kind of grime that accumulates after a day working in the West Coast bush. It's a mix of peaty earth, sweat, bush debris and insect repellant. A quick splash from a bucket to freshen up for happy hour at the end of the day just doesn't cut it. In the absence of a shower we wanted total immersion, a way to literally wash the day away before relaxing beside the fire with a cold beer or glass of wine.

“The smell of wood smoke… the taste of food that has been cooked over a fire… these things are embedded in our DNA. They take us back to a time when we sat around a fire and told stories, and looked at the stars.”— Mark Hix, Chef Being outdoors, slow cooking over a fire, sitting under the stars. Another pleasure of simple living in the bush.

When we started taking the idea of transforming the Shut into a comfortable sleeping and living space seriously, I begun to search the internet for off-grid heating options. We didn't have solar power set up so the most obvious solution was to install a wood burner. Afterall, we had plenty of fuel for a fire. There are a number of companies selling smaller fires for tiny homes but the one that stood out was…

At around $250 per night a Beachfront Motel room in Hokitika was a luxury we couldn't afford to repeat too often. On top of this was the added cost of petrol driving too and from the land and our hospitality expenses staying in Hokitika with its abundance of good restaurants, pubs and cafes. The realisation dawned on us fairly quickly that if we wanted to stay on the land and live the 'cabin in the bush' dream then our best option was to stay in the Shut.

The metal prefab building stuck out like a sore thumb. It sat unloved in the little clearing sheltered by Rimu trees and laced with rain. Stepping inside it felt dank, cold and derelict. The harsh metal walls were scuffed and dirty, the drab stained plywood floor felt springy underfoot and I noticed dark organic patterns emerging from the corners where rain had seeped inside.

"The land holds its own breath. The stones dream. The water remembers everything." - Keri Hulme. When we started looking for a block of land we had a few requirements on our wish list. Firstly, the land needed to be predominantly native bush. Secondly, we wanted access from the land to a water source of some description. Finally, the block needed to be within a three hour drive of our current home in North Canterbury so we could commute for weekend stays.