Nice! Thanks for the idea. Hadn't heard of Denniston... Looked it up, looked interesting, added it to the itinerary. The day I'm going from Cape Foulwind to Karamea and back down to Inangahua Junction, I didn't anything else planned, so an extra little excursion or two that day is welcome.
My plans are starting to come together nicely. I'm leaving things a bit loose though, so I can add or subtract bits as I go, depending on weather, energy, unexpected stuff... But my accommodation for all 9 nights is all booked and planned.
Plan so far is:
Day 1. AKL/CHC flight. Sort out bike rental and luggage etc. Ride to Pleasant Valley BnB (near Geraldine).
Day 2: Pleasant Valley to Kingston BnB (near Queenstown, south end of Lake Wakatipu) via Tekapo.
Day 3: Options: Either Kingston to Milford sound and back, or Kingston to Glenorchy and back, or just potter around Queenstown. Night at Kingston BnB again.
Day 4: Kingston to Fox Glacier BnB via Devil's Staircase Lookout Point, Crown Range Summit, Cardrona Hotel, Lake Hawea Lookout, Salmon Farm Café, Lake Matheson, etc.
Day 5: Fox Glacier to Cape Foulwind BnB via Franz Josef Glacier, Punakaiki pancake rocks, blowholes, Seal colony Tauranga Bay, etc.
Day 6: Cape Foulwind up to Karamea then back to Inangahua Junction area BnB via Denniston "experience"
Day 7: Inangahua Juntion to Waiau Motorcamp via Maruia falls, Maruia hot springs possibly, or Hanmer Springs. (Not sure whether to go the Upper gorge (SH6, SH65) or Reefton way (SH69, Reefton, SH7) on this leg.)
Day 8: Waiau to Goose Bay, to stay with relatives (near Kaikoura).
Day 9: Goose Bay to Kaiapoi, to stay with friends.
Day 10: Spend time with my friends at Kaiapoi, head in to CHC, Return rental bike, sort out luggage, CHC/AKL return flight.
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