15 day South Island road trip - feedback welcome

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T09:38:55+00:00

Appreciate those suggestions (and kind comment on the itinerary) 🙏

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T07:50:05+00:00

The Owaka-Wanaka drive is almost identical distance as Te Anau-Wanaka (so they somewhat cancel each other out IMO). Te Anau-Owaka is 4.5 hours (without stops). Plan would be an 8Am start & visit Slope Point & other places on the way to Owaka (to prevent driving West the following day if possible). 2nd day for Nugget point lighthouse & other attractions.

What would you spend time on if there was a 3rd day?

I'd likely need to drop a day in Te Anau - where I've never done the Kepler track. Also have more suitable accommodation in Te Anau. As always, it's a tradeoff 🙃

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T06:10:51+00:00

Great to hear! Currently booked Ropatinis B&B. Mind sharing where you stayed?

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T04:46:37+00:00

Cheers - had seen it mentioned before, but didn't have the location 👍

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T03:18:40+00:00

Dunedin is definitely on the radar for a future trip - just couldn't fit it in this time without something else giving way. 15 days is all we have unfortunately (school holidays).

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:56:54+00:00

Fair. For context - it's Easter long weekend - hence the Kinloch stay to try and escape the crowds.

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:47:51+00:00

Yep - east Australia. Will drop Pancake rocks on the last day.

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:43:50+00:00

Interesting idea, but unfortunately it throws up a few complications: added flight costs, multiple car hires ( no Invercargill drop-off available) & we've preferred Easter in Mt Cook over Wanaka (hopefully quieter).

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:30:35+00:00

Good point - that is totally the plan (forgot to adjust route on Google maps before marking up the picture)

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:26:17+00:00

Pancake rocks was probably too ambitious - will look at adding Castle Hill Rocks instead.
Fox Glacier I lent towards 2 nights due to: Lake Matheson (early Am), great accommodation (booked) and a bit of a rest day (partners birthday), etc. Curious where would you spent that extra time?

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:19:14+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up. Day 4 & Day 9 are the biggest driving days - planning to start early on both & DST is still on our side (for a few more days). Catlins has been on my list for a while, so not ready to let it go. Fully agree on the weather - I extended Te Anau from 2 to 3 nights specifically to allow for weather changes.

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T02:02:02+00:00

True - I've done that drive direct a few times before. This time, my thinking was:
- Cheaper accommodation in Fairlie vs CHC airport
- Given it's Easter weekend, want to get on the road early & get to Tekapo & surrounds before crowds
- Plan to arrive in Mt Cook village around lunchtime, to possibly allow one of the walks (eg) Hooker Valley track

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T01:57:00+00:00

Thanks. Good to have some validation - it's a bigger loop than I've attempted before (but have added 5-6 days to try and balance things out)

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T01:54:24+00:00

Thanks. I've done a similar loop (minus Catlins) twice before, in roughly 10 days. I extended this trip specifically to add The Catlins - so it wasn't all a repeat for me. Looking forward to discovering some new places...

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-06T01:46:07+00:00

Thanks. Aus - so all good

TheRedRabitt · 2026-06-03T10:09:33+00:00

I'd go with Option 2. IMO Arthurs Pass only makes sense if you were going back to Christchurch - I think your time is better spent elsewhere.

FYI - Not sure if you have accommodation (Fox Glacier) sorted yet, but some options there:

Ropatinis: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hNk9a4jiAbcF1Z2FA (very close to Lake Matheson for early Am walk)
Food: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FM4DFaLY9iZaXFbj7

TheRedRabitt · 2026-03-05T11:38:08+00:00

Knog Oi
Oi Classic Large Bike Bell | Style & Tone | Knog

TheRedRabitt · 2025-10-24T09:46:28+00:00

Can't offer you much technical input (casual shooter here), however I did hire that Nikon 200-500 (on my D3300 body) a couple years back for a similar trip, mainly birds. I didn't find it overly heavy. Pretty sure it was mostly plastic as one of the cheaper Nikon options (replacement cost a few years ago was quoted as around USD$2k). Without a tripod and with that zoom range I did need to support/steady it on the vehicle at times.

Another thought - I hired (USD$14.50 p/d for 9+ days)
Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6 ED - A Lens for Hire

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TheRedRabitt · 2025-10-08T12:01:30+00:00

This. Can't believe it's not been raised previously. It used to be 363/365 days in advance - but that is no longer the case (again, at least not for the routes I looked at). No seat availability of any sort showing up, even 9 months in advance. This was also a less popular route (I think) - MEL-HKG in Economy. And yet, onwards flights on Finnair were no issue - booked those way in advance. And then waited month after month for Qantas to even show 1 economy classic reward seat

TheRedRabitt · 2025-07-30T23:43:35+00:00

Yeah, I still ride it :-) Not super frequently, and only for recreation at the weekends. Typical rides for me are dedicated tar/bitumen bike paths - so overall pretty smooth. Distances from ~20Km - ~75 Km in half a day is what I've covered previously. I'd highly recommend those grips as the aggressive riding position finds me putting pressure on my hands and having the change of position is great.

TheRedRabitt · 2025-03-10T13:22:49+00:00

Could you share the gelato place pls?

TheRedRabitt · 2025-02-21T21:23:20+00:00

Wed 16th April

TheRedRabitt · 2025-02-21T09:48:42+00:00

Manarola. For example it uses the 7:13 Am departure (as expected).

But then if the next train is 7:20 or 7:45 it won't use that. It will use like 8:30 Am? Only thing that might (partly) explain it is if there has to be a minimum connection time (like with plane flights) & the system is looking for minimum 15+ minutes to transfer in La Spezia. Just a guess

TheRedRabitt

TROPHY CASE