New Zealand - Help my brain has stopped working.
 

Our flight arrives in Christchurch at 11:15 pm on Thursday, Nov. 2. We will stay at an airport hotel and pick up our car the following morning. I can't decide whether to stay in Christchurch an additional day (and change hotels rather than staying at the airport) or moving on. I have two nights booked for Lake Tekapo on Saturday and Sunday Nov. 4 and 5, Is there a good midway point between Christchurch and Lake Tekapo to spend Friday night. We want to take our time and "meander" We will be visiting Queenstown and Sydney so would missing Christchurch be terrible? If anyone has a suggestion of a winery/hotel midway, that would work for us. Thanks for any suggestions.

I know how you feel , I always get brain freeze planing a trip to NZ. So much to see but there never seems to be a perfect way to plan the route without missing something! I think whether or not to stay in Christchurch for that extra day is really dependent upon from where you are flying and how badly or not you are affected by jet lag. If coming from Australia then it wont be a problem. Not sure I would be ok arriving at that hour and driving the next day if arriving from the US or Europe. Cant say I am a particular fan of Christchurch and wouldn't choose to stay there any longer than necessary (nothing wrong with the city, its just that there are so many much nicer places to explore in NZ)

As for a midway point, the drive between Christchurch is not the most exciting part of New Zealand but when we have been it has always been in a camper van and our second stop would usually be Lake Tekapo. We usually break the trip at a DOC Campsite near Geraldine right out in the countryside. Clearly that is not an option for you but Geraldine itself is a great example of small town NZ. You could consider an overnight there but frankly , as it is only around three hours from Christchurch to Tekapo, I would probably head straight to Tekapo with maybe a stop for lunch in Geraldine ( a real foodie place)

Lake Tekapo is stunning a great first stop. Some photos from our time there on one of our visits https://accidentalnomads.com/2016/01...e-hot-springs/

If you are into hiking there is a great walk up to Mt St John observatory

Consider staying in Geraldine, Timaru, or Oamaru for a scenic stopover between Christchurch and Lake Tekapo. Enjoy the natural beauty of the South Island.

Another vote for Geraldine. We've often spent our first few nights there as a way of getting away from Christchurch - it's less than a two hour drive.

Geraldine used to have a fabulous resturant that we'd book weeks in advance, but it's no longer in business unfortunately. We also know of a great little B&B there if you need a suggestion.

https://www.newzealand.com/us/geraldine/

I enjoyed Christchurch. Because of storms we ended up staying there two times on our trip in 2020. I found it a nice city and was glad we had some time to explore it. We had a month just on the SI so we didn't feel we were sacrificing its beauty by staying there. For less time on the SI, I might feel differently.
That said, if you will be jetlagged I would definitely stay the extra night.

For someone with less time I would not spend a second night in Christchurch unless jet lag is a concern. I've been told the Sudima is very nice and is a notch less than the Novotel (friend had a flight cancelled and that was all that was left). We stayed at Airport Gateway which was fine and should be very reasonable if you are not running into a special event.

There is a mall near the airport with a range of restaurants (walking distance to Sudima).

We actually stayed in Twizel rather than Tekapo (it was a birding tour) and there are some very good restaurants in that town mall now. Mint, Folk & Co. is one (you can look them up on Facebook).

The restaurant scene had really changed for the better since my prior visits. I do recall a good one in Geraldine (Library I think)