one night between blenheim and arthur's pass
 

My itinerary is pretty much set, except I have an open night between Blenheim and the Wilderness Lodge at Arthur's Pass. We could spend the night in Hanmer Springs, or maybe Christchurch, or anywhere in between. (not akoura, too much driving). I'm hoping for suggestions as to a possible overnight destination, as well as an interesting route to follow. Thank you.

The last time I did this I wound up somewhere around Cheviot!

Maybe Kaikoura would be a bit more interesting.

Well, if you take the most obvious route (SH 1) Kaikoura or Hanmer Springs, Waipara or Amberley make sense.

If you take the 'scenic route', (63, 6, 73, via part of the West Coat), then Westport or Punakaiki or Barrytown make sense.

Sorry if I have missed your itinerary in a previous post, but where to after Arthur's Pass? If you don't go over to the West Coast from there, then I definitely agree with Mel's suggestion for the "scenic route". My suggestion would be to aim for an overnight at Punakaiki.
Rob.

Of course they may have changed but in March's itinerary they were going to the west coast

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...-itinerary.cfm

After Arthur's Pass (wilderness lodge), we'll be spending a night at Fox Glacier, then Wanaka for 2 nights, then queenstown for a few nights (including one near Glenorchy), then to auckland for a wedding. I'm now thinking Waipara sounds interesting. Thank you for the suggestion.

Any thoughts about the advantages of Waipara over Hanmer Springs?

Mainly wine tasting there, and a few good restaurants (Pegasus Bay).