Less than an hour from Christchurch, why wouldn't you choose to stay here and enjoy the spacious, homely facilities? We found Carolie's place to be quite refreshing and perfect to park for an overnight but staying for a longer period would be just as good. I've stayed at a variety of centre city locations but have finally realised that these smaller towns adjacent to major metro areas are far more pleasant for a host of reasons! This is one excellent example of that sort of place. And, if you want to travel South to the Queenstown/Central Otago areas, you can start well ahead of those who leave Christchurch and avoid all those slow overseas drivers that prevail in the area.