Anything interesting to see between Timaru and Christchurch?

[dlegal]

My parents have never been to New Zealand and I will be picking them up from the Christchurch airport and then we will drive down to Dunedin. I was hoping we could stop somewhere between Christchurch and Timaru to eat at an amazing restaurant or take a short walk along a trail to break up the amount of time we will be sitting in the car. Is there anything you can recommend?

[lisak]

The highway from Christchurch to Timaru is very flat and straight, there isn't a whole lot to see. A few places you could stop are in Ashburton where there is an excellent park and garden to walk around or in Geraldine for a nice place to have a bite to eat. Although if you would like a stunning view of the bay I would suggest stopping to eat at the Timaru Bay Hill area. This is a very nice area.