I'm going in January.

Is there really nothing between Christchurch and Queenstown?

I drove across Arthur's Pass and down to Greymouth and Franz Josef, before going to Wanaka and then Te Anau and Queenstown a couple of years ago. I did the Fox Glacier walk.

This time, I thought I'd drive along the eastern side of Mt. Cook, possibly stop for those iconic views of Mt. Cook over Lake Pukaki before continuing on south. But really nothing else to stop for?

Actually want to see if it makes sense to visit the Catlins and Dunedin for a couple of days.