Off the Beaten Track

NZ is one of 30 “hot spots for switched on travellers” recommended by Lonely Planet for 2004. To avoid the inevitable horde of Rings fans, LP suggests taking the Pacific Coast Highway down the Coromandel Peninsula, stopping off at Hot Water Beach and Te Urewera National Park. “A real treat comes at the end of the highway in Napier, an Art Deco delight of a city with a lively atmosphere in the middle of excellent wine-producing country.”