It's official: New Zealand has been picked by Lonely Planet authors, staff and travellers as one of the Top 10 Countries to visit in 2010.
Lonely Planet pokes fun at itself for recommending New Zealand as "too obvious, right?"
"But there’s wisdom in the old saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, and last time we checked the land of Mâori and hobbits it certainly didn’t need repairing," the guide says.
Earlier this year, readers of the prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast named New Zealand as one of their favourite destinations.