Eat nuts: “At Mercury Bay Estate winery’s Cellar Door (761A Purangi Rd.; 866-4066), the Cathedral Cove macadamia nuts come on a great mixed platter with smoked kingfish and Coromandel mussels ...

But the team from Cathedral Cove Macadamias like to do things a little differently. This kind of conviviality is at the very heart of their business, and their lifestyle.

They bought a park-like property covered in macadamia trees and embarked on their new, slower life. "The nuts had never been harvested and the rats were having a great time!" says Sue. Realising ...