Fodor's Expert Review Pete's Collectibles

If you're interested in the retro side of New Zealand, Pete's is one of a cluster of stores in Thames selling 1950s–1970s New Zealand–made knickknacks, including old records, secondhand books, and cool kitchen crockery. The wares are too quirky to be conventionally "antique." Look out for his range of Crown Lynn—these iconic dinner sets have attained cult status in New Zealand. The maker of these kitschy cups and saucers was once the largest pottery manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere and provided dishware to the New Zealand railways in the 1940s. Crown Lynn is probably the most popular item for ceramic collectors in the country.