Herman and Candelaria Zapp and their children, Pampa, Tehue, Paloma and Wallaby, are not your conventional family.
They travel the world in a 1928-vintage Graham-Paige car, living their dream and funding their travels by selling a book about their adventures.
It all started when the couple were living in Argentina and decided to drive to Alaska. The intention was to return home after the trip and have a "normal life".
They bought their old car three months before they left - Mr Zapp (41) believed it was much better to have a "simple" car.
It had never broken down "in the middle of nowhere", which was fortunate, as the only mechanical knowledge he had about the car was how to lift the bonnet.
But that trip whetted their taste for adventure and, once it was over, their dream was not. They returned to Argentina and decided to travel the length of the South American country.
After that, they shipped the car to Florida, in the United States, and started a new journey, heading north to Montreal, in Canada, then west to Vancouver Island and finally south to Los Angeles.
The family, which has expanded during their travels, then explored Australia before arriving in New Zealand.
They were chugging from Oamaru to Christchurch yesterday, hoping to persuade a shipping company to help them transport the car to Asia.
They hope to spend at least two years exploring Asia.
And, after that? "Why should you finish something that is so wonderful?" Mr Zapp said.
The family never tired of travelling - "How can you get sick of something that is so fascinating".
The family's adventures also provided plenty of opportunity to meet people from other lands, because as soon as they were out of the car, they were with people, he said.
Most of the time they stayed in private homes and one of the worst parts of the journey was that they were always leaving and saying goodbyes after forging strong friendships, Mrs Zapp (39) said.
The car usually puttered along about 50kmh - the family was never in a rush because it was a "lifestyle", she said.
The older children were schooled by their mother, studying through a correspondence school. Their lessons were sometimes based on their experiences, such as feeding crocodiles in Darwin.
The couple's families still thought they were "crazy" and it was very hard for them. They had still not met Wallaby, the most recent addition to the family.
It was also difficult for the Zapps, as they loved their family "but you can't get it all - sometimes you have to make a decision what you're going to do", Mr Zapp said.
Their adventure was also spurred by the death of Mr Zapp's mother at age 46, which played a major role in his decision to "do something now".
"So far I'm so happy. We fell in love with the same dream, we are working with the same dream, we are working together," Mr Zapp said.
It was just as well they got on so well together, as they could not get too far away from each other, Mrs Zapp said with a laugh.
"The only place I can go is to the back seat."
