She draws the line at jet-skiing, but sports-mad great-great-grandmother Margaret Barnes, who turns 100 in seven weeks, says she's still taking life in her stride.
The Invercargill woman spent Christmas Day with her family, camped in the Alexandra Holiday Park. As a slight concession to her age, she was staying in a cabin, rather than a caravan. She was surrounded by four generations of her family.
Having five generations of the family together was not unusual, she said, and she was surprised at the fuss over her impending 100th birthday, on February 10.
Her family said the Calvary Rest Home resident was looking forward to Christmas more than to her milestone birthday.
"I'm not a person for a lot of fuss, really," Mrs Barnes explained.
Her 99th Christmas Day was off to a good start with whitebait for breakfast. Raspberries and cream was another of the treats to which she was looking forward.
She said she kept in good health and was a passionate sports fan, so was keeping her fingers crossed "that my eyesight holds out for a while yet, so I can still see all that on Sky [TV]."
A fan of horse racing, cricket, rugby, league, basketball and netball, she says: "I like it all, really."
Mrs Barnes is especially keen on one-day cricket matches.
"You can just sit back and relax and watch it, all day."
However, keeping active is one of the secrets to her longevity, she says.
"I think the secret is hard work ... and living among young people, that keeps you young."
Her family says she is "bright and perky" and her memory is far better than that of her children and grandchildren.
"We all hope we've inherited her genes, and are still going great at almost 100, like her," granddaughter Vicky McDonald, of Invercargill, said.
Christmas presents were not high on Mrs Barnes' wish list for the day.
"At my age, there's nothing you really want, but everyone's been very kind to me."
Mrs Barnes was born in Timaru and she shifted to Dunedin with her late husband Armer after the war. The couple ran a dry-cleaning business in Balclutha for many years.
Asked what 2012 might bring, she said she hoped she would continue to enjoy good health.
"And I hope, for the sake of those poor people in Christchurch, there's an end to those dreadful earthquakes."
