Van Hautem said she introduced the swing to her performance when her son Alexander (6) was a newborn and she had taken him on tour in the Netherlands.
''If he was awake, for the very last song, he would sit with me on the swing and I would sing Alexander, which I wrote for him.''
Today, she planned a morning run to Ross Creek Reservoir and then a boat trip to see the albatrosses at Taiaroa Head.
She was enjoying the nature in Dunedin, she said.
''Walking on the grass, you can feel the soil is very rich - it's a beautiful country. I'm enjoying it a lot.''
The mother-of-two said she planned to buy a woollen sweater to take home to her husband in Nice, France, because she had shrunk his favourite one in the wash.
Van Hautem performs Micheline Sings Brel at the Auditorium again tonight.
Her muse, Jacques Brel, wrote songs full of emotion.
''I find Brel has a laugh and a tear and you can put that all in one performance - I like that diversity.''
