It's 6.50am on a fine, calm day in Dansey Pass and Jim Reeves is playing on a stereo.
Members of the North Otago Scouts are busy cooking breakfast for the 70 trail participants, who include a mix of riders and wagoners.
Horses graze in nearby paddocks as people head out either to catch their steeds or pack their bags after an overnight sojourn in a marquee, where the silence was apparently broken in the middle of the night by an impromptu rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Long-time trail boss Chris Bayne appears with her make-up already applied for the day - "blimmin' oath" - but is quick to point out that she has not had the blow-dryer out.
Her light wagon trail is one of the most popular on the cavalcade and registrations quickly flood in for it.
"I don't know why. Silly beggars," she says.
This is Mrs Bayne's 18th cavalcade - she has missed only one - while her husband, Les, is a veteran of all 19.
It is the people - "lots of fun, lots of laughter" - that keeps her coming back. Planning for each trail begins after the last one finishes.
In fact, someone has already asked Mrs Bayne where her trail to Cromwell next year will leave from.
The key to being a good trail boss is "fold your arms and look at them and they go 'uh oh' ... they do listen".
"I better take my bed down, or I'll get the sack," she says, as she hurries away.
Dishing up breakfast is retired Oamaru police sergeant and scouting stalwart Derek Beveridge. Spaghetti, hash browns, bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, cereal and fruit are on the menu. Lunch is lasagne and macaroni cheese and dinner comprises roast pork and apple sauce, roast and boiled potatoes, peas, pumpkin, cauliflower, cold meat platters, salads, trifle, fruit and cream.
Mr Beveridge declares catering for the cavalcade to be "good fun".
"I wouldn't come if it wasn't fun".
Peter Swale, of Invercargill, is a veteran of 11 light wagon trails. He likes the trail because there is "a good trail boss, good wranglers, good tucker, no nonsense".
In fact, he reckons the North Otago Scouts' cooking skills are "the best you get".
"You wouldn't ask for a better trail than this one, I think. You'd have to be in Club Med I think to have a better trail."
Mr Swale enjoys the opportunity to get out into the hills, as his home area is so flat. The scenery is a big attraction and getting into country that he would not otherwise explore.
His horse, King, is being "diabolical at the moment", although that is probably due to the rider, he says. He usually rides from about October until after the cavalcade.
For Jim and Sherrill Carswell, of Loburn, in Canterbury, the cavalcade is a welcome break from the horrors of their home patch.
Tears well in Mrs Carswell's eyes as she speaks of the earthquake and those connected to her family who have been affected.
The couple, who have been married for 49 years, enjoy taking part together, with Mr Carswell acting as his wife's back-up driver.
They enjoy the camaraderie and the scenery.
"I just love it," Mrs Carswell says.
Prior to preparing for the cavalcade, Dr Tim Carey-Smith had not ridden a horse since he was 12. Now 62, he saw one of TV One cameraman Ross Wilson's cavalcade DVDs and thought it was something he would like to do.
Having retired last year, he now has the time to do it, and so a friend lent him a horse to see if he could still get on.
Well-known Westwood horsewoman Brenda Harland then lent him Ernie and he has enjoyed riding on the sand dunes in preparation for the trail.
While describing himself as "not really a horsey person", Dr Carey-Smith says he is "suffering very little, surprisingly".
Lucia Vincent (28), who lives in Edendale and works as a lawyer in Invercargill, is on her fourth cavalcade with her mother, Donna Vincent.
It is the third time they have been on the cavalcade together. Last year, Lucia was kicked by another's horse, leaving a hole in her leg which required stitches.
Her mother was not on the trail with her last year and she jokes that she brought her this year for good luck.
The fact that her mother is an emergency department nurse has nothing to do with it - "it wasn't really, it was just because I love her", she says.
The last word must go to cavalcade veteran Alice Sinclair, of Mosgiel - one of only a handful of people who have completed all 19 cavalcades.
Mrs Sinclair (76) likes the light wagon trail because it is "not a flat-tack trip".
"It's nice and calm and relaxing. And the tucker," she says.
She also enjoys the people she meets and the scenery she sees.
"Look at the countryside, it's terrific," she says.
Her horse Missy is "terrific" and the trip is much happier than two years ago when her previous horse had to be put down after breaking a leg, two days before the finish.
Asked whether she plans to continue cavalcading, the answer comes quickly.
"Oh yes, too right. I've got to get to 20."
