Ivan Berg's life revolves around candy floss and the open road, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
The 63-year-old's house truck was among an assortment of vehicles to roll into Dunedin for the city's annual Easter weekend Gypsy Fair at the Oval.
It was the latest stop for the fair, which has been travelling the country for more than 20 years, stopping in a different town each weekend for eight months of the year.
Mr Berg said Dunedin was one of the fair's four biggest events each year, and the largest in the South Island.
He joined the circuit in 2001, forgoing an earlier career as a travelling musician, but still returned to his property in New Plymouth each winter to see out the coldest months of the year.
Life on the road offered the chance to see the country and meet the people while making a modest living, he said.
''New Zealand's just full of beauty. When you are out there like us, you find it,'' he said.
Those on the tour received a warm welcome in every town, and Mr Berg spent his weekends handing out a steady stream of candy floss sticks or bags for $3 a pop.
The income from this covered his minimal costs while travelling with his daughter, son-in-law, two grandchildren and pet dog, he said.
In between fairs, Mr Berg said, he liked to hit the road in search of a quiet patch of nature to park up and enjoy.
''I like to go to the wilderness and hide,'' he said.
Mr Berg said he had lost count of the number of times he had visited Dunedin, but the next towns on the Gypsy Fair's itinerary were Wanaka and then Invercargill.
Fairs had remained popular with young and old, even though crowd numbers had ''dropped off slightly'' over the years, Mr Berg said.
The fair's mix of home-made jewellery, clothing and trinkets, together with tarot readings and candy floss, could not be found inside a PlayStation, he said.
The allure of candy floss still remained strong, he said.
''I'm happy ... and just about all my customers are happy,'' he said.
The fair finishes on Monday.
