Swinging a leg over his 1000cc BMW motorcycle - making sure wife Judy is tucked into the Sabiston Mark 2 sidecar - he will head off through Dunedin on their 28th Brass Monkey Rally.
The annual trip to Oturehua is on his "bucket list".
"I've got a few things to do before I kick the bucket."
Terminal lung cancer means this is possibly his last ride through Middlemarch to the Idaburn Dam, but do not expect a melancholic appearance from this 70-year-old motorcyclist.
"I'm still going. I might not feel the best but I'm looking forward to it," he said, his eyes twinkling.
Like a child eagerly anticipating a school camp, he was packed well in advance and had the BMW he bought a week ago primed for the journey.
You guessed it, the bike was on the bucket list, too.
Camping is now a dirty word for the Vandorps - they gave it away the year after Mrs Vandorp (63) developed hypothermia.
The Roseneath couple remember that particular rally well - snow on the ground and a frost heavy enough to white-coat the revellers' backs, as they huddled by the bonfire.
Returning to their tent eliminated this heat source.
"I was in bed and got the shakes and couldn't stop and I knew something wasn't right. I thought 'this is stupid. I'm not sleeping here any more'," Mrs Vandorp said.
When they were "young and adventurous" they would brave the bitter temperatures.
The Vandorps have many laughter-punctuated remin-iscences.
Icicles on the inside of the tent, saveloys frozen in pots and "helluva frosts" were all part of the Brass Monkey experience.
Nowadays the couple leave on the Friday before the event, meet friends from around the country in Ranfurly and rendezvous back there after the Saturday night festivities to sleep in their "brick tent".
The mates they have made during their nearly 30 years of motorcycling ensure they have a bed in most towns in New Zealand.
Friends have also given them a helping hand to acquire the 27 rally badges that are given only to those who enter the gates by motorcycle.
They have required a lift into the grounds twice - when Mr Vandorp broke his hand a week out from the event one year and last year when an accident put their motorcycle and sidecar out of commission.
This is the fourth time the Vandorps have featured in the Otago Daily Times.
Each story, spread over the 27 years, pays tribute to their adventurous spirits and commitment to attending what they believe is one of the country's greatest motorcycle rallies.
Mrs Vandorp recalled a saying that rang touchingly true for them.
"Life is not about the destination, it is about the journey."
