Mr Larkins is scheduled to leave New Zealand this week for the United Kingdom for two months to perform his show on the cruise ships.
Steve Larkins is Mercury Rising, in which he performs as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in a one-hour tribute show.
He has been doing the show since 2008 on cruise ships all over the world and has performed as Freddie more than the real Freddie performed on stage.
But it all thudded to a halt in March 2020 when Covid hit.
Larkins, who said his inspiration came from seeing bands such as Mother Goose perform in front of people at venues such as the Shoreline Hotel in Dunedin, had bought some property in Waikouaiti six months before the pandemic hit in 2020.
So for the next two and a-half years he was based in Waikouaiti — playing a few shows around the country and enjoying the lay of the land.
Now he is back in full swing.
He had a full schedule last summer and will be getting back into it this year.
He will be away for two months travelling around Europe and beyond.
He will then come back to New Zealand and do the cruise season in New Zealand as ships sail around the country and also head to the Pacific islands.
Larkins, and his wife Sharon, will miss Waikouaiti.
"It has been great and we have been kept busy.
"We are in the middle of renovations so there is always something to do," he said.
"But I really love that whole east coast around here.
"Just the way the coast is, the remoteness of it.
"There are some really lovely beaches here and it is a beautiful spot.
"I probably won’t live long enough but I can see down the coast from Oamaru through here to Dunedin and beyond will just steam ahead.
"It is all a bit undeveloped but can really go ahead."
As for now the man with the golden voice is back to playing Freddie in front of some big audiences on cruise ships in Europe and then back in New Zealand waters.
It will include a mixture of singing, piano playing and comedy, — not strictly a straight imitation of the famous Queen singer.
"There are fantastic singers around, great piano players and brilliant comedians, but I’m a combination of those three things — but not the same on an individual level.
"You have to get on stage and then tick all the boxes. Hopefully, by the time I get to the third song people have got it."
Mercury died in 1991 but Queen has remained active since then in various guises, which Larkins said had been a real boost for his career.
When he got back to performing on a ship last year after the time away it was like getting back on a bike, he said. It all came back to him quite quickly and the crowds appreciated it.
The cruise ship industry was massive in Europe — most of the big ports would have five to six ships tied up during the height of the season, he said.
New Zealand was somewhat behind that level but was growing all the time.
"Last season it was straight back to normal. Just amazing, really. People love it.
"It is great fun but you have to be on the ball. I went back and did my normal show — did not change much. There is though that professionalism you have to have. Some of the Queen songs you can just belt them out. They are straight up and down. But there are trickier ones. They are hard for the musicians really.
"They can be difficult."
Bohemian Rhapsody was tricky, he said, but the crowd always appreciated it.
Living on a ship for 13 years straight until he was forced off by Covid in 2020 was a dream, although he had to watch his waistline.
He was living a dream but being laid up for two and a-half years had he had performed in all sorts of places around the country.
