The answer is a 22 1/2 hour journey by minibus, train, ship and finally a murderous 9 1/2 hour ride on a boneshaking bus. I crawl into bed at 5.30 am on Sunday morning.
But all that didn't matter because in the afternoon we finally found the unadvertised venue, and the show started. It was a very New Zealand setting, with the band playing on a small grass terrace (no, I wouldn't call it a grassy knoll) with only a canvas sheet for shelter, and the audience gathered in a tiny paved quadrangle outside a shopping mall. It was all really informal and the band was even more relaxed than usual, and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Many of the crowd just seemed to want to look good, but enough of us old Split Enzers and Crowdies were there to allow a really good time.
One of my friends bootlegged the concert, although his efforts were spoiled somewhat by the whining of a dog whose owners didn't seem to care about the fact that the noise was really getting to him. Meanwhile one of the security guards had been about to confiscate a bootlegger's tape when Neil said that "All home copies are welcome". Nick then announced that copies would be available in the mall after the show. What any record company executives present thought about this is open to speculation.
Perhaps the highlight of the show was when Neil noticed someone at the back of the crowd holding a guitar, and invited him on stage. His mate also came up, and upon discovering that he was a drummer, Paul gave him the sticks and announced that he was "off to take a piss", running off in the direction of the mall. Neil loaned the lucky bastard his acoustic and microphone and everyone jammed a Bob Marley song for five minutes! The guy did a really good job (he was certainly better than any of the support acts) and his mate was a good drummer. Fortunately for Neil, Nick and Mark the song was nice and easy to play, since they only had to remember one chord :=)
The concert lasted about an hour and included most of the big hits (in this country anyway) like when you come, weather with you, four seasons and locked out, before concluding with (surprise surprise) a final encore of don't dream it's over. It was a truely unforgettable experience, and even though we had hoped that a few Enz alumni would turn up we all went home on a real high. Roll on the "real" tour later in the year!