Six hours worth of driving is nothing for Urzila Carlson, as long as it means she gets to experience the beauty of Southland along the way. 

The award winning comedian, who recently joined the New Zealand adaptation of the Australian series Have You Been Paying Attention? as a regular panelist, is set to delight Southland audiences later this month with her Token African show and told the Advocate South that she has some fond memories of travelling across the region.

"I do have many, many memories [in Southland]. I remember the shows were fun but I remember the food more. ZooKeepers Cafe has the best seafood chowder and the cheese rolls produced in Invercargill surpasses any other cheese 

roll ever."

She said she much prefers driving to her shows across her tour as it allows her to see experience more along the way.

"Instead of flying to different towns I drive, I'm happy to drive six hours a day, because nothing beats the raw beauty of the South Island. In fact I'm repping Southland so hard out I'm bringing a friend of mine from Australia over to drive with me and come and check out how beautiful it is."

Token African has been touring right across New Zealand since last month and Carlson said the idea for the show came after a friend of hers realised that she didn't identify as African.

"I said that I didn't because I am African, so I don't have to "identify" if I am? So, I thought I'd get my DNA done and write a show about the results."

She said she enjoyed having conversations with locals to stay up to date with local issues during her time in Southland to ensure some funny local content is added to her show.

Token African will play at the Civic Theatre in Invercargill on August 31. Tickets are available at www.livenation.co.nz

• Advocate South and The Southland App is giving away a double pass to Token African. For your chance to win, simply visit our WIN section.