Looking for the accommodation at which they would spend the night, Kreiger became lost and missed the road sign.
He performed a U-turn and continued on the wrong side of the road.
With headlights approaching, he veered further right and hit the oncoming vehicle head on.
The two people in the other car - business partners at an irrigation firm - escaped uninjured but Daphne Kreiger was not so lucky.
A helicopter arrived to take her to Dunstan Hospital but was unable to land because of the poor visibility.
She was taken to Dunedin Hospital by ambulance with moderate injuries to her spleen.
Defence counsel Anne Stevens said her client's daughter had since been given the all-clear to fly home and would do so with the defendant on July 20.
Kreiger's wife and other daughter had already returned, the court heard.
Stevens said the duo in the other vehicle had been sympathetic to the defendant's plight, given the thick fog and their experiences driving overseas on the other side of the road.
Kreiger had made a $3000 donation to St John, which was endorsed by the victims.
Stevens said her client was also keen to pay the insurance excess for their vehicle.
"The family came out to have a holiday ... and it went terribly wrong," she said.
Judge Kevin Phillips ordered Kreiger to pay $1500 reparation and banned him from driving for six months.
