This is the second mention of Corona in a blog post, and oh my how things have changed since that post a month ago as we departed Bali.
Everyone (except for a buffoon in a White House) in the world seems to be rightly on edge at the moment. We are thinking about all of our friends and family who are in areas where it's unfortunately become real. This includes many of our guides and wonderful people we've met while traveling.
As of today, the situation back home in the USA in places where we have friends and family:
Schools are closed everywhere
NYC bars and restaurants are shut, except for take-away
SF & Bay Area are under shelter in place/no travel orders
New Zealand Situation
Out of nothing but dumb luck, we find ourselves physically in a place that we'd likely pick if given the hypothetical of any spot in the world. Current situation here:
Eight confirmed cases
No cases yet linked to community transmission
Mandatory 14 day self quarantine for anyone entering the country
Kiwis are stocking up, shelves of paper goods and cleaners aren't bare but they're moving fast
Can't find hand sanitize for sale anywhere
Outside of some supermarket shelves, we don't observe the day to day being different here yet, but EVERY conversation you overhear is about Corona
There is no doubt community spreading will be here in NZ at some point (it probably already is), but this place is built for social distancing, which we're already practicing, knowing it's only a matter of time. What we've already started doing:
Not eating out, it's all home cooked or outside picnics
I'm the only one going inside grocery stores
Hand washing maniacs
All over each other not to touch our faces
No playgrounds
Stocked up with a supply of anti-bac soap and multi-purpose spray
Keeping a longer supply of food than we otherwise would (especially pasta, canned goods)
Touching public doors, elevator buttons, etc. with a tissue (or the like) covering our hands
South Island
We are currently continuing on our planned South Island road trip. At the moment we are near Franz Joseph Glacier. We were looking to go budget on this swing, so our original booking had a shared bathroom/kitchen scenario. We nixed that and are staying in a self contained cottage at a property with no communal areas, reception, etc at Kahere Retreat. There will be no more shared hotels or large properties in our future...
When we arrived here yesterday, Sarah and I did what could only be described as an aggressive disinfecting of the cottage on any frequently touched surfaces (door knobs, sinks, light switches, toilet flusher button, etc). That will be the norm from here on out.
Our originally planned trip on the South Island has two more stops, including a three day hike on a private trek trail. We were supposed to end by flying back to Auckland and then on to Tahiti. Already about a month ago we ditched the idea of onward travel beyond Australia & New Zealand, but now we've decided to simply hunker down in New Zealand with no onward travel booked as of now.
April
We'll continue our current road trip on the South Island for another ~ two weeks, and now get to see spots that we didn't originally have time for (i.e. the Eastern Coast). We'll then head back down to the Queenstown area, where we'll look for a single spot and book for at least a few weeks and reassess.
Beyond April
No idea. My Dad has graciously blocked his condo for us for the month of May on Kauai, but we'll only go there if we consider it a safer move than our current situation. We're mindful of course that once we enter the US it's very likely there won't be an option to exit. Given that we don't have a home and we would very likely not want to risk infecting family, it could make the most sense to simply not go anywhere for a while.
Only time will tell.
Sending good, healthy, safe vibes to our dear family and friends everywhere from NZ.
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