Beyond COVID-19 NZ

Auckland is now officially in Level 2.5, the rest of NZ in Level 2. So I'm back to Day 1. Although it's actually 22 weeks since initial lockdown. That's 155 days or so. That's five months. That's a long time. Aucklanders can travel around the country freely now. And boy were they off out of the gates like a rocket - the photos of the congested domestic airport in Auckland today were utterly horrific. I can only shake my head at such a scramble. Why so desperate? I'm all for travelling of course - but not like that! Thankfully it was good to hear that people were, by all accounts, mostly adhering to the mandatory mask-wearing regime on public transport. Good job. I suspect we'll be wearing masks for some time yet. We should, of course, have been wearing them for months.  Meanwhile, people trying to sell fabric "home made" style masks on TradeMe are being shut down. There is apparently a requirement for anyone selling masks of any kind to be register...

Our last day in Level 3 - we go to Level 2.5 at midnight. Yay. Let's hope people are sensible, wear masks, keep their distance and don't get complacent and selfish.  Did some writing work today, newsletter content etc. It was a lovely sunny warm day, but very windy. I never made it to the beach. This is apparently one of the mildest winters we've ever had on record. Feels like it. Summer clothes are already in order.  Later in the afternoon I went to the "big smoke" aka Warkworth. It was deserted. I went to the supermarket to get some supplies and drove back to Omaha. I barely saw ten people. I did follow an old Ford type car - green, vintage, trundling along.  The main street of Warkworth on a deserted Level 3 Sunday - the old car fits in well! This is the quaint Warkworth courthouse - also deserted. Is it actually 2020 in this town!?!? For dinner I made a chilli prawn salad, with seafood cocktail sauce and walnuts and bits and pieces. Delicious but my eyes were ...

What an incredible morning - it really felt like spring. A long beach walk was in order. At the northern end I sat a while and watched the world go by. Well, figuratively speaking. I'd rather be doing it literally! But that won't be for a while yet.  A flowering Agave Attenuata (fox tail agave) on my walk back from the beach Covid - gotta mention it ... So 13 new cases today, mostly in the community, and mostly from a church where people apparently have been gathering for prayer meetings despite lockdown.  Meanwhile the Auckland city beaches are crammed with people not wearing masks. And there was a protest today by a bunch of people who are anti-lockdown.  Whilst we're set to revert back to Level 2 on Monday, with limited numbers in gathering, this may be jeopardised by all this flouting of the lockdown rules. Or, we go back to Level 2 and slide rather quickly back to L3 or even L4.  It's kind of crazy that on one hand we're reported around the world as doing so we...

A mostly nice weather day today. After catch-up stuff,  I headed to the beach for a walk around 10ish. It was stunning, one of those most beautiful of morning walks. Here are pics looking south - and then north. There was a wind coming from the north, annoying. I headed up to the shelter of the pathways when it looked like rain.   Good job as suddenly - and oh so suddenly - OMG, black clouds came with  rain and I was suddenly getting wet and hot-footing it back home as fast as I could. Thankfully I'd worn a hoodie and could cover my head. How disappointing.  By the time I got back home, the sky was blue and the weather was lovely. Go figure! Back to work on my laptop ... not much else to report.  Am not even mentioning Covid. Oh - there were 12 new cases today.  SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY: Bugs ... Here's a photo of a Rainbow Grasshopper - they're not usually this bright (in fact, usually just tones of brown) but this one was photoshopped for a photo compet...

So there are 7 new cases today. And still quite a few question marks ??? around clusters. It's agonising to watch and listen to the daily TV press release and question time. Switching on to listen to it all holds little appeal. But switching off isn't any good either.  Masks are set to become mandatory on public transport. But not in taxis or Ubers. The driver must wear a mask but not the passengers. Excuse me ... What?! Why?  Passengers may well know each other - but how does this protect the driver? Makes no sense at all. I'm gobsmacked.  For goodness sake, let's get perspective here. If you go out, have a mask on you. And wear it.  Some of NZ policies are truly WTF. And without perspective or true eye on consequence. Look in all directions, please.  Are we  truly destined to forever be an island at the bottom of the world letting no one in or out? It sadly seems that way. I shake my head. Sam meanwhile, in London, is heading for Lake Como next weekend, P...

 Nothing much to report today. Work work work. Wind wind wind. Showers showers showers. I stayed inside and worked. And did some washing and cleaning.  The day was warm, and it was cool. It was calm, and it was windy. It was clear, and it was dull.  Made a quick trip to Matakana for some supplies. Wore my mask in the 4-Square. Not everyone was. For dinner I cooked a chicken - and then created a chicken "teriyaki on rice" ensemble with edamame beans (pictured). Served on sushi rice with rice vinegar (to give the perfect tang). Two helpings. So tasty I could have had three. Love those edamame beans. And still plenty of chicken for tomorrow's meal. Shame I can't invite friends over - we're still in Level 3 lockdown. Chicken teriyaki - with no food staging! SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY: Coronation Street ... Do you watch it? I've followed it through the years, although am not a religious watcher. I do enjoy watching when I can, and catch up here and there, although I don...

A windy day - not horrible but not very nice either. Had my Epsom Girls Grammar Old Girls hat on for much of the day - finalising stuff around a special Scholarship we give to a boarding girl. Newsletter stuff.  Other stuff too. Quite a lot actually. Never set foot outside.  Had online team quiz tonight with Shadee Bunch. Good fun. We did pretty well. Thanks to Donna for putting this one together.  Not sure if pubs in Auckland will be fully back to hosting quiz next week - we'll see. Rain on and off through the day, nothing dramatic but enough to be a nuisance. But only for those who had the urge or need to get outside. I had much work to do and going outside wasn't in the plan, or desire! Here are some photos of the southern end of Omaha - it's the newer part of Omaha and where most of the larger houses are, as well as some more authentic ones. There's a lovely walk along the pathways that takes you past a heap of houses and you can see so many architectural styles (an...

Today's big announcement came at 3pm - and Auckland will remain in Level 3 for another four days, until 11:59pm on Sunday night. The rest of the country stays in Level 2. There's not a lot of clarity but it seems that even when Auckland goes to L2 on Monday, there will still be restrictions on gatherings - maximum of ten people, which is likely to remain in place until 6th September.  This is bad news for those in hospitality i.e. my sister and her bar Pym's of Milford. It's also not good for the likes of me in travel. But, like a good jockey, we'll ride this out and hopefully get past the post in good shape. Masks will become compulsory on public transport. And encouraged in every other sphere of life. Finally! It's virtually impossible to plan anything. And there's no point in dreaming up anything to plan. For someone like me, this is very difficult.  I suggest that "Impromptu" is going to become the new modus operandus . Which is okay for me as ...

 A day of two halves today for sure. After a night of two halves. There was some serious lightning strikes happening in the middle of the night. And some heavy rain. So I was surprised to find the morning was rather lovely. I spent a long time on the beach, but it was quite a different vibe to yesterday. More moody today. The waves were more surge than surf. Paddle-boarders riding them rather than surfers. A few surfers too, but mostly beginners having a play and not getting too many rides. They were testing the waters.  It was pretty spectacular, all in all. Here's a selection of pics taken today - more quirky and arty than purely scenic. Quirky guy in a hat strolling the beach Powhenua surveying the scene OMG I have about 100 more photos that I took today - impossible to siphon through them to deduce down and share.This will suffice as a tiny snapshot.  Locked down here is not so bad. But it can't go on ... I'm a global soul, and much as I love walking Omaha Beach and w...

What a pearler of a morning at the beach. The tide was high, the waves were rolling in perfectly and there were surfers galore. The beach was pretty busy - people walking, dogs romping, surfers surfing, and even people sunbathing. In togs. It was warm and utterly stunning. The surfers looked like little sharks, perched on their boards waiting for a wave. They never had to wait long, the waves were coming thick and fast. People were getting great rides. Some were doing tricks, running along their boards, turning backwards etc. Fun to watch. Which isn't always the case when the waves are few and far between.  This was definitely surfers' paradise! The dogs were loving it! The surfers were loving it! The walkers were loving it! Riding the wave ... and next second ... Airborne! Spent ages on the beach. It was like a summer's day and lockdown was neither apparent nor relevant.  Opened all the doors today, for the first time in a lock while. No wind, warm air, glorious sunshine....

 The morning dawned nicely. I was straight into work, had online meetings. Intense, all good. I went to Matakana early afternoon to get a few supplies.  There was a film crew in situ in the centre of the village - I'm told they were filming something for Hallmark channel. Think it's a pay channel, no idea what it might be, but worth checking out. Indi the cat snoozed through most of the day! I chatted with various friends around the world. OMG everything about today's announcements, around the world, reinforces how complacency is NO-GO! A nd this is a pic of the dining/lounge Omaha in the evening. SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY: Yummy curry ... Made a curry tonight - chicken thighs, roast butternut, lentils, red onion. It was YUM. 

A gloomy morning at Omaha. I had work to do so barely looked outside to notice it.  Came up for air around 1:30pm and the day had turned quite nice, although still blustery. Went for a walk to the beach - oh man, it was really hot down there, and not really windy at all. I was way overdressed and ended up sweltering. Took off the windbreaker but couldn't remove the jumper. Shortened my walk so that I didn't expire due to heatstroke at the far end of the beach! It must have been at least 20 degrees. It's August in winter! There were quite a few people on the beach, the tide was low and the waves were crashing in. The sand was pockmarked with the residue of earlier raindrops. Firm underfoot; easy walking. Nice.  Back onto the laptop, head down working. No distractions whatsoever. Great progress made.  Came up for air again around 4.30 and prepared an early dinner - burger. Home-made beef & mushroom pattie, egg and blue cheese. Red onion, red pepper, gherkins, lettuce, m...

What a wild and rugged night! It poured and squalled and blew all night long. It's been a while since the weather has made that much of a racket! The morning wasn't a whole lot better but, by around midday, it had calmed down a lot.  The afternoon wasn't nice enough for me to want to get outside, but at least the wind and rain had buggered off and the day had generally brightened up.  Indi the cat was in and out like a yo-yo all morning, coming back all wet, letting me dry her and then heading straight back out again for a romp around or whatever she gets up to! She's busy settling back into the Omaha way of life. It takes me about 3 seconds, but obviously takes her a bit longer! She must have exhausted herself with all that romping because she spent almost the entire afternoon snoozing on a chair on the deck while I worked undisturbed - writing, minutes, reports etc. Alas, can't do much in relation to travel right now but did a few emails etc to progress things a l...

13 new cases today. All sorts of unusual complications. People testing positive with unknown reason. Genomes linked to the US. A case not related to the cluster (and I don't suppose it's the only one).  The plot and chaos thickens.  How the hell did Covid claw its way back into NZ like this? Seems like shambolic lack of border control and marginal testing is at the root of things. Being lax, laissez-faire, lazy ... it never leads to good things. Or perhaps something even more sinister ... Jacinda should have known about this border debacle long ago. Did she not check in on what was going on re testing? My gut never felt good about the whole border thing some time ago.  Now it seems there is a lot of damage that has been done. And who knows how quickly it can be undone, if at all, ever.  I spent much of the day doing admin tick-off stuff - again! Always seem to have so many things to tend to. Today's bits and bobs were important ones. Got them all tended to today...