Alex Hallatt 4/15/20 Alex Hallatt 4/15/20

Living in New Zealand: Exercise and Social Distancing Around Lyttelton

Normally I walk a lot around the local hills (it helps me come up with ideas), but now that people are in lockdown at home and only allowed out for essential trips or to excercise, there are many more people in the hills. And the walking tracks are very narrow sometimes, so it’s hard to keep two metres apart.

I wish I could get to Quail Island but no stand up paddle boarding is allowed

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Some parts of Godley Head are out-of-bounds because of Covid-19, but you can bike up to Evans Pass with views out over Sumner and then cycle along to see the quiet surf of Taylors Mistake and the not-too-busy trails beyond. I think the campervans in the photos below have probably been moved on by now.

We are three weeks into lockdown. I hope that a week from now we are at the end of it.

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Alex Hallatt 4/10/20 Alex Hallatt 4/10/20

Living in New Zealand: Lockdown is Easier When You Have a Garden and New Compost Bays

I received a text message yesterday - the Swiss Army made it back to Zurich and their flat. It is a shame they had to cut their New Zealand trip short and I hope they will be back.

Maybe when we have a kitchen and bathroom.

It is nice to be in the middle of harvest as we are minimising our trips to the supermarket during lockdown.

Over half way to the end of lockdown. I hope.

Alex Hallatt 4/6/20 Alex Hallatt 4/6/20

Living in New Zealand: Covid-19 Lockdown in Lyttelton

Things have changed a lot in two weeks, though the port is still working. With far fewer ships coming in of any type. Click to see options for using the image

We have now spent just over aa week of a minimum of four weeks of lockdown in New Zealand. That means we don’t travel unless we need essentials like food. I have been to the Supervalue little supermarket once since we returned from kayaking (Duncan misses shopping more than I do and has made a couple of trips through the tunnel). It was too busy, with people struggling to maintain their two metres apart. Luckily, we don’t know of any virus here yet, but I was extra careful and wiped everything I bought down with detergent and bleach before I brought it into our house.

And the house. All construction work had to stop on lockdown, which means that we have no proper kitchen or bathroom.

So we have a camp kitchen.

And a loo on the lawn.

And we are sharing this interesting situation with two Swiss tourists who had nowhere else to go.

Thank goodness I have my studio to work in.

Alex Hallatt 4/2/20 Alex Hallatt 4/2/20

Living in New Zealand: The Last Trip: Kayaking in Doubtful Sound

When I turned 50 last year, my lovely sister gave me a kayaking trip for my birthday. The boyf organised it at a time that no one had heard of Covid-19. When we travelled south all the bars and cafes were still open and things were relatively normal.

It was a beautiful, still morning when the ferry dropped us on the other side of Lake Manapouri.

Only when we were out on Doubtful Sound, did our guide tells us that his company had decided our group was to be the last that went on an overnight kayaking trip for the season.

Fiordland is beautiful. I had been to Milford Sound in a time of drought in 1996 when the waterfalls weren't running. We had no problem seeing waterfalls on this paddle and the scenery was spectacular.

I was only disappointed by the lack of wildlife. The dolphins didn't show up and there seemed to be fewer birds than I find in my garden. A worker on the ferry told me that it is common to see stoats or weasels and we heard possums at night in the campground. It is very hard terrain to trap pests in and it seems that introduced predators are decimating native birds.

A second day of wind and rain made me happy to get off the water and have a hot shower before we took the bus back to the ferry. We were going to be the only ones heading back across the lake until an announcement was made that the country had moved to Level 3 (shutting all bars and cafes) and would be at Level 4 (everyone but non-essential workers to stay home) in two days.

We drove home, stopping in Omarama overnight and happy that we had a home we could get to. Unlike the German and Swiss tourists who were on our kayaking trip.