Reading the end of my last post, things were pretty dire. Taylor and Sam had decided to go home. Victoria, Chlo and I were all potentially losing our jobs. At the time, NZ only had eight cases of COVID, however over the next three days, that number would grow exponentially to over 200 and eventually would grow to nearly 2000.
Friday, March 20th was a kind of ‘D-Day’. In the span of five days, shit had hit the proverbial fan, and a lockdown was looking likely. Sam and Taylor had booked their flights home for that Sunday, in order to get out of dodge before the borders closed. Jenny, V and Chlo were all up to lose their jobs and would find out that day that they had all been spared. Mons Royale laid off thirty people in one swoop – I wouldn’t have made it if I had stayed there. Victoria’s company laid off forty people. Chlo’s work closed for the foreseeable future, but was keeping the staff employed.
That night, it became clear that this was the end of the summer as we knew it. So we took the opportunity to have one last team BBQ out on Ruby Island. It was the last time the whole gang would be together before Taylor and Sam left and it was extremely bittersweet.
Over the weekend, it was becoming increasingly clear that lockdown was inevitable. Our COVID numbers continued to increase and the PM was due to make a decision on Monday, March 23rd. Already, at-risk individuals had been asked not to leave their homes. To stave off our anxiety, Chloe came up with an idea to ask the bakeries around town for their leftovers to distribute to families and others who couldn’t go outside or were isolating. So on Saturday, the girls and I drove around town picking up baked goods and distributing them.
That Sunday night, we had one last family meal with Molly, anticipating that we’d be confined to our bubbles the next day and unable to see her for an indefinite amount of time.
The next day, the PM here announced an immediate move into Alert Level 3, meaning working from home, school closures and non-essential business closures. Then, in 48 hours, NZ would move to Alert Level 4 – total lockdown. No seeing anyone else outside your home, no leaving your home except for a short walk or groceries, no contact with any other people. It was surreal.
For our ‘bubble’, we had myself, Chlo and V (as we all live together), plus Dan (Chlo’s boyfriend, down from Christchurch) and Jossi (V’s boyfriend, who was living alone in his apartment, but could join our bubble because of that solitude).
Yeah, to be honest, I wasn’t stoked when I realized I’d be living on Love Island with the couples. But, all things considered it was the most fun. The five of us immediately set about finding ways to fill our time. V, Dan and I all still had jobs, so we kept on the 9-5 grind. Joss and Chlo didn’t have that luxury, so Chlo enrolled in an online course for interior design and Joss got back into cycling and running.
I remember that first week was the hardest. I had a constant headache which I later chalked up to anxiety, seeing as the dust had yet to settle during the first few days. I think the country was still in shock – things had happened so quickly, we had gone from laughing about COVID one week, to being in lockdown the next.
That said, we quickly adjusted and made routines for ourselves. For example, I ran almost every day, with a goal of running 15km before the end of lockdown (in which, I succeeded). We also made Friday nights into theme nights, where each of us would take a turn choosing a theme, then decorating, cooking and dressing up to suit. We did Formal, Japanese, Canadian and Western.
Meals quickly became the thing that our lives revolved around. It almost became a way of keeping time. Especially as we got into weeks 3 & 4 of lockdown, when things were beginning to get monotonous, the fun of coming together to make brunch and then hang out around empty plates after the meal – it was what I most looked forward to during the day.
If we’re being honest though, there was a fair amount of drinking involved as well. From beer pong at 11am, to drinking a bottle of wine each in the run of the night – I think most of NZ would agree that alcohol sales probably soared during lockdown.
We had a fair share of hilarity as well. On one notable occasion, the garage door had been left open and a mouse made its way into my room. After getting out of the shower, I watched it dart under my bed and in a calm and cool manner, I nonchalantly called out to the team to come help me get it (just kidding, I started screaming bloody murder while wrapped in a towel, while everyone came running, half-expecting my arm to be cut off). Everyone grabbed boxes, brooms and ski poles to help corral the little guy, who evaded us for a good 20min, before finally running out of the room and into the bathroom. Both Joss and Dan took chase, slammed the bathroom door shut, then debated for ten minutes how to go about catching it – all while they stared at the mouse and the mouse stared back at them.
Finally, they trapped it a couple of broken down beer boxes (naturally), which required both of them to hold the boxes together while they walked in tandem outside to release the mouse. It was maybe one of the funniest things that’s ever happened to me.
We also kept a quotes board, which we filled out entirely during lockdown, but some quotes are not to be shared with family, so here’s your watered down version.
On April 27th, just over four weeks after lockdown began – NZ entered Alert Level 3. This meant that we were allowed to hike and swim, go further than 1km from our house for physical exercise and that restaurants were allowed to open for takeaway (which was honestly the best part). I took the opportunity to hike Roy’s Peak, a hike which is usually crawling with thousands of tourists, but was eerily quiet in Level 3. It was one of those things that truly put things in perspective and made me realize just how much things had changed in the last six weeks.
We lived in Alert Level 3 for another three weeks, and by the time we moved into Alert Level 2 in mid May, I was well and truly over it. But that said, it worked. NZ had essentially eradicated the virus and we exited Alert Level 3 charting zero new cases per day. And even though I’m not Kiwi, I felt so proud. Four million people had come together and we’d managed to stomp it before it even got started. I was happy to be a part of that team.
In Alert Level 2, we were finally allowed to travel again, and for our first adventure, I was craving the ocean. So Chlo, Dan, Molly and I took off for the West Coast, parked up on the beach, pitched our tents on the sand and watched the sun go down. I’ve never felt more excited to be near salt water. God, it was well worth the wait and I was so content.
That night, we made dehydrated meals and drank while watching the stars, listening to the waves and even spotting Starlink (which was the coolest thing ever!). The next morning, I woke up early to see that Moll had gone outside to write in her journal and had left the tent door open – leaving me with the best view to wake up to.
Before heading home, we ducked into Fox Glacier for some coffee and breakfast, before taking a quick dip in the ocean. At first, I didn’t feel like getting in the ice cold water – I was content to watch Moll and Chlo jump in. But I had a moment of reflection where it occurred to me that, during lockdown, I would’ve given anything to jump in the ocean. So I thought ‘fuck it’, stripped down to my bra and thong and jumped in – and yeah it was cold, but it felt so good.
For the moment, we were free from COVID and a few weeks later, we moved into Alert Level 1 – meaning that basically, normal life resumed – just in time for winter.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. In addition to these blogs, I also make the occasional video compilation of all my iPhone footage. Because I’m unwilling to pay for a WordPress Premium, I usually just post these on my Instagram. But if you want to view the one from March and lockdown, click here. And don’t forget to tap to see it all – there’s four parts, you just have to click the tiny arrow on the right.
I’m breaking down the winter into two more blog posts, which I’ll write over the next couple of days, so stayed tuned.
- JB
Onward. 