Fire, Flood, Pestilence

Aperitivo in Viaduct Harbour 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tower_(Auckland)

We realised on leaving the Auckland Fish Market that we hadn't eaten or drunk anything since breakfast as we were avoiding crowded areas and small indoor spaces.

The Auckland Fish Market would have been perfect for a drink and a light meal as it had outdoor tables in a pretty little portico area under heavy duty awnings but unfortunately for us, we arrived just as they were winding down for the day so having a drink there was not an option.

We decided to cross the footbridge again and return to Viaduct Harbour as we had seen lots of bars and eateries there that morning with what looked like covered outdoor areas which would have also been fine providing we were protected from the rain.

We checked out the elegant Bellini's in Princes Wharf with its magnificent picture windows and sea views but after spending all day walking in the rain we decided that our weather beaten attire would definitely not pass muster.

We eventually found the perfect place for an ideal aperitivo in glorious social isolation.

Sadly neither of us can remember its name; we think it may have been called something like swings and parasols but we're really not sure.

We sat on their little roof terrace under a large white parasol which we accessed via an outdoor staircase so we didn't have to walk through the bar at all.

We enjoyed a refreshing pale ale and a glass of Marlborough Chardonnay whilst enjoying a lovely view of the marina below us.

It was perfect.

We realised at that point that in spite of the dreadful weather and the need to social distance, we had managed to see quite a lot of central Auckland, enough at least to appreciate what a unique place it actually is.

The financial heart of 21st Century New Zealand but also fortunately situated in one of the most beautiful locations on earth.

Not many other modern world class cities can boast that.

There was one remaining monument that we wanted to see before returning back to our Airbnb accommodation in the airport area of Auckland and that was the Sky Tower in Victoria Street, the final recommendation on our TripTins 1 day in Auckland tourist itinerary.

"The Sky Tower is a telecommunications and observation tower located at the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets within the city's CBD".

"It is 328 metres tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the 27th tallest tower in the world".

"It has become an iconic landmark in Auckland's skyline due to its height and design".

What we didn't realise before visiting it, is that the tower "is part of the SkyCity Auckland casino complex, originally built in 1994–1997 for Harrah's Entertainment".

"The upper levels are accessible to the public, attracting an average of 1,150 visitors per day (over 415,000 per year)."

On the day we were there, however, there were very few visitors; so few in fact that we initially thought it was closed.

We still hadn't eaten anything for most of the day and we had no kitchen in our accommodation so we decided to book ourselves into the Fortuna Buffet restaurant in the tower itself.

We had considered a tour of the upper levels of the tower and maybe a light meal in the revolving restaurant there which would have provided us with excellent views of Wellington below but on that cloudy, rainy day all we would have seen were the rain clouds so the more reasonably priced Fortuna on the third level, was a far better idea.

We took an escalator up to the Fortuna through the casino area of the tower which was totally fascinating.

Neither of us had been to a casino before so it was interesting to see it even though there were far fewer people at the large roulette tables than we had seen in films or read about in 1970s novels.

We were told on arrival at the Fortuna reception that the Buffet restaurant would normally be full but due to a combination of poor weather and social distancing recommendations on TV and radio, many had cancelled or not booked at all. 

The Fortuna operates in the same way as the restaurant we had been to in Queenstown except that it is in a much larger space encompassing almost a whole floor of the Tower itself but unlike our experience in Queenstown where the restaurant was totally packed on the day we booked, the Fortuna must have had no more than 15 of us in that entire space that evening with a full buffet of excellent food at our disposal.

We were seated at a window table near the reception area; as we were relatively low down, the limited views of Wellington we did have were not obscured by cloud cover.

We soon realised that we had the whole of the front and middle sections of the restaurant just to ourselves.

We had never seen so few people in a popular city centre restaurant anywhere else before even on a rainy Monday.

It was clear to us at that point that New Zealanders were taking social distancing very seriously indeed.

We enjoyed a very lavish meal of green lipped mussels and crayfish starters followed by North Island roast lamb and beef, roast potatoes and an excellent selection of vegetables and salad.

It was the most opulent meal we had eaten during our entire 3 weeks in New Zealand and so very reasonably priced.

We were invited by several servers to help ourselves to dessert and coffee but we could manage neither.

We were in no hurry to return to our car after we left the Sky Tower as we were very full indeed.

We were glad that it was parked in Wynyard as it meant we had a good 40 minute walk to get to it which we extended to an hour.

Auckland at night was beautiful in spite of the poor weather.

We thoroughly enjoyed our final walk around the Viaduct Harbour and across the Wynyard footbridge.

The views of the city at night were spectacular.

It suddenly dawned on us then that had it not been such dreadful weather, we would have undoubtedly spent the day social distancing on Coromandel beach.

We were sorry not to have seen the famous Coromandel geothermal beach but now, a year into lockdown, we are so happy to have spent that totally wonderful rainy, windy day in beautiful Auckland.

It really was the most perfect end to our New Zealand experience and to one of the best holidays we ever had in what we still believe to be one of the most beautiful countries on the planet.

Auckland to Sydney 

We had taken many flights since leaving the UK on 25 December 2019: cheap charter flights, more expensive scheduled flights, standby last minute flights, international flights, even a flight with Tiger Air but this experience from Auckland to Sydney was different.

We noticed on arrival at the check-in area that most of the employees behind the desks were wearing face masks and quite a few extra employees, also in face masks, had been tasked with the arduous role of urging people in the many check-in queues to stand at least two metres apart from others in those same queues.

Not an easy job at all in such a busy airport.

After we eventually managed to check in, we had to join another long and closely monitored queue to clear security and then another for passport control.

As before, no one was permitted to stand too close to anyone else at any time during the process.

Again all official employees were wearing masks and in some cases latex gloves as well; it all felt so strange and alien to us.

We had planned to have coffee in the departure lounge but as it took so long to get through all those queues we proceeded straight to our gate instead.

It was just as well really as we noticed that many tables and chairs had been removed or had been separated from other tables and chairs in those areas so people could no longer sit together in large groups; quite a few of the cafés had not opened at all, so the chance of being served in the limited time available, by the few that were open were very slim indeed.

Fortunately our flight was on time so we were hoping we would be provided with a complimentary hot drink on board after take-off as we had been on our arrival in New Zealand three weeks earlier.

Prior to boarding, everyone booked onto that flight had to have an instant temperature check with a digital thermometer placed onto their foreheads for a few seconds before being admitted onto the aircraft, if your temperature was considered too high, I assume you would not have been able to fly.

I am sure that everyone everywhere has experienced these digital temperature checks since then, but as that was our very first one, it all felt very alien indeed to us.

Social distancing on that flight was impossible as it was full; we were not surprised at that as we had checked flight availability the week before when we wondered whether we should leave New Zealand earlier but every international flight out of Wellington or Auckland was fully booked for several weeks already; fortunately for us we had booked a return flight from Sydney when we finalised our trip to New Zealand with our daughter in January that year.

Had we not done that, we may well have ended up locking down in Auckland after all as New Zealand closed its international borders a few days after we left and Australia followed suit a week or so later.

Many passengers on that flight were wearing masks or scarves which they wrapped around their faces in such a way as to act as face coverings; I then did the same thing with the light cotton scarf I was wearing which I continued doing for the remainder of our time abroad until we returned home later that month.

The stewards were all wearing face masks and visors plus latex gloves which they changed on a regular basis.

I decided that we should stock up on face masks, gloves and hand gel as soon as we could once back in Sydney.

We hadn't appreciated how essential these items were at that point when travelling in a crowded aircraft.

It should be noted that on 10 March 2020, there were no formal travel safety measures in place at airports or in aircraft.

If you travel now you will be sent extensive information on all the safety measures that have been introduced since then at airports and in aircraft to ensure that as many Covid prevention measures are in place as possible, clearly within the constraints of travelling in a large metal tube with hundreds of other people and no access to the outdoors for several hours, but at that time it was still all advisory.

We were extremely impressed with how quickly and efficiently Auckland airport responded to the situation we all found ourselves in; we certainly didn't witness that in other airports we travelled from, through and to later that month.

As I had a window seat that day, I took my mind off our predicament momentarily by admiring the wonderful scenery below us.

New Zealand is just as spectacular from above as it is on ground level.

It was good to see the Aupouri Peninsula as we circled around after departure and what we think was the Coromandel Coast in the distance which sadly we did not manage to visit on that occasion.

But the views of Aukland itself as the aircraft rose steadily above the city were totally mesmerising.

We will definitely return to that beautiful land one day soon when this pandemic is well and truly behind us.

A very different Aussie welcome  

We fell asleep soon after take off on our early flight from Auckland that morning so we felt rested and refreshed when we landed in Sydney's international airport a few hours later.

We noticed immediately on arrival that the makeshift social distancing procedures being practised at the airport in Auckland, were not yet in evidence in the same meticulous manner in Sydney's busy arrivals lounge when we joined one of several long queues there that morning.

Quite a few flights from various locations around the globe had landed at a similar time to ours so we were all marshalled into one queue or another depending on where we were travelling from and the information we had included on our customs form.

Most of us were all in the main lounge area together but we did notice that behind a large white screen on our left there were two other queues separate from everyone else.

We soon realised that those passengers had just arrived in Australia from China.

There were quite a few customs officers dealing with the people in those queues; they appeared to be asking them more detailed questions about their journey and the length of their stay, possibly even about their health as we saw one family having their temperature checked as ours had been in Auckland.

An elderly couple at another table were having their luggage examined.

They had a huge suitcase full of food: rice, dried vegetables, noodles and other food items I did not recognise.

Australia and New Zealand are very strict on the importation of food into their countries so most of the food those poor people had in their bags was confiscated and probably destroyed. 

I felt so sad for them as they were clearly bringing traditional treats from home for family members or friends they would probably be meeting up with in Sydney.

When we eventually got to the front of our queue, we too were asked a few questions on what exactly was in our bags and whether we could be inadvertently transporting any food, soil or vegetation from New Zealand to Australia.

They even asked about the soles of our shoes for soil particles after we told them that we had done several woodland walks.

We were then asked whether we had been unwell over the course of the past week and / or whether we had come into contact with anyone who appeared to have cold or flu symptoms.

We were able to say no to all those questions but others in our queue were taken to a private cubicle where we supposed they were tested for Covid-19 before being allowed to enter the country. 

After submitting our customs forms to the officer at the desk, we were told to exit the lounge past two dogs that would be sniffing our bags and jacket pockets as we walked through; on that occasion we were not stopped so we finally managed to enter Australian territory and leave that very crowded airport.

It had been the strangest most surreal journey we had ever experienced, though after that we didn't dare to imagine what our journey back to London would be like

Home to Kirribilli

Once we were out of the Airport's arrivals lounge, we saw a little coffee kiosk with table and chairs not far from the exit which was a very welcome sight at that stressful moment.

We could finally have our much longed for cup of coffee and very late croissant breakfast.

We also switched SIM cards on our phone back to the Australian one and we called vodaphone to top up our credit for another month. 

As we weren't sure exactly when / if we would be able to leave, we thought that the one month top-up was the most expedient way to proceed.

After that we found the exact address and rental details of our accommodation for the next two nights then we set off for the bus stop where we would catch the bus to Mascot (to avoid the steep airport supplement payable on the metro), then from Mascot we took a metro to Central Station where we changed for one to Kirribilli.

We saw no evidence of social  distancing in Sydney on that day.

Judging by the number of people on our two trains and airport bus, social distancing was clearly still not 'a thing' there on 10 March but Sydney's public transport network is so efficient that we spent hardly any time at all on those trains after we set off and we were in Kirribilli in less than an hour. 

On arrival at Kirribilli station we programmed our accommodation address into Google maps and as it appeared to be very close to the station we decided to walk.

Of course what Google maps failed to tell us is that it was uphill all the way which was not easy with our two checked bags, hand luggage and backpack.

But we got there eventually, accessed the key box and went in.

On our original schedule, this would have been our final accommodation booking in Australia before setting off for Singapore and Malaysia on the Friday where we would be spending a week with friends, then just under a week in Vietnam before returning to the UK.

This accommodation would have been convenient for that in that it was just a few stops from St Leonard's where our North Sydney friends would pick us up from the station and drive us to their flat in Lane Cove.

On our original plan, we would travel to Lane Cove that afternoon, pick up our and our daughter's stored bags there, take them back to our accommodation and rationalise everything in all our bags so we were ready for travel on the Friday.

We had paid extra for our daughter's two bags so we could legally take back 40 kilos plus 15 kilos each as hand luggage. 

We didn't have as much as that in all our bags combined so we would have been fine but we still intended to go through everything with care that evening and take anything we no longer needed to the local op shop the following morning. 

So the Kirribilli accommodation had been booked back in January when all this had been finalised with our daughter and her partner before they set off for Perth.

Our younger daughter had taken back the heavier and larger suitcase for them with all their winter clothes and books which was good; we would be taking back work clothes, shoes, bags and a few miscellaneous items so they could travel light when they set off on their SE Asia and China tours in June before returning to the UK in time for the Edinburgh fringe in July..

At least that was the plan at the time.

We hadn't heard from our Kirribilli landlady since we booked her flat in late January and we didn't receive any check-in information at all from her which was certainly unusual so we contacted Airbnb whilst in the car to Mount Eden in Auckland the previous day and they eventually managed to get in touch with her; she then contacted us soon after.

Her main concern was whether she should rent at all during this new Covid era that we appeared to be entering.

She was very worried about cleanliness and we had to assure her that we would leave her flat sparkling clean on departure.

At that point she agreed not to cancel our booking and sent us the crucial check-in information we required but had we not booked through Airbnb I expect she would have certainly cancelled our booking.

After all the fuss that landlady made about the importance of cleanliness, we cannot be blamed for expecting this flat to be totally spotless; truth be told our three weeks in New Zealand had also spoilt us as even the most basic and low-cost accommodation option there had been pristine.

But this flat was NOT.

We were shocked when we saw it.

It hadn't been vacuumed; the surfaces were dirty and we saw two cockroaches in the kitchen.

It wasn't as bad as the Bondi one we stayed in in January but it did need cleaning if we were going to stay there at all, especially with the new Covid risk everywhere, as the landlady reminded us the previous day

Fortunately the bedding was fine but the kitchenette and bathroom both needed a thorough clean immediately.

We found bleach, anti-bac and floor cleaner but no broom, mop or bucket so we used kitchen towel and j cloths.

We didn't transform it completely but we did improve it.

I expect the surfaces had never been cleaner.

After that we opened the curtains and balcony door to let in some air and we couldn't believe what we saw.

This very basic ultra cheap, un-clean Airbnb flat had a small balcony which overlooked the Harbour Bridge and Sydney CBD.

It was spectacular

We placed the little table and two chairs from the living room out there and enjoyed a glass of Marlborough wine, a cup of tea, and cheese and bread rolls (given to us on the plane) in the most glorious and totally unexpected setting in such a basic accommodation option.

It was then that we started feeling at home again and though we missed beautiful New Zealand terribly, at that perfect moment we were happy to be back in Sydney 

Admiralty House

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_House,_Sydney

As our departure date had changed following the cancellation of our holiday in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, there was now no need to pick up our bags from our friends in Lane Cove that afternoon as originally planned.

What we did do, however, is find a laundrette not far from our new Kirribilli accommodation where we dropped off a large bag of washing. 

This one was attached to a dry cleaner's so was not self service.

We had rather a large bundle on this occasion as we had not had a chance to do any washing at all since our penultimate day in Wellington; we had also added several towels from our Kirribilli accommodation which we used to clean work tops and general surfaces with during our cleaning spree when we first arrived; as a result we were told it would take a little longer than a standard wash so we should pick it up 2 to 3 hours later.

During that time we went for an exploration walk around our new temporary neighbourhood.

We knew there were quite a few grand houses and official residences in that area so we thought this would be the perfect time to check them out.

Our first port of call was Admiralty House, the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia.

"It is located on the northern foreshore of Sydney Harbour (adjacent to Kirribilli House, which is the Sydney official residence of the Australian Prime Minister)".

"This large Victorian Regency and Italianate sandstone manor, completed in stages based on designs by James Barnet and Walter Liberty Vernon, occupies the tip of Kirribilli Point".

"Once known as "Wotonga", this location has commanding views across Sydney Harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House".

Admiralty House's current name "originates in the fact that it served as the residence for the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's Australia Squadron from 1885 to 1913".

"The original building on the site was completed, as a private dwelling, in mid-to-late 1843, by John George Nathaniel Gibbes, the then Collector of Customs for New South Wales and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council".

"A portrait of Gibbes, painted in 1808, hangs in the house".

"On 22 June 2004 Admiralty House was placed on the Commonwealth Heritage List".

"As an official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, Admiralty House accommodates important overseas visitors to Sydney".

"The Royal Family and other dignitaries, such as the President of the United States and the Pope, are entertained at Admiralty House when they are in Sydney".

"Admiralty House, its grounds, and Kirribilli House are usually open to the public once a year, sometime in spring when the gardens are at their best", but what we saw of those grounds on the day we were there last March was still quite beautiful and the view across the harbour to the Opera House was mesmerising. 

It was good to be reminded of how unique that area of Sydney actually is. 

We knew then that we would miss it terribly once we said our final goodbyes two weeks later and we were not wrong. 

North Bondi Coastal Walk

https://www.qthotels.com/bondi-beach/qt-blog/bondi-walks/

As we would not now be moving to Rose Bay after all, there was no longer any need to take the bus there and find the road we would have been staying in.

We had spent over an hour in our little café and had consumed rather more coffees than were good for us while we benefited from their WiFi to sort out our accommodation predicament.

We thanked them profusely when we left and decided that a good, long walk in North Bondi would clear the cobwebs and give us a chance to re-consider what we should do after our two days in Canberra.

It was a gloriously sunny day and the scenery on our walk was spectacular.

This was the Federation Cliff Walk: the Bondi to Watsons Bay walk, if you take it all the way of course

We would have certainly done that had we not just booked a trip to Canberra for two days.

But if / when this pandemic is over and we're all allowed to travel again, this is a walk that we recommend to anyone visiting Sydney at any time of year.

It is every bit as spectacular as the Bondi to Coogee walk but without the tourists.

This 7km track was the perfect way to exercise and adhere to social distancing guidelines at the same time.

We saw no one on that track that day apart from a few people on the beach below us also socially distancing we imagined.

Starting in North Bondi, "the track wraps around the coastline all the way to The Gap, offering unparalleled views of the sea and extraordinary cliff scenery".

"After taking in spectacular views from Ben Buckler, the tracks heads up through the Bondi Diggers Golf Course where one can enjoy panoramic views of the city skyline as well as Bondi Beach behind you, then you continue onto the Whiteish Cliffs of Dover Heights".

"A beautiful wooden walkway will guide you to the tropical landscape of Diamond Bay, where you might spot some rock climbers among the local wildlife".

"The path continues past the famous Macquarie Lighthhouse, the oldest lighthouse in Australia, which was first built in 1818, and ends at one of the city’s most famed cliff lookouts, The Gap".

We didn't make it quite that far as we did get a little lost after Ben Buckler we think so we ended up having to catch a bus to Watson's Bay after all.

We had two particularly interesting moments on that walk that day.

The first was when we first set off in North Bondi and we saw a plane above us skywriting Stop F1.

We weren't sure at the time exactly what it was writing or what it meant but we learnt later from the Reuters website that the words "STOP F1" were written by a mystery skywriter "amid growing calls for Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix to be scrapped or barred to spectators due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus".

"Photos of the skywriting were widely shared online and they even featured in The Guardian but it was unclear who was responsible for them".

One of our friends asked if we were the first to share them online and caused them to go viral; we assured her that we were not - at least not knowingly.

Another interesting moment was when we sat on a cliff side bench in the vicinity of Ben Buckler when a beautiful grey heron flew right down onto the rock next to our bench and stayed there for the entire time we were there.

It looked over in our direction a few times but it fixed the sea below us most of the time.

It was a very special moment and reminded us of our lovely afternoon in Zelandia in Wellington and of our rainforest accommodation there where birds of all shapes and sizes shared those trees with us for the entire duration of our stay.

We spent a good 15 minutes in the company of that heron.

We left first to continue with our walk; it looked at us as we left as if to reprimand us for being so rude but then it flew off itself down to the sea probably to feast on a tasty oyster or two on the rocks below.