April 2022. We arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 1am after a journey we felt would never end! We often get asked, how long does it take to get here from New Zealand. In some countries, New Zealand is quite the “unknown entity”
It must be true! Google said so!
It is always a good topic of conversation to explain just how far away we live. We left for this trip from Brisbane, Australia, rather than New Zealand, but all that did was add another hour and a half onto the journey. With COVID still causing difficulties with travel, we were advised to be at the airport 4 hours before take off.
My awesome cousins Steve and Shelley were up at sparrow’s fart with us and Steve drove us the hour to the airport. The airport was not very busy and we had all our paperwork in hand. The day before we had been to the doctor who preformed a Rapid Antigen Test, then wrote a letter to verify we had taken the test and it was negative. We were so worried that we might contract COVID in that last week which would have grounded us completely and we wouldn’t have been able to fly. But we didn’t and here we are checking in on the biggest trip we had been on for 2 years. The check in guy was great and said that the flight was only half full and he would put us in a 4 seat row to ourselves – perfect! Before COVID the planes we always chocker block full, so this is a nice change – especially as this first leg, Brisbane to Los Angeles, is 13.5 hours!
4 seats to ourselves!
We do get to sleep a bit on the plane, spread out on our 4 set row. Our Steward was awesome, extra mini pies and red wine in the middle of the night…. Thank you!…
Still pretty tired on arrival at Los Angeles, half way! We clear immigration and customs here. All week I had been concerned that we had forgotten something, that we had maybe not done something right. All this “stuff” for COVID, declarations, attestations, certificates, tests, contact addresses etc etc But no, all done, all correct, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES!
A four hour wait in LA then five hour flight to Miami. Now this flight was a different story altogether! Jam packed full and we were sitting apart. I was in the middle of three and Chris had the window seat a few rows behind me. Not to worry, 5 hours is nothing compared to the 14 we had just done.
We arrive in Miami, the three hour wait turned into four, and off we go to San Juan. It is now 1am and we arrive to an Island wide power cut! The city is basically in darkness. We arrive at our accommodation to candle light, is this a joke? This is exactly how we left 4 ½ years ago. So we cant say we didn’t feel right at home! There had been an explosion and fire at the power plant earlier in the evening which caused power outages for a couple of days. By now we were so tired we just fell into bed and had a great sleep – WE MADE IT!
21 hours flying, 11 hours waiting at airports plus traveling to and from the airports. So that’s the answer
32+ hour journey
slightly longer as we came from Brisbane, the usual flight time from Auckland, NZ to LA is 12 hours.
We spent 2 days re acquainting ourselves with the historic town of Old San Juan. Such a beautiful place. We just wandered around, drank in the sights, the sounds and smells. Its lovely and warm, 28°C. Its so good to be back!
House sit number 1 is in the Jervis Bay area, South Cast, NSW. We haven’t been house sitting for close on 2 years because of covid, so we are feeling a little bit nervous. We were in such a good rhythm before the world turned upside down. We needn’t have been! There are some beautiful people in this world and we are so lucky to be meeting so many of them.
Blenheim Beach
But the weather has turned on us, rain forecast for the next week or more, oh well, we have a beautiful home to stay in and there is always Netflix!
Rain, Rain and more Rain
We settle in and create our routine, but we really want to get out to explore the coastline here, we have heard it is beautiful. Two days in, we decide to just do what we do – too bad if its not sunny and hot. We mark off a couple of beaches on the map, pack a picnic and off we go. We head toward Murrays Beach as it is the furthest away so we will start there and work our way back. Woops, we find ourselves in a line of cars with no way to turn around. And why are they taking so long! As we sit and wait, trying to be patient, we try to figure out by google maps what we have actually come across. Is this the military base? Or it could be a National Park? Its not that clear on Maps. We finally get up to the kiosk and yes, this is the entrance to the Booderee National Park, who knew! Fee of $14 for a 48 hour pass. And we find out why the line took so long, the lovely lady just wanted to have a chat – with everybody! She was so nice you just couldn’t help engaging in her chit chat. So after understanding her whole family dynamics, off we go, Murrays Beach here we come.
Booderee National Park
The day is still not very nice but we have our picnic on the beach and Chris has a swim, its too cold for me. We get back into the truck and head for the historic lighthouse, Cape St George Lighthouse. This is a ruin and quite lovely. Sad story about it though. It was erected in 1860 a spot that was easy to build, ie transport the sandstone etc in, but it wasn’t in the best spot for the job it was intended to do – be a lighthouse. Being in a poor position, it didn’t halt the shipping toll and was replaced by Point Perpendicular Lighthouse in 1898, which was built on the opposite side of the entrance to the bay. The lighthouse tower was then torn down in early 20th century as the sandstone it was constructed with was too bright at night and was distracting to shipping. There were many deaths among the around 15 people living there during its short life span, mostly children. From Typhus and Pleurisy to falling over the cliffs, being kicked in the head by a horse and being shot by mistake by a teenager playing around with a loaded gun. Quite sad, but probably quite typical for the time.
We had 14 days here and it rained for the first 10 days. We still got out a few times and discovered some stunning beaches along this coast, all within 20 minutes of the house sit. We completed quite a bit of the White Sands Walk, from Nelsons Beach to Hyams Beach. We fell in love with Huskisson, and spent a bit of time in the local pub there – well it WAS raining!
We had a stunning house and two beautiful, affectionate cats to care for, life is good. There is a field across the road from the house and there are kangaroos grazing there every morning. In the evening they sometimes come right up to the road, it is so exciting to see them. One day there was a Mum with a baby and they turned and jumped right down the street, it was so funny – love Australia!
Our furry friends
Our lovely home owners returned and we a had another great night together, catching up on the previous 2 weeks, then back into FatBoy to hit the road again.
We head back to Sydney to celebrate Australia Day with a group of English, Welsh, American, Dutch, Slovakian, Kiwis and even a couple of Aussies – How about that!
What a blessing in disguise having to fly to Sydney rather than Brisbane. Again, we have landed in a place where we had not planned to come but are so very glad we did. A couple of days in Sydney with friends, feeling so welcome and loved, we take off south toward our first house sit. Yippeee- WE’RE ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
FatBoy
I am introduced to “Fat Boy” Chris’s Toyota Hilux campervan, and off we go. Heading to the South Coast, NSW. The first thing I notice is the stunning rocky coastline.
Kiama
We are very lucky with beautiful weather, but not so lucky with this being the height of the season so camping grounds are all full. Not to worry as we talk ourselves into a space on the Kiama rugby field which opens up for 4 weeks only every year as a camping area. Perfect! Just a short walk finds us at a stunning lighthouse and famous blow hole. Not far round the corner is an ocean rock pool. We had seen another one of these ocean pools at Corrimal and thought the concept was awesome, it fills up at high tide and retains the water as the tide goes out. Unlike Corrimal though, this one was mostly built into the natural rock formations. There was quite a display with the heavy swells and high tide, the rock pool was actually closed due to the heavy swells, but no one seemed to take any notice. It was like a washing machine in there! I could have watched for hours. Always in awe of the power of the sea.
Heading up into the hills behind Kiama the weather comes down. The road is so narrow and windy and remembering this is only the second trip I have done in this camper, so was feeling a little nervous. The weather kept closing in as we progressed up and up. I have seen a heavy fog in my days off shore on the North Sea, but this really seemed to be the thickest fog I had ever been in. Chris did an awesome job at keeping us on the road, the visibility was almost zero.
We found a National Park camp site and didn’t want to go any further with the weather, so made camp. We tried to call to book in but no one seemed interested, even though all signs say – booking essential due to covid. Oh Well….. we tried! The camp was right by Carrington Falls. We took the short walk to the falls and could hear the rumble so knew there was something mighty in amongst the fog but couldn’t see much. The bush had a very eery feeling in the mist, it was quite spectacular and almost mystical – and safe, now that we were not having to navigate through it. By the morning the fog had lifted so revisited the falls and were blown away by the sight, so beautiful. So not just beaches and sunshine in Australia.
We followed the road down through Kangaroo Valley back to the coast. Australia is a massive country, some of the views out through the valley show just how extensive this country is, quite breath-taking and we are surprised at how green everything is. But this is due to all the rain they have had lately, which has also left all the rivers and waterfalls at their peak which is great for us – except when the road is now a river! I said no, Chris said yes and Fat Boy was quivering with excitement at the challenge – across the ford we go – NO TROUBLE AT ALL!!
No problem for FatBoy
We are starting to get used to life on the road in the camper van and are getting braver with pulling up and free-camping. There is quite a community and we are seeing some of the same people over and over. Some of the Surf Life Saving Clubs allow overnight parking which is great as they always have toilet blocks and showers (though cold) and of course they are right on the beach!
Hanging out with FatBoy
Next stop house sit number 1, 2 hours south of Sydney, It is so good to be back on the road!
Since returning to New Zealand in March 2019, from New York, after the onset of COVID 19, Chris and I have keeping ourselves busy. Its been quite a different life from our House Sitting life. I got a job at the hospital as an Orderly and worked a second job for the summer 2020 as Harbour Patrol Skipper. Chris, along with Micah and Leigh-Ann, renovated our house, then sold a house in NZ and bought a house in Australia. At that stage we could not leave the country but, early 2021, it was looking like NZ and Australia were both doing really well at keeping COVID out, so a travel bubble opened up between the two countries.
Chris took this opportunity to get over to Australia to check out the apartment he had bought.. YAY we can fly again! Five weeks later, I headed over to Australia as well. The airport is deserted, this is really really strange. We had two awesome weeks and the apartment is perfect! Located on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia. Beautiful spot………….Right, I will be back in 8 weeks, next time for 3 ½ weeks. So back to work I go, off back to the beach Chris goes.
But wait… here comes that pesky virus again, this time she has a new name – Delta.
Victoria and New South Wales in Australia are getting hit hard and are closing down their borders. NZ pauses the travel bubble to Australia……….BUT I have a trip booked for 31st July, which by now is only 3 weeks away. FLIGHT CANCELLED. OK, NZ think they are only going to have to pause the bubble for 8 weeks……. so I book a new flight for mid September. Hopefully things will sort themselves out by then and I will get there.
No, not going to happen, Delta has made her way into NZ, so my September FLIGHT CANCELLED. Ok, I am not to be beaten by this, so I book yet another flight for 2nd December – surely things will be ok by then!
In the mean time I book flights for my daughter and I to fly to Wellington for her birthday present, We are booked for end October – But Delta has another plan, she’s causing havoc and New Zealand is now in full lockdown, so we wont be going to Wellington! FLIGHTS CANCELLED.
A few weeks later, things start to level out, Auckland is now the only place in full lock down, the rest of the country have a bit more freedom, so lets try booking that trip to wellington again, this time mid November. But Tayla would be flying from Auckland and Auckland keeps having her lock down extended, so another FLIGHT CANCELLED.
At this stage it is starting to look a lot likeI will not get to go on my 2nd December trip to Australia. Sure enough FLIGHT CANCELLED. So Chris and I have to start making some big decisions. The original plan was for Chris to be back here in NZ by summer, What do we do now? It has been 5 months now since we last saw each other. This is not funny anymore! So we finally come to a decision. It looks like travel to Australia is easier than travel back from Australia, so why don’t I just go on a one way ticket?
NEW PLAN ………… I have resigned from my job at the hospital and I booked a one way ticket to Brisbane, 28 December.
Right……… one last chance for the Wellington trip – booked a new flight for 10th December – NAH, no can do! Looks like we are not meant to go to Wellington – FLIGHT CANCELLED – for the 3rd time!
It is now mid December, remember that one way flight I have to Brisbane? – FLIGHT CANCELLED! NOOOOOO!!!! Re booked for 1 January, a few days later FLIGHT CANCELLED!– WHAT????…………… Ok, am I not meant to get to fly ever again??
How many of these does one Kiwi need?
Its now Christmas Day and I am booked now to fly to Sydney on 31st December. I believe this flight will go ahead as it is a red flight, which means Quarantine or self isolation and pre and post flight negative COVID tests, if fully vaccinated. I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed!
This past year has been so frustrating, it has tested our patients with the cancellations and not being able to plan. But at the end of the day, this story is just a very small one, it is even a little bit funny! This virus has had a huge impact on every one in the world. Yes we are frustrated, but no one ever died of frustration! We are well and healthy and I am very lucky to be able to say that I don’t know anyone who has died of COVID, I hardly know anyone who has HAD COVID. That is not the case for so many, and I am so very sorry for the ones who have been effected in that way. My flight may yet be cancelled – its still 6 days out –
Following on from my last story, here we are, its October 2017 and we are displaced, following hurricane Maria, in Maine, USA. Check out how we got here
We have taken a year off from “normal” life in New Zealand to house sit. But here we are in the beautiful state of Maine – and in Fall to boot! The time where the Autumn colours are spectacular. We hadn’t intended to be here, but so glad we were. We spent 10 days with our wonderful Vieques home owners. We were looked after so well, all the support and love we needed as we came back to reality and realisation of what just happened. It gave us a chance to “get out of the war zone” and recover from the past month. We also got to experience a part of the country we didn’t think we would ever see, and boy is it beautiful!
We were driven to Kennebunk where we stayed with a friend of our home owners for another week. You know, I cannot say enough of the hospitality and welcoming feeling from the people of Maine. We were taken in and treated as part of the family, as one of their own. We are truly grateful and will always save a special place in our hearts for that time. But where to from here?
I was totally fascinated by the Halloween decorations EVERYWHERE! We dont really celebrate this holiday in NZ, it was quite something.
So where to from here?
Chris had secured a 30 day house sit in Kampot, Cambodia for mid December, there is a bit of time before that so back into the business at hand – Find another House sit. We get accepted for another house sit in Cambodia, this time in Phnom Penh – lets get to Asia! A train trip to Boston and a great night with a wonderful couple we met on Vieques, then Cambodia here we come, via Doha, via Bangkok, 27 hours later landing in Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh
House sit No.2 Another wonderful home owner! We meet the most awesome people while house sitting! 1 little kitty to look after this time, yes I think we will like it here. Our home owner was very flexible with dates and the 3 week house sit turned into 4. As we were unsure of our next move, it suited us too. We were introduced to her friend, who happened to be a Nelson girl living in Phnom Penh. She introduced us to her friend from USA who was fairly new to the city and there we have new friends! Four weeks went by so fast! We loved the food, there was no shortage of it! Street vendors and restaurants EVERYWHERE!! I cooked at the house 1 night! So cheap to eat out, why would you do it at home – it only means dishes! The beer was great and at only 50c a handle…. well, lets just say, we didn’t go thirsty! While in Phnom Penh we enjoyed the water festival, did a Khmer cooking class, hiked to Chisor Temple, cycled to the Mekong Islands and Silk Islands and saw silk being harvested and woven and ate lots and lots of noodles!
Time to go though! House sit number 3 is now booked! We are off to Kuala Lumpur!
But first…A week in Langkawi. Leigh-Ann (our Daughter) decided last minute to come and join us for this part of the journey. How wonderful it was to see her! It all went by so fast but I got to cuddle my girl and catch up on her year. Langkawi was great! So good to be back at the ocean. The water was nowhere near the clarity we had gotten used to in Vieques, but we swam all the same. Cocktails on the beach and eating dinner with our toes in the sand – just wonderful. We did get rain though which as sad for Leigh-Ann as she only had a week.
Back to KL for the house sit number 3. This was a funny house sit, actually it wasn’t really a house sit, more like a pet-sit. The owners sister was still living in the house, but she had refused to look after the 5 Shiatsu dogs while her sister went on holiday. Do we hear alarm bells? Not to worry, we are up for the challenge LOL, we were only there for 5 days. We loved the place we were staying and with it being in the suburbs of KL was completely different to being in the city. We got to explore the area and loved getting on the O-Bikes (community hire bikes) and seeing how the real Kuala Lumper’s live. There was a market near by and we got our fill of our favourite Roti Chenai.
Its hard work riding those bikes!
1 more week to fill before house sit number 4 in Kampot. So, lets try another Malaysian Island, Pangkor this time. Both Pangkor and Langkawi are off the west coast of Malaysia. Pangkor was lovely too, not as big as Langkawi but still as Muslim. A bit harder to find a beer. Again the water was a bit dirty so the snorkeling gear again didn’t get wet. We stayed at a lovely place for $40NZD per night, right by the main strip and beach. It was very basic. We hired a scooter for a day and had a great laugh trying to double. Chris was a great driver, I was not such a great passenger! LOL but we got there in the end and decided this was an OK way to travel. We went right round the island twice in the one afternoon.
We have 2 more house sits to go in this section. We are sitting here in New Zealand, its April 2021, 1 year into this global pandemic called COVID19 and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Our government and Australia have opened a travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia so that is a great start, but who knows when we will be able to travel further than that again. The world is in chaos right now but I am loving these trips down memory lane, wonderful memories! There are 100’s of photos to go through, I wish I could post them all. Where ever you are in the world reading this, I hope you are OK. We will all see each other again! I just know it! We just have to be patient!
Come back for the the rest of Asia, coming soon – House sit number 5 was looking after 16 dogs!! Yes its true!!
In April Chris and I took off on our House Sitting adventure of 2017. I resigned from my job at Coastguard and Chris took 1 year leave without pay from his position as Deputy Harbourmaster. We were not sure how it would all turn out. Over the years we have house-sat but not for extended periods of time, so going away for a whole year was all very new and exciting. We had been chosen to do 6 months house sitting on a little island called Vieques in Puerto Rico. WOW! Can you imagine! 6 months in the Caribbean? How wonderful!! So this was the start point, for what turned out to be and amazing year.
Its quite a long way from New Zealand!
We didn’t know exactly where Puerto Rico was, other than in the Caribbean. But this is one of the wonderful things about what we do, the geography lesson we are getting along the way. So we find out that Puerto Rico is, in fact, part of The States – well, who knew! But what this meant was, we, as New Zealand passport holders, would have to apply for a visa to enter the USA for more than 3 months. After researching online, we start the application process, wondering if we will be successful. We better be – we have a house sit booked!! Many many pages of questions – occupations, homes, children, spouses, have you been involved in human trafficking? Have you ever been involved in bomb manufacturing or weapons? Have you ever been involved in trading in body parts? Pages and pages! We get it all sent away and make an appointment for an interview at the US Embassy in Auckland. Not on the same day of course! So we each take a trip to the big smoke. I went first.
You have to go through a screening search for weapons, bags taken off you and searched, you could only hold your paperwork, nothing else, no wallet, no phone. I sat and watched what others were doing and could hear bits of some of the conversations. Not all VISA’s were granted that day. My turn. I step up to the window to a very tall man – it may have actually been higher on his side of the window, he was a bit intimidating, dressed in what looked like military uniform. He said to me “so why do you want to go to the Untied States?” In my slightly nervous state, I blurted out “I don’t want to, I want to go to Puerto Rico for 6 months” this raised an eyebrow and he asked me again, “why” so I told him I was going to be house sitting,
At friends?
No, I don’t know the people,
So they are strangers?
Yes,
So you are going to stay at someones house, in a foreign country, but you don’t know who they are?
Yes,
But how does that work?.
I explained about house sitting and the web sites you apply with and he thought it was a hell of a good idea!
YOUR VISA IS GRANTED!
Chris had his visa granted the next week – just as well!! We now both have 10 year, multiple entry visas. Yahoo – LETS GO!
So we pack up and rent out the house, put furniture into storage, boat onto a mooring, car to a friends farm and off we go. We stayed away from NZ for 10 months all together. We weren’t sure how it would all go, how long we would be away for, whether we would still be talking to each other after being together 24/7 for so long, if we would have enough money to survive, etc etc. We had the security of Chris’s job to go back to after 12 months, so lets just give it a go! Life is too short not to! We hear so many say they will do such and such once they retire, or once the mortgage is paid off, or just one more year of work to save that bit more money, and then something happens and it is too late. We decided to bite the bullet and go for it, while we are still able to.
Puerto Rico here we come. And what a wonderful place!
Our lovely home owners met us at the ferry of the small Island of Vieques just off the East coast of mainland Puerto Rico. We loved these two immediately! They showed us around and orientated us with their little piece of paradise. After 2 days they left us in charge.
This was not a very big island, 32km by 7km. In the time we were there I think we covered almost every part of the island that was accessible.
Still today, there are unexploded bombs
In 1941 the United States Navy seized two thirds of the island, evicting a lot of local sugar farmers in the process. After WWII the Navy continued their hold on the land and it was used for military exercises and as a firing range and testing ground for munitions. This went on for decades. The Vieques people didn’t like it of course and after protesting for what would have seemed like a life time for some, the Navy withdrew for good in 2003.
Feels like 46!!!
It was summer in Puerto Rico, so temperatures around 30 – 32 every day. This is not overly hot as far as temperatures go, but the humidity was 100% and all weather apps would tell you the “feels like” temp was in the 40’s. It was a heat that drained you the minute you got up in the morning. We wondered if out fitness had suffered with not working, but figured that it was the heat making our bodies feel heavy and sluggish.
But this didn’t stop us from cycling all over the island and finding all the amazing beaches. Picture a Caribbean Island – white sand, blue sky, palm trees, gentle breeze and turquoise water as clear as gin – that was it – THE perfect Caribbean Island, with beaches what WOW you with the wonder of their perfection. We would pinch ourselves to believe that this was real, how lucky we were to be here!!
Mango season. We would always take a bag with us on our walks, just in case we come across a mango tree which had dropped fruit on “our” side of the fence. You had to be quick though as they would rot quickly or the wild horses would get at them first. So many trees, loaded with mangos, but behind peoples fences. The smell of the ripe fruit lying on the ground was heady. We were on the middle of the island one day coming back from Esperanza and came across a great tree with a few fruit on the path. We stopped to collect a couple. Next minute, an old lady started shouting at us in Spanish. Oh crap! We quickly tried to remember what the Spanish word for “sorry” was and approached her, ready for a telling off. But she had more mangos in her hand and wanted to give them to us and offered us even more! So lovely. Instead of “sorry” we said “gracias” many times!
Puerto Ricans have a great social life. They really know how to party. At the beaches during the weekends they arrive in droves, carting Bar-B-Q’s, cooler boxes, tables, gazebos, hammocks, etc etc and set up for the day. Mothers fathers, babies and grandparents and everything in between, all there to spend the day together having fun. They have cooler boxes full of beer AND spirits, and lots of it! They put fires on in the fire pits and put slow cook meals on as well as traditional Bar-B-Q food. Get the music going and party on. The water is so warm, the adults would gather in the water in groups, chat and drink, call out to the kids to get them another beer. Music wafting over the ocean. Eat loads of food, have a sleep, do it all again! The atmosphere was so good, all just having a great time, enjoying being together in this wonderful place.
For my birthday, Chris took us in a hired golf cart to La Chiva Beach and we had a day at the beach “Puerto Rican style” The family situated quite close to us started sharing their food with us and we got chatting. The whole lot of them sang Happy Birthday, they were so friendly and welcoming. It was getting dark by the time we all packed up to go home – The most perfect day.
We had no pets to look after in this house sit so we volunteered at the Vieques Humane Society and walked some of the shelter Satos (dogs) every Friday. We also helped out at the VHS thrift shop each week. We met and got to know some beautiful dogs and are so glad to know they have been re-housed to forever homes. The VHS do a great job!
We loved Vieques! We had a bit of bad luck after 4 months on the island with Hurricane Irma and Maria and were evacuated to USA October 2017 – That is another story, check it out here…
But that hasn’t put us off, we would be back in a flash. We were booked to do this house sit again this year, 2020, but it was cancelled due to COVID 19. Vieques went into lockdown early March, so we were unable to get there. They have done really well to have kept the virus out, big congratulations to the island people for being strong and standing united.
So what now? 5 months gone and we are displaced in The States, Check out my next story – the second half of this year long house sitting adventure, coming soon………
Just in time! NZ – Total Lock Down from 2359, 25 March 2020
We woke in Breezy Point, New York, on the morning of 20 March to fog. I remember my offshore days when it came to your “get up and go” day and you wake to the sound of the fog horn! That meant that you would not be going anywhere that day, might as well just get up and go to work, and hope for the best for tomorrow. This morning was like that! My heart sank, no planes will fly in this I am thinking. But we better try. Diane came to pick us up and we made our way to JFK. The fog is not lifting, lets just hope they do fly. We have factored in some time between flights, our flight from LAX – AKL is not until 10pm, we have some time up our sleeve.
So many flights cancelled, this is just 1 terminal at JFK
The flight board has many flights cancelled – but our flight looks like its still on! The man at the check in was so lovely. He knew that LA would not be our final destination today ( he guessed we were Australian – we wont hold that against him!) and assured us that our flight to LAX would go – “lets get you guys home” He said – almost brought tears to our eyes!
The flight did in fact fly and right on time. Taking off through the fog was so scary! The pilot must have great faith in his instruments, and we are very thankful for that! Its lunch time and New York is still totally blanketed in fog.
We arrived in LA with 7 hours until we take off to Auckland, so we start to relax. The young woman at check in was also very nice. You can see that everyone is feeling a bit of the pressure with whats going on. She visibly relaxed when she saw our NZ passport. We are checking in at the Air NZ counter but the NZ boarders have closed to all but NZ citizens. This flight will continue to Australia so there are a few non-NZ passport holders on the flight. She was saying that for any other passport there has to be a phone call to immigration and it seemed to be very stressful for everyone. A few raised voices at the counter beside us.
Noone pushing and shoving
So Quiet – JFK
Equally as quiet – LAX
SO we are the lucky ones, no problem, straight through. It is so quiet here, JFK was as well, very few people, most of the shops closed, most of the bars closed. I love airports, there is always something to see, so many people coming and going, it’s a great place to people watch and guess what their story is. People are generally happy and excited, today it feels very different. We see some sights! One girl in a white disposable chemical suit, a couple in diving masks. We too have our masks and gloves.
When its only a couple of hours to go we decide to get a glass of wine at the bar near our gate. One of the few still open. Its always expensive to eat/drink at an airport but it is part of the fun and you always do it anyway. I think this has to be the most expensive glass of wine we have ever had at USD$14+tax each! We sat down and within 10 minutes they started packing up the bar. They had just been told they need to close – NOW! So we sat all alone, drinking this (have to admit) delicious wine, I guess we wont be having a second!
Air New Zealand – a welcome sight
The flight was great! all 12 hours 55 minutes of it! The plane was only about half full and we were right at the back. We managed to get the four seats in the middle and were able to get some sleep. The crew were awesome. They are in one of the most vulnerable places for transmission of the virus, they are very brave and we are so thankful that they are still coming to work which is allowing people like us to get home. We have never boarded and disembarked a plane so easily, no scrum like tactics as everyone tries to stand up first to get off the plane first, great flight.
Landing in Auckland we were asked a couple of questions – Have you had a cough? Have you been feeling unwell? We were given a sheet on how to self isolate and that was that – through – home!
Information given at AKL
Tayla picked us up and we were very restrained with no hugging – just an elbow bump in way of hello. This is so strange. So wonderful to see her, we have been away for a year and it feels nice to be home.
We will be isolating at Guy and Melanie’s holiday home in Whakatane. This is a beautiful spot, right on the river. We will be able to go for walks but no visiting anyone and no visitors. This is how we started off, then within days of us being home NZ has escalated through level 3 to level 4 – total lock down for 4 weeks. The prime minister has declared a state of emergency which turns us into a country under Marshall Law. They will use police and military to enforce the rules if needed. OH Boy! It is still so hard to believe that any of this is happening.
Whakatane River
So now the rest of the country have joined us in isolation, our 14 days will be up in 10 days time and then we just fall into place with the rest of the country, which will be no different to what we will have been doing. I feel it will be a long 4 weeks for a lot of people. Both our girls have been put off work. We will all have to get creative and find ways to spend time together without actually being together, thanks goodness for the internet eh!
Even the kids playgrounds are off limits
Quite bizarre for us to be back in NZ but unable to see family and friends. We are treating this part as another house sit, landed in a town where we don’t know anyone, contacting friends and family back home via Messenger or WhatsApp, exploring a new place on foot. The only difference is that we are not meeting new people, and that is a bit sad, but this whole situation is a bit sad.
This is our story and it is not an unusual one. There are so many people who are affected by this crisis and we know we are not alone. We also know we are lucky to have a roof over our heads and food in our cupboards, our families and friends are safe, we are truly thankful for this. We just hope, as everyone does, that this is over soon with the least loss of life possible.
Things are changing so quickly! 2 days ago we were coming home in 10 days, today, we are coming tomorrow! After advisories yesterday from NZ government saying for “All Kiwis – please fly home” we came to an agonising decision to leave our house/pet sit and change our flights to this Friday, a week early. 10 days is a long time in this rapidly changing environment. New York are threatening a “shelter in place” order, San Francisco has already implemented this. If this comes in then there will be no public transport. It is so hard to imagine a city as big and vibrant as New York coming to a grinding halt.
This morning we wake up to the news that NZ has completely closed her borders to everyone except for citizens. First time in history this has happened. So now we just hope that our flight which is still a day and a half away, will still fly. The good thing is is that we booked with Air New Zealand, of all the airlines, this should be the one which will still get through. What times we are in! You could never imagine this could be a thing, but it is. We have booked a separate ticket to LA from New York, We have given ourselves an extra 7 hours for the connection and hope this is going to be enough.
So now not only are the cafes and restaurants closed but the shopping malls and many shops. Our lovely friends in Thure keep on smiling, though we know it must be hitting them so hard. These ladies are the life blood of that community, how will they survive this? All the small businesses out there who don’t have multi million dollar back up, where will this leave them. So many people are going to be out of work, it will take time, when this is all over, for small businesses to recover. It really is a nightmare of the biggest proportions. We made great friends with 2 café owners in Leros, both of them, along with the rest of the island, have had to close their doors also. I don’t think there is 1 person in this whole world who is not being touched by this virus in some way or another. They might not be getting sick, in fact, very few will, but they will be totally knocked to the ground with it.
We have met a wonderful lady here in Breezy Point, Diane. She has offered to take us to the airport in the morning, and take over feeding the lovely Mac and Jack. We feel so blessed and humbled to have met so many amazing people during our travels. I have said this many times during these wee stories, that it is the people that make the place, it is the people that we meet that endears us most to a country/town/city and I cannot express enough of the love and friendship we have received, its hard to find the words. Thank you. Thank you for being part of our life, which is so much richer for your presence in it xx
We arrive back in NZ on Sunday morning 0700. My wonderful daughter Tayla will be there to pick us up and take us to our isolation spot. It is a relief to be going home!
So here we are, sitting in New York, hearing every day more and more the issues around the world about COVID-19 – Coronavirus. We were not so worried at the start, we are healthy and not too old yet (HA!) we are not going to die, so lets just carry on and continue with this adventure. But as the days go by, more and more travel restrictions are being put in place. Ok so now, what does this mean for us?
We have 2 weeks left of this house sit in New York then we have 3 more sits lined up almost back to back. Our current home owners got away to BVI days before they shut the borders, but will they be able to come back? I believe that US citizens can return so that’s good. Ok next up – Charleston and Fajardo, both home owners traveling to UK and Ireland – not going to happen – travel cancelled. Ok, What do we do now? Both of these wonderful home owners have asked us to still come, they will go on a local holiday instead. Great news, we will continue on with plans.
BUT, we have flights to Charleston with Delta, they announced the other day that they are cancelling 40% of their flights, will we be flying? Can we get to Puerto Rico? – will we, as tourists, be able to enter Puerto Rico? We are already worried about getting from there to Vieques as they have stopped all non-resident people from coming onto the island. Even if we can get to the island, will our home owners want to go back to the states where the virus is more threatening? So many questions and not so many answers!
Ok so plan B, we go back to NZ when the current home owners return. Not as easy as it sounds, flights are hard to find! Oh crap, and we will be in 14 day self isolation when we get back. More crap – We don’t have a home to go to to self isolate and we have been away for a year, does isolation mean we cant see anyone? It will be a case of so close yet so far! And, dear I say it – arriving to the start of winter!! We have had a year of winter LOL, we so need the sun!
Our current home owners have offered for us to stay on here when they get back, so its not like we have Nowhere to go, its just the big question – where can we go from here, what should we do? So for now we just watch each day and see what happens.
Breezy Point, New York
This mornings news is they are closing all restaurants, cafes, cinemas and nightclubs in France. This is going to cripple the small community of Thure where we house sat for 3 months. The local Cafe, which will have to close, have come up with a wonderful initiative. They will do deliveries of groceries from their store, with volunteers doing the deliveries. It is times like this that you see some amazing humility, people helping people is so heart-warming.
The ferries have stopped running to Leros from Athens, not sure about the planes but what does this mean for food and fuel supplies, we are thinking of all the wonderful people we met while there and what this means for them.
Vieques, the small community which is only just recovering from Irma and Maria, dependent on tourism, are having to close their doors, what will this do to an already stressed economy?
Here in New York, schools are closed, towns are being closed off, Broadway is shut down, sporting, ceremonial events and parades are being cancelled. I went to the supermarket of Friday, so many shelves empty, no bread, no milk, eggs, meat, rice and pasta – all gone. There was the most awful feeling in the store, an energy which made me feel panicky! People are panicking, people are worried. There is so much on the news here, it really does sound bad.
We were not so worried at the start, but are starting to be a bit more concerned. We don’t feel threatened by the virus, as I said, we are healthy and feel that if we did contract the virus then we would be able to fight it. But it is the whole knock on effect that we are starting to worry about. How long will it be? When will this end? If we do go back to NZ, can we afford to come back out again? Oh boy, so many questions!
Meantime we are safe and well here in this lovely home, with two beautiful cats who need us! We have lots of food and plenty of wine! We will sit this out for now and see what happens……….
It literally is! or at least was – Leros was heavily attacked and defended during WWII. This is a fact that neither of us knew until we arrived here. The Battle of Leros in 1943 was one of great significance in the war and there is so much evidence right in front of our eyes. Chris is really good at all the details, and spends a lot of time researching. What he is finding is there are details of battles and fortifications, but they talk about locations which must have been locally named at the time as it is almost impossible to find the places on our modern day maps. Everywhere you go though, there is something. There is hardly anywhere on this island that is untouched. This is the second most bombed island of the Greek Islands after Crete.
The Battle of Leros was a bit of a disaster, just like Crete. The Italians occupied Leros from 1912 and surrendered in September 1943 to the British. Between September – November, 190 German air raids took place and caused major destruction. The British and Italian defended but had no air support so were bombed to smithereens. Between our place at Gourna Bay and Alinda, in the small gap of 1.5km, is where, we believe, the German paratroopers landed, and with their sea support, effectively cut the island in half. Six days later the British surrender.
Up in the North there is a site where you can easily see the trenches as well as the bunkers. It is so rocky and harsh, I try to imagine what it was like back then when they were under attack. Its hard going walking over the rough ground and I imagine the soldiers, fully kitted up, diving for cover. This area probably looked the same back then and I feel that what I see, they must have seen, its very airy. But now, you can see the bomb craters, evidence of how it was, it must have been so terrifying.
On the West past Lakki there are many many tunnels still accessible. A lot are shelters for the goats now. They all link up and are part of a huge bunker system. There are still ruins of barracks and warehouses. Up there is the remains of one the last 2 parabolic listening walls in Europe.
Right in the middle of the island there is a site with abandoned buildings and you can clearly see the mess room, bunk rooms with lockers. There are basketball courts and social areas. We think it was occupied by Italians, it must have been like a whole town up there!
On every high point there are more bunkers and gun emplacements/batteries. If the concrete housing has gone, you can still see the circle of bolts which held the gun down. Some are completely smashed up and others are very well preserved. Even in the towns, just along the normal everyday road, there are bunkers. We are always amazed when we see another one, we have lost count of how many we have seen!
Lakki harbour is the deepest in southern Europe and this is where Mussolini set up the Italian Royal Navy base. The harbour was heavily fortified with double booms across the narrow entrance and batteries defending it on each side. I have read about submarine nets around too. The sea all around the island is littered with wrecks of ships and airplanes, it really is a living museum. So many lost their lives here. We believe there were over 80 Kiwi special forces deployed here but only half have been accounted for. We have been to the war graves cemetery but no sign of our brave Kiwi boys.
We spend a lot of time wandering around these sites. The Italians were building these bunkers for many years before the war even started, they had occupied Leros for 30 years and knew that someone would be along at some point to try to take it off them – and they did. Quite often there will be a chapel built near where bunkers are, it is nice to be able to go in and light a candle for the fallen soldiers. There are many war relics still to be found all over this island. We are finding various pieces of metal and wonder what they are from, most likely shrapnel. Chris is doing a bit of snorkelling and comes up with bits a pieces most dives. A lot of bullets, some have been fired, some not. The whole of Leros was bombed to bits. Its fascinating and very tragic.
Leros has a very long and complicated history, an incredibly interesting place. Nowadays she is a sleepy, peaceful island with beautiful people. Today, 8000 permanent residents, 1943 there were 25000 people on the island, it’s hard to imagine what it was like.
Did you know
The story of the famous novel “Guns of Navarone” is based on the Battle of Leros, and Leros island’s coastal artillery guns — among the largest naval artillery guns used during World War II — that were built and used by the Italians until Italy capitulated in 1943 and subsequently used by the Germans until their defeat.
Kiwis Do Fly 