The Lucky Country

Today marks one year since Australia recorded its first COVID-19 cases. Victoria recorded its first COVID-19 case on January 25, 2020 – a man in his 50s who tested positive for the virus after arriving in Melbourne on a flight from Guangzhou in China on January 19, 2019.

By the end of that day a further three cases had been confirmed in New South Wales, after two passengers flew from the Chinese city of Wuhan and a third from Shenzhen. One year later, here in Australia (and New Zealand), our pandemic experience looks vastly different from that of most other countries. The contrast is such that many of you reading this post will find it hard to comprehend.

Perhaps the starkest difference is the simple fact that there is currently no community transmission of the virus anywhere in Australia. The same goes for New Zealand. The only new cases being reported are coming from overseas travellers in quarantine. As of today, since February 2020, Australia has reported a total of 28,761 confirmed cases and 909 deaths. Yes – you read that correctly – these are "whole of pandemic" statistics. Not daily, weekly or monthly numbers.

Currently, you need a special Government permit to enter the country (and likewise to leave our shores if you’re a citizen or permanent resident). Upon arrival, you're transferred to a specially designated hotel for 14-days of mandatory quarantine. To ensure the quarantine system isn’t overwhelmed international arrivals are limited to around 3000 people weekly.

To date, these measures have stopped the spread of COVID-19, including more infectious variants currently spreading globally. However, the system hasn't always been totally foolproof. Since June last year the states of Victoria (with its capital city of Melbourne), New South Wales (Sydney), South Australia (Adelaide) and Queensland (Brisbane) have all experienced virus outbreaks whose origins traced back to hotel quarantine workers.

All but one of these outbreaks were brought under control within weeks. The most devastating occurred in Melbourne last June. Thousands were infected and hundreds died before community transmission was finally eradicated. This result was achieved by a comprehensive lockdown lasting almost three months. At the time it was considered the most draconian undertaken anywhere in the world. The UK’s latest lockdown is now operating with a similar level of constraint.

The nation's most recent COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Brisbane. A hotel cleaner infected six people with the new UK variant before the outbreak was brought under control. Here in Sydney, we’ve successfully controlled an outbreak that began in the city’s Northern Beaches suburbs three weeks before Christmas. As of today, New South Wales has recorded eight straight days without a locally transmitted case, Queensland has reached 14 days, and Victoria has made it 19 straight days without a new case.

Australia’s remarkable results have come at a considerable short-term cost to our civil liberties and economic wellbeing. Entire industries including international student education, tourism and aviation have all been devastated. Likewise, current border restrictions have left more than 38,000 Australians stranded overseas unable to return for many months to come.

However, despite these constraints, Australia’s economy is rebounding quickly. With unprecedented economic support from the federal government, around 90 per cent of the 1.3 million Australians who lost their jobs or saw work hours reduced to zero early in the pandemic are now back at work. Last month official unemployment fell from 6.8 to 6.6 per cent. These figures are still well above pre-COVID levels but show the nation is faring better than other OECD nations.

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics also show GDP grew 3.3 per cent in the September quarter, but declined 3.8 per cent in the year to September 2020. However, the annual downturn is dominated by a 7 per cent economic contraction in the three months through June when the first national lockdown was in full swing. Analysts expect the December quarter just ended will continue reporting steady GDP growth and stable unemployment.

Looking ahead, the country will kick off a national vaccination program in late-February.  The population has been split into four groups. The first two consist of people at greatest risk, the latter two covers the rest of the population. Garry and I are in the third group. At our age, we're considered a little more vulnerable than the general population.

The effectiveness of Australia’s national border closure has been brought into stark relief in recent weeks by the experience of arrivals for the Australia Open tennis tournament. The Victorian Government elected to proceed with the Grand Slam event despite strong reservations by health authorities and lockdown traumatised Melbournian residents.

Last week 17 charter flights arrived in Melbourne carrying hundreds of players, partners and officials. Everyone was transferred into mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine. Since then ten people have tested positive. This includes rising Spanish star Paula Badosa who is one of 72 players confined to their rooms after several passengers on their aircraft tested positive upon arrival. Badosa was a very vocal critic of Australia’s hard quarantine procedure for “close contacts” like herself. However, she tested positive seven days into quarantine and has since apologised for her stance.

Novak Djokovic, the world’s No.1 men’s player, has also been a vocal critic. Last week he issued a fanciful wish-list for the 72 players stuck in hard quarantine. His proposals were poorly received by most Australians. Even more so given his defiant stance last year when he hosted a European tournament with poor health control protocols. The tournament subsequently became a virus super-spreading event.

No doubt many of you reading this post will struggle to comprehend how different life feels in Australia. Our headlines aren’t dominated by daily death tolls, overwhelmed hospitals and personal hardship. Instead, we’re all debating the merits of Australian player Bernard Tomic’s girlfriend, Vanessa Sierra, who recently took to social media to protest her hotel quarantine conditions.

In a Twitter tirade, she bitterly complained that "This is the worst part of quarantine: I don't wash my own hair. I've never washed my own hair. It's just not something that I do. I normally have hairdressers that do it twice a week for me, so this is the situation that we're dealing with."

All we can say to Vanessa is simply this. You’re washing your own hair so that Australia can continue reporting 28,761 confirmed cases and only 909 tragic deaths since February 2020. It’s a small price to pay when saving lives.

UPDATE: 31 January

West Australia reported its first case of community transmission in almost ten months today. A security guard working in a Perth quarantine hotel has tested positive for Coronavirus. The infected man may have been symphonic since Australia Day. Furthermore, he moonlights as a share ride driver when he’s not working as a security guard. In response to this positive test, the entire Perth metropolitan area has been sent into total lockdown for the next five days.

UPDATE: 3 February

West Australia has confirmed that the infected security guard is carrying the more virulent UK strain. This strain first appeared three months ago and is rapidly spreading globally. As of yesterday, West Australia had recorded no additional local cases. It looks increasingly likely the state may have dodged a bullet with this latest quarantine outbreak.

Homeward Bound

The final two stops on our journey home from Ballina proved to be a hit and a miss.  Our first stop was the Harrington River Lodge overlooking the expansive Harrington River.  Garry and I stopped here several years ago and were duly impressed by the burgeoning planned community taking shape along the river bank. We were curious to see if our first impressions would hold up during a second visit.

I'm delighted to say that Harrington continues to impress us.  The community continues to flourish and the facilities have been well maintained.  We spent two relaxing nights here.  The sunset on the first night was undoubtedly a real highlight of our vacation.  Once again we were entertained by dolphins frolicking in the river's tranquil waters and pelicans balancing delicately on local street lamps.

However, the surprise highlight on our journey south was Nambucca Heads.  On a whim, we decided to take a brief detour and visit this seaside town.  The vista that greeted us as we pulled into a lookout on the headlands simply took our breath away. The town sits on the mouth of a picturesque river, punctuated by sweeping white sand bars. The headlands also include a small, sheltered lake nestled behind a coastal breakwater.  All in all, it was an impressive location.  We've decided we'll sneak back here soon for a long weekend.

Our final stop on our way to Sydney was Bannisters in Port Stephens.  Rick Steins has a popular seafood restaurant here and the hotel's review are punctuated by images of sublime coastal views.  However, our stay at this pricey upmarket motel-style resort proved disappointing. It was our most expensive accommodation yet delivered the least impressive experience. I honestly felt royally ripped off and was rather embarrassed I’d gifted Garry the cost of our stay for Christmas.

First, our ocean view room wasn't located on the building’s ocean-facing facade. Instead, we found ourselves sharing a barren marble clad balcony with three other rooms.  This meant the room offered limited privacy and our view of the neighbouring park’s trees wasn't worth the premium price we paid.  

Second, the hospitality staff’s service varied from excellent to downright mediocre. The service at breakfast both mornings was particularly woeful. We had to chase down the staff to get a coffee and cutlery. Identical meals arrived with missing accoutrements. The toast we ordered never arrived. In all honesty the breakfast we enjoyed in the mountains at Dorrigo was street ahead of Bannisters.

However, there were a few memorable highlights. Dinner at Rick Steins was superb, as was our lunch at the Point Restaurant in nearby Solider's Point. However, these culinary treats won’t tempt us back to Bannisters any time soon.

Dorrigo National Park

Garry and I have spent the first week of the new year making our way home after a much-needed Summer vacation in Ballina.  Our return journey has been broken into three separate scenic stops.  Our first stop takes us inland to Dorrigo National Park. This tranquil location sits on the popular Waterfall Way, a scenic highway that winds its way over the Great Dividing Range between Coffs Harbour and Armidale.

We based ourselves for two nights at the Lost Mountain Resort a few kilometres east of Dorrigo township.  This proved to be a superb venue.  The resort's cafe served an awesome breakfast. The surrounding mountain views and local birdlife were equally sublime. However, the region is best known for its spectacular waterfalls.

During our stay, we visited the impressive Dangar Falls, walked the Wonga Track to the equally impressive Crystal Shower Falls and stopped to admire two smaller falls that cascade down the slopes and pass directly under the local highway. 

The Wonga Walk proved to be a real highlight.  We saw plenty of birdlife along the way including a male Bush Turkey building an enormous nesting mount, King Parrots and some adorable finches.  The Crystal Shower Falls were well worth the 3km round trip hike. 

The approach to the falls is marked by a suspension bridge that carries walkers across the valley in front of the falls.  From here a short side track takes you behind the falls where you can look through the cascading veil of water.

The National Park's Rainforest Centre also featured an impressive Skywalk. This cantilevered gangway stretches out over the canopy rewarding visitors with an uninterrupted view across the National Park's scenic valleys.