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COVID is back.  The entire state of NSW is now in total lockdown again as Sydney enters its eighth week of increasingly draconian restrictions. Statewide we reported record case numbers today: 633 new cases – a jump of 200 in a single day. 

The source of Sydney's initial outbreak has been traced back to an infected pilot on a FedEx freighter plane that flew in from San Francisco on 16 June.  He passed it on to a limousine driver* taking him to an overnight hotel. The infected driver then went shopping at Westfield Mall in Bondi Junction and the rest is history.

Since then, cases have been popping up everywhere. Currently, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, and all of NSW are in total lockdown. In essence 2/3 of the country's population is now stuck at home. 

Melbourne has been battling the Delta variant for weeks and despite its best efforts, it can’t get newly reported cases below 20 a day.  Last night, New Zealand also went into national lockdown. Today it reported 7 Delta cases in Auckland. They’ve traced the genomic sequence back to NSW. 

Our COVID Zero world looks like it’s coming to a rapid end.

UPDATE: 22 August

Local COVID cases continue to soar! NSW recorded 830 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. It looks like we've yet to peak during this outbreak.

UPDATE: 17 October

New Scientist magazine has published a superb summary of this latest lockdown. It sums up the last 107 days very nicely. You can read more here.  Daily cases fell to 301 today.

*Updated link that now references the history of this driver's subsequent trial by media.

Hooray for bubbles!

For three brief months in mid-2021, Australians and New Zealanders could travel freely between their respective nations without being forced into mandatory two-week Government quarantine upon arrival. The Trans-Tasman Bubble, as it became known, opened on 19 April 2021 before being suspended indefinitely on 23 July 2021.

Within days of the bubble’s announcement, while on vacation in Nambucca Heads, I'd booked flights across the Tasman. Thanks to the pandemic it had been more than 20 months since I’d last crossed the ditch. At the time borders closed in March 2020, I had tickets to travel the following month. At the time, Air New Zealand gave me a credit when my flight was canceled. I used this to book my bubble ticket.

I flew out on 4 May and returned home on 10 May. The entire experience was surreal, to say the least. The international terminal was empty and its lavish luxury boutique stores were shuttered. The departure board listed a total of 17 flights for the entire day – of which 9 were destinated for New Zealand. The terminal itself was empty. I counted barely a dozen people waiting in the main atrium – a public space designed to accommodate thousands.

The flight itself was uneventful. After hours of wearing a face mask, it was an odd feeling to walk out of customs and immigration in Auckland into a bustling terminal filled with unmasked people. Before I could fly, I’d had to complete a COVID PCR test (within 72 hours of flying) and present its results at check-in.

While in New Zealand, my brothers and I worked hard to create plenty of wonderful memories for Mum and the extended family. This included a late McGregor Christmas lunch complete with party hats and Christmas crackers. As a belated Christmas gift, I took my Mum for a scenic helicopter flight around the Mount and the surrounding area. 

The day of our flight dawned with clear and sunny blue skies. We flew a long and leisurely circuit over Tauranga city to Omokoroa, then crossed the harbour to Matakana island, before making our way along the coast past the Mount and back to the airport. However, the highlight for both of us was a brief landing at a harbourside beach on Matakana Island. As we flew past Tay Street, Matt went out onto his balcony to witness us flying by.

 

Now that the bubble has closed, who knows when I’ll be back again?

Nambucca Heads

You may recall that we stopped briefly at Nambucca Heads on our way home from Dorrigo in January. The beauty of this coastal town impressed us so much that we declared we’d return for a proper visit. With state borders still opening and closing without warning we decided we’d spend Easter within New South Wales. We’d seen some superb campground cabins on the shore of a tidal lake at the mouth of the Nambucca River. After discovering one was still available booking it was an easy decision.  I've highlighted the location of our cabin in one of the images below.

We set off early on Good Friday. It took almost six hours to reach our destination. However, there it didn’t take long to settle in and unwind. The weather proved a little inclement during our stay up North. However, Garry squeezed in a couple of hours of productive river fishing one evening on the Nambucca River.

We also enjoyed a couple leisurely walks around the headlands at the river’s mouth and a couple of awesome breakfasts at the nearby Wharf Street Café. Even better, the café accepted the NSW Government’s Dine & Discover discount vouchers, so our meals were incredibly cheap.

If I had to pick one highlight from Nambucca Heads it would have to be the promenade walkway that follows the mouth of the Nambucca River out to its coastal heads. One side of the path opens out to a tidal lake while the other is protected from coastal erosion by large, irregular boulders.  Over the years locals and visitors alike have taken to decorating these boulders. Some celebrate love and family vacations, while others immortalize those who've passed away.  It's a fascinating and eclectic gallery of the human experience.

After six relaxing nights in Nambucca Heads, we made our way south to spend a further three nights at the Meridian Beachside Apartments in Old Bar. I stumbled across this venue by chance after searching the central coast on Google Maps. Our well-appointed apartment was located on a coastal rise overlooking the beach.

Garry then spent several days fishing along the beach. He caught quite a school of fish in the end which we took home and froze for another day. I went for leisurely walks along the foreshore, including one excursion as far as Wallabi Point, approximately 2km down the coast.

Old Bar was an interesting location. This small town is overshadowed these days by the more impressive urban development happening in Harrington Waters, ten minutes up the coast. However, somehow, it’s still large enough to sustain a small Coles Supermarket and several impressive restaurants including Sai Thai (where we enjoyed a memorable meal one night).

My most abiding memory of Old Bar will always be the emergency locksmith incident that occurred on our first day. After returning from a drive into town we went to open the door to our apartment. However, to our surprise, the entire lock tumbler started rotating as we attempted to unlock it. We were essentially locked out.

The onsite manager came to our rescue. He broke into the apartment via a window to let us in and called a locksmith. We later learned that the corrosive salt air along the coast destroys locks and a host of other mechanisms on a regular basis. The views from our apartment may have been impressive, however, they apparently come with a hidden cost.

Going for Broke

Garry and I have just finished a team-building offsite with our staff in the Hunter Valley. We decided it would be good for morale to take everyone away for the weekend. We've spent two full days reviewing Artiwood's performance during the first year of the pandemic and making plans for the year ahead.

In between all the hard work, we also took time out for a superb team-building event. Our driver, Vanessa, from Grape to Glass took us on an excellent wine tour that included a distillery visit and a micro-brewery. The distillery even gave us a private behind-the-scenes tour of their production floor.

I booked us into Bonn Abbey in Broke. It's owned by an old friend. She gave us a great rate and the homestead proved to be the perfect setting for our meetings, as well as a great place to unwind during quiet moments.

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.