Myall Lakes Redux

With borders still closed and COVID still floating around the state, Garry and I have taken the opportunity to get out of town for a few days - away from the infectious crowds and the endlessly depressing COVID headlines. 

We''ve returned to Myall Lakes National Park to spend four nights at Bombah Point Eco Cottages. This is our third stay in one of its luxurious glass-enclosed cabins nestled among the eucalypt trees.

We first discovered this place when we booked an overnight stop here while on the road to Ballina in December 2016. It’s great to be back. We continue to marvel at the way these cottages have been maintained. They still look just as pristine as on our first visit five years ago. The owners also continue to book us into the same private cottage located at the end of the property’s private road.

This trip we’ve not gone very far. However, we did break out one afternoon to visit the lakes and take the car ferry across the channel that separates us from the coast. We then spend several hours making scenic stops to walk the beach and breath in the fresh sea air. While waiting for the ferry to depart, we were delighted to spot a large goanna stalking prey among the trees. These creatures are always an impressive sight.

We also had an impromptu visit one morning from a cheeky bush turkey. He strode the length of our cabin's wrap-around outdoor deck without fear or trepidation. Very entertaining - and a wonderful way to celebrate Garry's birthday.

Lockdown 2.0

Sydney’s now into its 15th week of a comprehensive COVID lockdown. Without a doubt, this second lockdown has been a lot harder to handle. Last year the whole affair was new and exciting. This year, the novelty factor has gone. As a result, the whole experience had been emotionally draining, to say the least.

I’ve been working alone in the company's office for months while the staff work from home. To help maintain morale, we've been hosting daily debrief video calls with everyone before we finish for the day. They've become the high point of our day as we spend 30-40 minutes catching up with one another and letting off a little steam.

We’ve also entertained ourselves with a series of photo competitions (a new theme each day like garden life, nature, colour and so on), shared highlights of our favourite travel experiences and given each other’s favourite recipes a try. The team has become more creative, proposing plenty of novel activities as each week passes.

On the home front, Garry and I have been keeping ourselves busy. Garry's repainted the kitchen ceiling. It's been waiting for this final flourish after a leak was repaired in the skylight several years ago. I've made friends with IKEA and recently replaced our kitchen table. The old table was purchased almost 30 years ago.

After months of restrictions, the light is finally at the end of the tunnel. We’re scheduled to hit 70% double vaccination in NSW tomorrow and 80% by 18 October. If the current trend continues, we’ll pass 90% coverage of the adult population in NSW by late October. Garry and I have had our two shots, the first in May and the second in August, shortly after the latest lockdown began. We'll then have a booster shot sometime in January next year.

The State Government has announced that restrictions will start easing next Monday (11 October) as we pass 70% and then some more around 25 October after we pass 80%. This means non-essential retailers will start reopening again on 11 October. Supposedly we’ll achieve “COVID normal” living by 1 December. That is, some health restrictions will remain in place for the foreseeable future, but life will effectively become as normal as it’s likely to be by this date.

International borders are also slated to start opening by late November. However, home quarantine and testing regimes will remain in place. There’s also still a lot of confusion about vaccine passports and other requirements. We’re also being warned that restrictions could change overnight if a major outbreak occurs internationally. Ironically, within Australia, state borders may not open before Christmas. We may find ourselves able to fly to London before we can fly to Perth.

Delivered by FedEx

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.