Top Ten Quarantine Tips

I’m sure most people wouldn’t *choose* to move halfway around the world during a pandemic. So, I guess we’re not “most people”.

Leaving England to move to New Zealand has been on the cards since before coronavirus hit. If you care to cast your mind back to a pre-COVID world, you’ll probably remember a simpler time. One where facemasks were only a normal part of life if you belonged to a particular profession, where “bubbles” were just in baths or as a way of entertaining children, and where you slept soundly in the knowledge that there would be toilet paper on the shelves the next time you went to get your groceries.

Blissfully unaware of what was ahead, however, we put the wheels in motion to make this move. Plans were made, visas were (almost) approved, Prosecco was drunk. And then…well…you don’t need me to remind you what happened.

But despite this pandemic altering 2020 (and beyond?) in ways we never expected, we cautiously persevered. When you are packing up your life and moving it more than 11,000 miles around the world, there is never going to be the “perfect” time.

With a dash of uncertainty, a pinch of stress, a cup full of “it’s out of our control”, a spoonful of “we’ll just have to wait and see” and as much “hoping for the best” as we could muster up, we made it against the odds. We are now about to leave managed isolation and this weird limbo where we’re not in England but also don’t quite feel like we are in NZ yet. And so, I’ve decided that this is a great time to break my (unofficial) blog hiatus and share with you my top tips for quarantining in NZ:

1. Your bed will also likely be your sofa and dining room table, and sometimes even your desk. So you might want to get creative when Butter Chicken is on the menu to save your bedlinen from redecoration. Oh, and be careful when eating a croissant on there too, those things are flaky. Actually, just be careful in general.

2. If you’re an active person and intend to work out while you’re in the hotel, factor in making the bed to your workout plan. It takes some serious strength, and also a little brain power to get the various sheets the right way around.

3. When you want to use a lift to get anywhere, plan ahead. Lifts weren’t designed to be used for “one bubble at a time” (I think they were designed with the opposite concept in mind), so it might take a few goes before an empty lift shows up on your floor.

4. Another lift-related tip: be sure to stand right next to the exit door when you finish your managed walk, so you can get to the lifts and claim the first one that is available.

5. When you are in said lift, make sure to read all of the signs that are in there, even if they look familiar. You don’t want to get to the lobby and discover you aren’t allowed to be there and have the lift doors close and your partner and key card go up with it. Some members of the Defence Force don’t like that. Trust me.

6. If you haven’t had a COVID test before, it’s a similar feeling to getting a whole lot of water up your nose when you’re swimming. The only difference is that the COVID test makes that feeling last longer. But it’s not so bad really.

7. Try to remember to wash your cutlery before your next meal is due to arrive. The meals aren’t exactly hot by the time you get them, so you don’t want to waste the precious heat they do have left.

8. Take a picture of the meal selections you’ve made so you know what to expect (unless you enjoy a surprise at each meal). It’s amazing how quickly you forget what you ordered.

9. If you need adaptors for your plugs, be sure to bring multiple to allow for the cheap ones you bought off Amazon not working.

10. Bring an HDMI cable with you so you can really maximise all this time you have on your hands and reacquaint yourself with some on demand Kiwi TV. I highly recommend starting with Country Calendar – there’s no better way to get a virtual tour of the country, and one season will take up a good two days.

Okay, so those tips might be somewhat specific to us and our stay at the Crowne Plaza in Auckland.

Arriving in NZ in the midst of this pandemic has been a really positive experience, and quarantine has actually gone a lot quicker than expected. I have only good things to say about the Auckland Airport staff, the Defence Force and the lovely people at the Crowne Plaza – they have all done their best to make managed isolation as pleasant as it can be.

If you are planning to travel to NZ any time soon, or are just curious, feel free to get in touch if you do have any questions about travelling to, and quarantining in, NZ.

I’ll have another post up soon talking a little about my time overseas and how it was the best decision I have made.

“Patience is not the ability to wait but how you act while you’re waiting.” – Joyce Meyer

That’s all for now,

Jordyn x