Chaffers Marina (Wellington, NZ)
Friday 24 April 2020
My phone doesn’t ring that often. When it does, it’s usually Keith, Gary, Theresa, or maybe Adam. But late this morning it rang and before answering I noticed it said “Auckland” … now who do I know in Auckland, I thought.
Quickly, my mind scanned all it’s available files for a previous call from Auckland, or someone I might know up that way, but before I could match the “correct data-set” I was greeted with … “Hello, it’s Kelly from Air New Zealand here …”
Oh … that’s right … the last time I received a call like this, it was to tell me that my Wellington to Auckland flight on the 25th of April had been cancelled.
Back then, it seemed a pretty simple matter of re-booking on the Monday morning flight, (the 27th) which also connected with an Auckland to Melbourne flight; one of only two per week that are operating at the moment
So, straight away I suspected where the conversation was leading … “… I’m just calling to inform you that your Wellington to Auckland flight has been cancelled…”
“What about the Auckland to Melbourne flight?”, I inquired
“That service is still operating currently”, Kelly confirmed.
“But how am I going to connect with it?”, I continued.
“I’m really sorry about this, I know it’s a real inconvenience. We can schedule you on a later connecting flight, but that’s not going to be until well into May”, said Kelly, trying to be as helpful as she could in what you’d have to say was a difficult “customer service situation”.
My understanding of domestic travel and connecting flights for foreigners leaving the country, was that you only had a window of 3 hours between flights. And in trying to think of possible solutions, I continued the conversation as best I could – and in retrospect it was going to lead nowhere – but I asked anyway … “what’s the reason for the cancellation?”
Poor Kelly did the best she could, with something like … “There’s been a necessary re-scheduling of services to match demand and …” she continued on like this for a bit and then finished up with, “… it’s really a complete mess, honestly”
“Are there any other flights going to Auckland from Wellington” I asked … “, because I saw a plane fly out this morning – the first one for about two weeks?”
“Let me see … yes, there’s one on Sunday, at 10:50am, but it’s not a connecting flight, and you’d have to stay overnight in Auckland. Would you like me to re-book you on that one?”
“Yes please … I’ll take it”
Pretty soon I received the standard confirmation-email, detailing my new flight details, but uppermost in my mind was … “how am I going to fill in 21 hour at the Auckland airport – between the domestic and international flights – when 3 hours is the limit” … it’s not as if you can go un-noticed in a near-on-empty terminal.
On the bright side, I had a flight to Auckland. I just wasn’t sure how arrivals to Auckland would be screened or “interrogated” in relation to with the 3-hour flight-connection limit.
I then started checking out nearby hotels. Because if I could make my way directly from the airport to a hotel room, it wouldn’t be hard to sit it out and no one would be the wiser. But even there, the hotel websites talked about potentially NOT being able to make a booking if I didn’t qualify …
To quote: “We understand your travel plans may be affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19). Please check for travel restrictions before booking and travelling to an accommodation. Travel may be permitted only for certain purposes…”
My cousin Keith called around this time – while I was half-way through drafting an email to the NZ Health Department to request an extension to the 3-hour limit – and after chatting for a while, Keith suggested I call the Australian High Commission; which seemed like a good idea.
This I did, but after working my way through the … recorded COVID-19 Health information, Privacy Statement, Standard travel advisories and press 1 for this, 2 for that 3, 4 and 5 for other things, I got through to the right area, only to have it ring out after maybe 3 minutes. Mmmm, no one home?!
More searching online, and after a few clicks I came across a link to … “Domestic flights for foreign nationals returning home” … hey, that’s me. A bit more clicking and then I read the following …
There are several criteria that foreign nationals must meet in order to drive or take land transport to an international airport, or take a domestic flight within New Zealand while we are under Alert Level 4:
- You must hold a ticket for an international flight
- If you are taking a domestic flight, you must have a ticket booked for an international flight leaving Auckland or Christchurch scheduled to depart no more than 24 hours from the scheduled departure time of your connecting domestic flight
- You must have the right to transit through all countries on your itinerary
- You must be able to drive, take public or private land transport, or a taxi or ride-share service
- You must travel by the most direct route possible
So, it was with a great sigh of relief that I read the words … “no more than 24 hours” …NOT 3 hours!! Not sure where I got the idea of 3 hours from, but there you go. It was then a simple task to book a night’s accommodation at the Ibis Auckland Airport Hotel, before relaxing to have lunch.
Then, the phone rang again … “not from Auckland this time … that’s a good thing” …
“Hello, it’s (and I forget his name) from the Australian Consulate … I’ve got a re-dial number here, did you call earlier…?”
“Yes, thanks for calling”, I confirmed … “yes, I rang about connecting flights back to Australia when I thought I was going to breach the 3-hour connection time limit, but I realise now that it’s 24 hours…”
We chatted away for a while, and he apologised for the delay in getting back in touch, because he was the only one on duty, and yes, the cancellation of the domestic flights (for commercial reasons) was creating problems for Aussies trying to get home, and yes, I’d be happy for him to add me to his contact-list of fellow Australians who are trying to get home …
As the afternoon wore on, my relaxed state of mind then began to ponder my predicament if Air New Zealand cancelled my Wellington to Auckland service – for the third time?! That would never happen, surely!? … And you reply … “Yes it could, but don’t call me Shirley”
So, my next batch of web-searching and phone-calling, had me checking out car hire companies, because as everyone knows … “you’ve got to have an exit strategy” … and if my third attempt at a domestic flight to Auckland didn’t work out, then I’ll be driving there … after all, it’s only 9 hours! So, stay tuned for the next exciting episode.
Wow, that’s two pages of writing … just about a cancelled flight.
But it was something of an emotional rollercoaster today. Particularly when I thought there’d be strife over exceeding the connecting-flight-time-limit. But at the time, I consoled myself with the knowledge that, at least “I would be in Auckland”; albeit 21 hours before my next flight. And to once again quote from Captain Jack Aubrey, of Master & Commander fame … “That seemed the lesser of two weevils” …
Speaking of the COVID-19, Alert Level 4 “compliance regime” … my blog yesterday talked briefly about the “other yacht” that entered the harbour on Wednesday. And I mentioned that, from what I’d been told … the police were at the Seaview Marina to meet them on their arrival … well, the Maritime Police did better than that, and I quote from the following “Stuff” article …
Coronavirus: Yachtie sails from Marlborough Sounds to Wellington during Covid-19 lockdown
Bridie Witton12:24, Apr 24 2020
A yachtie who sailed from the Marlborough Sounds to Wellington breaking lockdown rules was met by police boat Lady Elizabeth.
Police are gathering further information while considering next steps over the incident, which took place on Wednesday.
“We can confirm that the Lady Liz IV [Police launch] went out from Wellington to meet a yachtie in the harbour on Wednesday and were advised he had come from the Marlborough Sounds.” Police are still considering whether to lay any charges or issue any fines, she added.
As the following image from the Stuff Facebook page shows, the story attracted the usual outburst of Comments, Replies and Posts – all 178 of them at last count … ranging from … “outraged – sell-his-boat-and-give-the-money-to-the-poor – indignation, oh and also throw him in jail”, to … “the boat’s his home and it’s just like driving to the supermarket” …
The comment I liked was … “What about the 2nd yacht? There was 2 about 20-30 minutes apart” Fortunately, no one picked up on his Comment with a Reply … probably because of his poor grammar. Everyone knows he should have used a “were” instead of a “was” … and they didn’t want to be associated with him …
Late in the day, Keith and I had another chat on the phone and all being well, he and Christine will drop in tomorrow afternoon for a good-bye, real-time, face-to-face … at a respectable distance of course. He’ll even bring in a suitcase which Adam kindly offered to lend me. A suitcase isn’t something I ever expected to need, and they’re a real challenge to store on a boat.
With just a couple of sleeps before I head away, I thought I should have a look at downtown Wellington. So after saying good-bye to Keith I headed off, this time turning right along the waterfront. This took me right around to the Bluebridge inter-island ferry terminal, then uptown to parliament house.
It was here that I saw a couple of blokes putting up three flags for tomorrow’s Anzac Day Commemorations. Certainly a reminder, if ever we needed one, that despite the constant ribbing we give each other (and I know I was guilty of it in last night’s blog) Aussies and Kiwis share a common foundation and value-system, plus a deep love and respect for each other.
Wandering the Wellington streets, it was spooky just how few vehicles there were. And this was Friday night. It reminded me of Melbourne on a Sunday, or even a Saturday afternoon, back in the early 1970s as a kid. Barely a soul and hardly a car.
As I passed the war memorial there were a couple of guys in Hi-Vis vests fiddling with the flags, I noticed the fellow up the ladder was attaching the large Australian flag, having already connected-up the New Zealand and UK flags. So I called out to him …
“Make sure you look after THAT flag, bro…”
They looked up sharply, given how quiet it was, and as I laughed, they quickly got the joke and laughed back.
Being in Wellington, the last couple of days I’ve included photos of when my father Bill, and Keith’s father Ted were growing up here in the 1930s. Well, with Anzac Day tomorrow, I’m reminded of a story dad told of HIS dad’s older brother, Arthur, known as Midge – Dad and Ted’s uncle, and great uncle to me and Keith.
Like many on dad’s side of the family, Uncle Midge loved the sea and had served his time aboard the training ship, the Amokura. When war broke he naturally intended to join the Navy, but his mother finally convinced him to instead join the army, where she reasoned it would be safer.
The New Zealand Training Ship Amokura, formerly HMS Sparrow, was purchased by the New Zealand Government in 1905 with the aim of training boys for a life at sea. The first trainee joined on 19 March 1907 and the last was discharged on 16 December 1921. Some of these joined the Royal Navy, many more the Merchant Navy and a small minority did not seek a career at sea.
As you can guess, Midge was killed on the Somme in 1916. Something that broke his mother’s heart and tormented her for the rest of her relatively short life. She could never get over the fact that she felt responsible for encouraging her son to leave the sea and join the army.
Further to the story, when dad was a young apprentice in the 1940s, an old man, Mr Reginald Rice, who’d spent barely two years out of hospital since returning from the war injured in 1917, said to dad …
“I knew your Uncle Midge. We were in the same regiment together and I was there when he got killed.” He continued, “We were in the same trench, and there was a bloke out in the barbed wire, in no man’s land, injured and moaning for water. So your uncle Midge and another bloke took some water out to him. Just then a bomb came over, what we called a Rum Jar, and exploded right on top of them. There was nothing left of them”
So, dad’s Uncle Arthur, a member of the 2nd Battalion Otago Regiment, became one of New Zealand’s Unknown Soldiers, buried in the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery at the Somme (France) and remembered in the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on Buckle Street, here in Wellington
As the historical notes of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior describe:
“On 6 November 2004, the remains of an unknown New Zealand soldier were exhumed from the (CWGC) Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, and laid to rest in the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Wellington, New Zealand. He represents over 18,000 members of New Zealand forces who lost their lives during the First World War. A special headstone marks his original resting place in Plot 14, Row A, Grave 27.”
The Warrior is one of more than 1500 New Zealanders killed on the Somme. Most of them, 1272, remained unidentified and are buried in unmarked graves or remembered on memorial walls. The remains are thought to include an almost complete skeleton, and other belongings that established beyond doubt the Warrior’s nationality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Warrior_(New_Zealand)
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/visit-remember
The Battle of the Somme, or the Somme Offensive – from July 1 to November 18, 1916 – was fought by the Allied troops of France and Britain against the Germans on the Western Front, the area where Northern France borders Belgium and West Germany. The New Zealand Division joined the British Expeditionary Force in the third phase of the battle one hundred years ago on September 15 2016. New Zealand troops endured 23 days of unbroken fighting – the longest of any division on the Somme. https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=82F4FE97-0995-9E18-38E8-43A7686BE414
It was dark by the time I returned to Chimere – my Wellington home for the next two nights
Smooth seas, fair breeze and cancelled again
Rob Latimer
https://www.contiki.com/six-two/truth-love-lock-bridges/
As the article says:
One of the most famous love lock bridges, the Pont des Arts in Paris, took a stand against the thousands of padlocks along the bridge back in 2015 by removing every single one and any that came after. Why? Because they’re actually dangerous. Adding all those metal locks to a bridge that was built to hold and carry a certain weight creates structural damage and even the risk of the bridge collapsing into the river.
Over time, the historic bridge started having problems. 7,500 kilos of locks were being added every year; a weight that lead to one side of the fence actually falling off. And yet despite notices not to do it, people continued to leave their tokens of love, leading to the bridge railing eventually being replaced with glass panels. The Seine may not be too deep and this may not seem like such a big deal, but imagine a bridge collapsing or buckling over a harbour or forest, hundreds of metres in the air? Not so lovely.
NZ2020 
One day you will look back and laugh. It’s been quite an ordeal/ adventure for you. Luckily you are resourceful. Wishing all best luck in your journey back
Love from Lorraine and Steve
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