Neil Hodgson
As the world comes to grips with the Covid-19 virus that is rampaging around the globe, people are cancelling travel plans, changing the way they travel around cities, and stockpiling everything from toilet paper to cans of food and containers of water in case they need to self-isolate in the safety of their own homes for a week or two.
Me, I’m just getting on with life but taking a few sensible hygiene steps. We haven’t stockpiled anything at home, because we tend to keep enough food in the pantry and freezer to last us a couple of weeks anyway – and we have faith in the quality of Nelson’s drinking water. Oh, we also have enough wine in the cellar to give us something sterile to drink for a few months.
I don’t want to minimise the potential seriousness of Covid-19 for some people and the potential impact on our health services but the thing that is troubling me the most is many people are panicking and not going about their everyday lives. Of course we all need to be sensible and do things like avoiding travel in confined spaces with lots of other people (sorry, bus companies and airlines), but I don’t see a need to hide from the world ‘‘just in case’’.
There are many ways to enjoy life while being cautious. For example, we have just spent a week in Christchurch, where we stayed in an apartment rather than a hotel and went about our business as usual. We also dined out, but were cautious about our hand hygiene after doing things like pushing a supermarket shopping trolley.
Thinking about how people are reacting to Covid-19, I came to the conclusion that this is an opportunity for travel within New Zealand rather than going overseas. Don’t just stay at home – get out and see places you haven’t visited yet in your own country.
If you don’t want to stay in crowded hotels, don’t – spend some of your travel money by staying in a nice self-contained apartment, where you can dine in if you want to and avoid crowded areas. Hotels are pretty quiet, so you are unlikely to be overrun with sniffing and coughing tourists anyway.
In fact, we found everywhere to be very quiet. It was like the end of the tourist season has arrived two months early – and that means it’s a great time to see your own country before winter kicks in. Autumn is a beautiful time of year in places like Central Otago.
To tempt you a little, here are a few places we discovered on our recent visit to Christchurch, a city that is slowly developing a beating heart again.
At Little High Eatery, you will find eight businesses in a food court setting, but this isn’t just another mall food court. This is a cool, vibrant place where you will find tasty Mexican food at Caribe, the incredibly popular Bacon Brothers Burgers, Eightgrains Asian food (the best Chinese food we have had in a very long time), a sushi outlet, a coffee shop, a chargrill steakhouse and others.
When we stopped in to buy dinner on a
Monday evening, there wasn’t a seat to be had, and the queues were almost out the door at Bacon Brothers. I had to queue for about 10 minutes just to order at Eightgrains, and the place was buzzing with a happy, noisy vibe – and not a face mask to be seen.
The locals were out and about enjoying great food in a crowded environment, without a thought for a virus – but most venues had hand sanitiser available.
We also went to couple of our favourite restaurants while we were in Christchurch. Mediterranean Foods in Tuam St makes the best pizza, and you can stock up on delicious cheeses and other Italian foods while you are there. They also make their own breads and delicious sweet treats.
Speaking of treats, we always treat ourselves to dinner at Inati, where the food is imaginative and delicious, the service is fantastic and the prices are very affordable. Our failing here is the wine list – we always spend far too much on a bottle of something fantastic. However, Inati is a place where it’s worth treating yourself to a great wine to pair with their beautiful food. There is also decent separation between tables, so the risk of catching a nasty bug from fellow diners is minimised.
If you are a little concerned about being in close quarters with other people, there are many places with outside dining – and autumn can be delightful in this regenerating city.
One place where we enjoy sitting in the sun is at the Beach Bar and Restaurant in Sumner. When we were there, locals were catching up over coffee, and tourists from Europe were enjoying sitting in the sun on the deck that hovers about a meter above the sand – and again, not a face mask or worried look in sight. The only nod the owners made to Covid-19 was a large bottle of hand sanitiser beside the soap in the toilets – sensible, but not dominating people’s thinking.
While we did our bit to support Christchurch’s economy, there are lots of businesses in Nelson and the rest of New Zealand that need you to get out and support.
Have a holiday at home – and if you decide to stay in an apartment, there are some fantastic deals on offer. Don’t just book online – phone them and ask what sort of deal they can do. You will find that you can stay in a very nice place at a severely discounted rate because the international visitors are simply not around.
I don’t want to minimise the risk this virus poses, and we need to be aware when we go about our day-to-day lives – but let’s not lock ourselves away. Support local businesses that employ local people and need your help when the world is facing a significant recession. If you don’t support them at this time, some won’t survive and we will lose them forever.
Do be careful – maybe don’t book a trip to Italy just yet – but don’t be afraid to lead your normal life while Covid-19 does its thing around the globe. Get out and enjoy the wonders New Zealand has to offer. And, most importantly, support local businesses rather than shopping online – they need you!
‘‘We need to be aware when we go about our day-to-day lives – but let’s not lock ourselves away. Support local businesses that employ local people and need your help.’’