Managed Isolation Walk

 

My first blue band after a nurse cut it off

We have been in managed isolation in Auckland, New Zealand,  for eight days now.  In that time I have only been allowed to go for two good walks.  When the nurses decide it is safe for you to go on walks they give you a blue band.

Sadly my blue band was taken away after my kid got a migraine.   The reasoning was that the migraine could have been covid so we were both confined to our room until my kid got the results of a covid test.  This was to be his second covid test in 24 hours. The results were slow to come but they were negative, so I got my blue band back.

With my blue band I can make an appointment to go for a walk supervised by the the New Zealand Aviation Security Forces.  The walk is in a highly controlled and guarded fenced in area. 

Photography is allowed if no people are photographed.  I only brought my iPhone along for photography instead of one of my big cameras so I would not risk upsetting people.  

When I asked if I could walk to the fence to take a photo of an orange tree a somewhat bemused security guard escorted me to the edge of the fence.  She seemed quite surprised when I told her that orange trees do not grow where I am from.

The walks last 40 minutes and are entirely on a hard surface.  I only manage to walk 2 miles or 3.7K in this amount of time but my legs and feet still hurt a lot at the end.  I think that walking on a hard surface is what is hurting me.  

Also I've gained about ten pound in the past year and packing that extra weight around can't help.  I think I am the heaviest I have ever been in my life not counting my pregnancies.  

I am very thankful for these short walks, they are so good for my mental health! 

2 miles or 3.7k with no elevation gain.

We wait here for our walks

These doors lead to the courtyard where anyone with a blue
band and wander around between 8 and 8.  

A tiny glimpse of the city beyond our hotel fence

Fenced in area with double fences 2 meters apart (6 feet) to
keep our germs in. 

Our fenced in walking route

There is double fence on the outside perimeter of our walk that
encloses the entire hotel as far as I can tell.  This keeps the public
far enough away from those isolating that they won't catch covid
if they try talking to them I guess. 

There were a lot of people out walking so photo 
opportunities were very limited

Orange tree behind a double row of fencing

Privacy sheets on the outer fence that faces a busy street

My track log on an open source NZ map

My track log in Google Earth

Resting my tired feet back in my room after my walk.
We are very lucky to have a room with access to a little
fenced in patio area.  It took four phone calls, but 
eventually we were given two plastic chairs to sit on outside.