Two weeks in managed isolation sounds like a lot, but for us, it has flown by. Having just come from winter in a locked-down London, this was like a walk in the park. We have a decent room, better Wi-Fi than our flat in London. Delicious, cooked meals delivered to our room three times a day. Lots of friendly, helpful hotel staff, nurses and the army doing their utmost to make our stay comfortable.
Before our flights to NZ we were frequently wondering what managed isolation would be like and where we might end up for it. There is a Facebook group with a mixed bag of daily posts from people in managed isolation. This had given us an idea of the complete lottery on which hotel and where in New Zealand we might end up. Chris had been telling me to mentally prepare for the worst.
Arriving in NZ, immigration is noticeably different as you are health checked first. Sight panic before customs that my Secret Santa gift of picnic glasses in cowhide was a contraband animal product. Apparently not and we were waved through customs. Once in arrivals, we are ushered over to the managed isolation allocation desk.
Our names are checked on the list, good news, we are staying at the Sudima Hotel which is only 5 minutes away. Instantly, a wave of relief passes over us at not having to travel far. Some hotels are over three hours on a bus or even another flight to Christchurch in the South Island. This is quickly followed by an urgent desire to find out more about Hotel Sudima. The bus taking us to the hotel is soon filled with chatter as everyone shares the online reviews they find on Hotel Sudima!
Ooh, its 4.5*! Apparently, the food is good, and we can have visitors. Good Wi-Fi. Comfortable beds…
Managed Isolation Hotel Check In
Shortly after arriving at the hotel, a wellness manager boarded the bus behind the screen and briefly explained the most important hotel rules.
- Stay in our bubble. Observe 2m distance with anyone that is not in our bubble, otherwise, our time in quarantine might get reset.
- We can use the exercise area in the car park anytime between 6 am-9 pm, and as often as we liked.
- Daily health checks and two COVID tests; on Day 3 and Day 12.
Bubble by bubble, we are waved off the bus to check-in. Five minutes later and we are on the sixth floor opening the door to our home for the next two weeks. It is a nice size room, big comfortable bed, a decent fridge, and a yoga mat in the corner. Slight disappointment at the uninspiring view our the back of the motorway and DHL warehouses. I had of course been secretly hoping for a view of Auckland Bay and the chance to catch sight of America’s Cup yachts practising! However, we were lucky as sunlight streams through the window for half the day!
Two Weeks of Room Service
By now (Day 13), I am tuned in to hear the sound of a trolley in the corridor and the rustle of brown paper bags. Finally, the knock on our door, ‘room service’. The food has been great if a little heavy. Each meal was huge and came with snacks for the rest of the day. To be honest, as that is all we have to complain about, lucky us!
Typical daily menu:
- Eggs benedict, juice, and a large cookie for a mid-morning snack
- Seafood laksa, salad and a packet of crisps
- Slow roast lamb with kumara and beans, coconut water, and apple tart for dessert.
The side table in our room now looks like a mini-mart, with packets of crisps, biscuits and pot noodles piled up high.
My favourite dinner was the melt in the mouth New Zealand lamb rack we had on the 2nd night. Lamb so tender, the bamboo knife provided cut through it like butter.
Tip, bring proper cutlery into managed isolation to properly enjoy the food!
Essential Deliveries in Managed Isolation
Day 2, straight after breakfast, we placed a same day order with Countdown for what I considered essentials: ground coffee, wine, chilli sauce and lemons. Amazingly, it arrived that afternoon.
Visitors
Ros, Chris`s Mum drove down to see us and drop off a care package. Very prison-like, we can meet for a chat by the barrier at the far end of the car park. She had had quite a journey down getting a bolt puncture in one of her tyres.
After Ros left there was a lot of excitement back in our room, unwrapping the box she had packed for us. We found an assortment of home-baked goods, avocados, lots of NZ travel magazines, a box full of cutlery, and some excellent additions to our expanding wine cellar. Ooh, the small pleasures in managed isolation!
The Wine Cellar
Keeping Fit in Managed Isolation
Lots of circuits!
Where exercise and outdoor space is concerned we are fortunate to have a hotel that is not in downtown Auckland. We have a large open car park which gets sun all day long, and we can come out for air, sunshine and exercise whenever we want during daytime. The more central hotels are restricted with outside space, with allocated exercise times for each room and covered car parks. Happy Days!
Health Checks and Freedom
Every day around 10am the nurse comes to our room and runs through the checklist of COVID symptoms and then takes our temperature. I get really bad hayfever and allergies, around halfway through our stay my sinuses went nuts due to living in air-con. I was a bit nervous about telling the nurse in case they thought it was COVID, but our nurse was really understanding. She made sure I had a good stock of medications and checked on me twice a day until it had improved.
We had two nasal swabs which are uncomfortable and make your eyes water but are not all that bad. Less than 24 hour hours after the last one we get a phone call to our room saying we can be collected at 11.30 in two days time.
Yay, a few hundred victory laps of the car park later and we are out with a certificate to show we have passed!
