Tag 161-163 'Better an end with horror than a horror without end'

The last few days have been exciting. But more in a negative sense.

From Friday to Saturday we spent our night at a campground without reception. That gave us a quiet evening and night but a much more exciting morning. When I checked my emails, I was shocked to find that our flight for Wednesday was canceled. Uhhh we had to let that sink in first. I read the email again and again and we were full. We would go to Singapore, but no further. And flight operations were suspended until the end of MAY. We have been following the news about the Corona virus in the last few days, but until now it had not restricted us and was not present in NZ either. Now it had caught up with us. We tried all the hotlines - without success. Of course, we were not the only ones. In shock, we first looked for a campground with internet and thought about Plan B. Actually, we wanted to take a nice quiet look at the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers, but the desire quickly faded and we preferred to let our phones glow and look for alternatives. We were a little lost. We searched for other flights, considered whether we should just wait in NZ, and after long consideration and discussions, we decided to fly back home as soon as possible. Best today. However, the problem was that we were about 500km before Christchurch and still had a 5-hour journey ahead of us.

In the meantime, we talked to Papa L. and Mama B., who were currently in Hawaii and had the same problem as us - a canceled flight. We discussed and weighed alternatives.

Now Mr. E. came into play. We were also in contact with him. He quickly found us a new flight and booked it. So now we had a whole flight and a half. We were still a little queasy because in the current situation, we never knew what would happen. So on Sunday we drove over Arthur's Pass to Christchurch. Unfortunately, the desire for the glaciers faded and we stubbornly drove the route with our destination in mind.

In Christchurch we had actually booked a hotel for Tuesday to Wednesday. We wanted to shower and sleep before the long flight. But today was only Sunday and the hotel was only booked for Wednesday. As if Booking.com had heard us, they sent us a message that now every hotel can be canceled for free. We did it too and promptly booked one for tonight. Lucky.

The next morning we wanted to drop off the car at 10:30, have breakfast before that, and then start in peace. We had slept well, but the message on my phone changed our whole plan. Our tour operator sent us an SMS stating that Doha had closed the airport and they could no longer guarantee a trip. 😳🥺 Our flight would therefore also be cancelled. We were at a loss. After the system also showed us a canceled flight, we expected the worst. We contacted Mr. E. and the airline. In the meantime, I received a message from U., she and her husband also wanted to go to Brisbane and then travel home. She wrote to me that Australia had also ordered a quarantine for all travelers. There was no mention of transit passengers. We were amazed. After anxious minutes, we received the direct information that our flight will take place as planned. We were relieved but also a little tense. You never know!

So we returned our car and were driven back to the airport. The check-in opened 30 minutes later and we were already preparing for the worst. But everything went well. We each received 3 boarding passes and our luggage was checked through to Munich.

Flight 1

- Christchurch to Melbourne 4h

Flight 2

- Melbourne to Doha 14h50min

Flight 3

- Doha to Munich 6h

Here too, the effects of the virus were already noticeable, because all flights were FULL. Whether French, German, English or Swiss, everyone just wanted to go home!

We spent our time with a very pleasant board service and a calm flight, watching some movies and getting some sleep.

However, we had imagined the arrival in Munich a little differently. We had already heard about medical checks and temperature measurements at airports. This time we were out of the airport building in Munich as quickly as never before. It took just under 35 minutes from the gate to the exit. But at least we managed to catch our bus and train and were already at the Zwickau train station at 5:30 pm, where Papa L. picked us up. For explanation: Papa L. and Mama B. were in a hurry too and landed in Frankfurt a day before us. So now we were all back.

We have been back home for 3 days now. But we haven't really recovered yet. We also have to say that we are overwhelmed by many things, apart from the current situation, which doesn't make it any easier for us. BUT we are now glad to be back home.

Finally, we will tell you how the journey home was actually planned.

After we had decided that NZ was our final destination, we had booked the flight from Singapore on March 18, as family members wanted to end their cruise there - Mrs. and Mr. H. We wanted to surprise them and make the long way home together. Unfortunately, the cruise was canceled and it didn't happen. But the flight didn't happen either. In the end, we all arrived back home safely. Sometimes you shouldn't plan anything because it always turns out differently than you think.