Month: May 2020

We arrived in New Zealand on March 18. Exhausted from our last minute Malaysia exodus, we gratefully collapsed into the safety and sanctuary of an apartment in Auckland.

We stayed in that apartment for 61 days.

For 61 days we checked the news – “New Zealand COVID 19” is now a permanent selection in my phone’s search bar. We watched the country shut down, and stay in lockdown for five weeks.

We watched the country take baby steps toward easing the lockdown, which were encouraging but not a sure sign that things would ever really be normal here. We were gambling. Our tourist visa had been extended until September 25, and we were gambling that if we stuck it out in Auckland through the lockdown, we’d be able to travel in New Zealand once the restrictions were lifted. It was a big gamble, could New Zealand really beat the virus? If they did, would they let people move freely around the country, or insist that everyone stay in their home regions just in case? We waited and each day we were anxious and hopeful and praying that we weren’t burning through our travel budget for no reason.

Then it happened. We moved into level 2, and the government announced that travel throughout the country would be allowed.

On May 18, exactly two months since we staggered into our Queen Street apartment, we dragged all our possessions to the curb and called a ride share to take us to Epic Campervans. There we met Wallace, the little white van that we’ve called home for the last ten days as we’ve finally, finally been able to explore this amazing country.

We rented Wallace for 62 days, during which time we plan to meander all around New Zealand, soaking in the sights of mountains and sea, of rolling green hills dotted with sheep (SHEEP!). There is always a chance that COVID cases spike again here, always the chance that the freedom to travel is rescinded if the threat of the virus increases, but so far that hasn’t happened. At the time of this writing, New Zealand has seen it’s fifth day in a row with no new COVID cases. Since we arrived in March, there have been 15 days of no new cases. But there are still many weeks to go before we can really know if the virus has been contained here.

In the meantime, every day we get to travel and explore feels like a gift. We’ve spent the first week or so exploring the far north of New Zealand, camping beside beaches and bays, and beneath trees and rainbows.

Wallace is a very well equipped van. He has a pull-out kitchen in the back, his own fresh water supply, and a grey water tank that fills up when we use our sink. There is a tiny toilet (basically a fancy bucket with a lid) that we will never, ever use, but that needs to be included so that Wallace is officially a “self-contained” vehicle. Being self-contained means that we can “Freedom Camp”, aka park up in designated areas (that have public toilets) and just sleep in the van. On nights where we don’t have a freedom camping option – or our need for a shower is desperate – we can stay in one of NZ’s many holiday parks, which generally have showers, communal kitchens, and coin-operated washing machines. One particularly nice holiday park in Ahipara even had a huge fireplace in their lounge. I could have stayed there curled up in front of the fire with my book for weeks.

After we completed our tour of Northland, we swung through Auckland to take care of a few last errands before heading east to the Coromandel. We’ll be here for a few days before stopping in Hobbiton and then continuing south. Assuming all goes well, we’ll finish our NZ tour in Christchurch in mid-July. After that, who knows. My ability to plan for the future has been shattered so many times I’m wary to make plans past next week or so, but whatever happens it will be quite an adventure.

I love fingerless gloves. I love that they are quick to make, I love that I can knit them on double pointed needles with leftover yarn, and I love that I can wear them in many seasons and still have my fingers free to use my phone or take photos or knit.

I designed and knit this pair of gloves on a long train from Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to Bangkok. In preparation for lots of transit time on this long trip, I had packed two skeins of Rowan fine art sock yarn. After I used one skein to make the Sockhead hat (pattern on Ravelry), I had plenty of leftovers for a pair of gloves.

After we got to Auckland, New Zealand, I wrote up the pattern and added an option for a larger size. You’ll need a bit more yarn for that one, but it still uses less than 50g of sock yarn. I have pretty small hands but the gloves would stretch to fit most adults with small to medium hands. The larger size should work for most others, as the gloves are quite stretchy.

Gauge: approx 3sts per centimeter. Don’t worry about row gauge, just knit until you have the length you want for each part of the glove.
Needles: US size 2 double pointed needles (or size needed to achieve gauge)
Yarn: Approx 50 grams/200 meters sock yarn (or leftovers from your most recent sock-yarn project)

Pattern:

Size: Adult small (large)

CO 48 (56) sts over 3 dpns. Place marker for beginning of round
Work in K2P2 rib for approx 8cm
Work in stockinette stitch for four rounds
On fifth round: K2, M1R, knit until 2 sts before end of round, M1L, K2 (end of round, two stitches increased)
Repeat increase round every other row 3 times more – 8 stitches increased, 56 (64) stitches total

Knit in stockinette stitch for 3cm, ending 8 (10) sts before the end of a round
Knit next 16 (20) sts and place them on scrap yarn or stitch holder (these will be knit later for the thumb. Knit rest of round in stockinette stitch – 40 (44) sts remaining
Knit remaining stitches in the round in stockinette stitch for 3cm
Switch to K2P2 rib for another 3cm, or until gloves are a length you are happy with
Bind off loosely.

Transfer thumb stitches from waste yarn to needles. When joining yarn, leave a long tail to sew the gap that will be left between the knitted thumb and body of the mitt. Work in K2P2 rib until thumb measures approx 2.5 cm. Bind off loosely.

Weave in ends. Huzzah! Your gloves are finished.

Block if you please, or just wear them and block once the gloves are ready to be washed for the first time.

Hello again! Apologies for the long delay in posting, I shall try to make up for it with interesting photos to share.

First of all, both Byron and I are alive and well in New Zealand. We’re still in Auckland, in our little Airbnb apartment. We’ve extended the rental so many times, I expect we’ll be able to write a very thorough review of the property by the time we actually leave. Right now it’s a rainy Sunday afternoon, and we are holed up with tea and shortbread as the days get cooler and we are all crossing our fingers that New Zealand has avoided the worst of the epidemic.

So far New Zealand has done a great job containing the outbreak. We spent about five weeks in level 4 lockdown, and then this past Tuesday we moved into level 3. The whole city was so excited, they even set off a few fireworks at midnight when we officially moved down an alert level. If we stood in the corner of our balcony and leaned the right way, we could just see the top of the fireworks over the roof of a nearby building.

While it’s incredibly encouraging to move out of the strictest level of quarantine, level 3 is in many ways similar to level 4. We still can’t move around freely, or have contact with anyone outside our bubble. However, there are a few wonderful improvements about level 3.

First, WE CAN GET YARN! Or, more accurately, I can get yarn. Byron has (strangely) no interest in obtaining yarn, but I sense he’s happy for me. Non-essential retail is allowed to operate in New Zealand as long as there is no contact between employees and customers. Naturally, our first order of business the day we went into level 3 was to go on a quest through the city to collect my treasures.

On our way back we meandered through Auckland Domain and stopped to take a few photos by the duck pond. That’s me wearing my finished sweater, I completed it before the end of level 4 lockdown! And just in time for fall here in NZ.

The second improvement – we are now allowed to go hiking (or “tramping” as they call it in New Zealand), so long as we stay in our current region and don’t do anything dangerous that would require us to be rescued. We took advantage of this by hiking up Mount Eden, an inactive volcano with lovely views of the city and surrounding scenery.

The final perk – we can now get takeout. Under level 4 the only way we were allowed to get food was from the grocery store, but now restaurants are allowed to offer food for pickup or delivery. For us, this meant we were finally able to obtain bubble tea, the drink with the squishy tapioca pearls for which Byron and I both harbor a minor addiction. There was much rejoicing.

Overall, things have been fine. I have good days and bad days, days where staying inside (with no mosquitos, spiders, or cockroaches) and being able to cook our own food feels like an incredible luxury, and days where I am consumed with anxiety. One of my goals for this trip was to become more comfortable with uncertainty, with not having the next step of my life planned out all the time. So perhaps this is a “be careful what you wish for” type situation? In any case, I’m extremely grateful to be here with my favorite adventure-buddy, to be in a cozy apartment on this cold and rainy day, and to have the ability to check in with friends and family, even though we are thousands of miles away.

Plus, the yarn. Always the yarn.