Auckland border opens at last

According to news reports, Aucklanders were queueing up to drive north and south of Auckland when the border opened at 11:59pm last night, desperate to get to their holiday homes and have a change of scene. There were also queues at the airport, with people flying to other parts of the country to meet family and friends they haven’t seen since lockdown started on 17 August.

The day started off grey and wet, but by this afternoon the sun was appearing between showers, so we walked down to St Heliers and back for some fresh air and a little bit of exercise.  I took a quick photo of the Christmas cup cakes in the window of the St Heliers Home Cookery for today’s blip.

There are 74 new community cases of delta today across Auckland (56), Waikato (9), Lakes (1), Bay of Plenty (7) and Canterbury (1). Sadly, a further death has been reported.