Most of the country is now at alert level 2, and tomorrow, the Government may just be giving Aucklanders some hopeful news too (hello, takeaways!?). But for the moment, we're all still here in New Zealand, in it together.
So together we can turn our collective wanderlust to a new virtual experience that launched recently in Australia. Vision Walks, a New South Wales company based around Byron and the hinterland, has launched a series of virtual eco-tours, which viewers can tune into from afar to explore nature and life in and around Byron Bay.
There are plenty of options, depending on your interests. The Koala Tour offers the guidance of Vision Walks founder and "koala whisperer" Wendy Bithell. Via Zoom, you'll be taken to a wild koala habitat. As you search, you'll learn about the koalas' habitat, biology and what threatens them – viewers are free to interact and ask questions as the tour runs – and there's also a Virtual Platypus Tour if they're more your thing.
On the Aboriginal tour, join Aunty Delta, a local Arakwal woman, on a virtual tour at Cape Byron (Walgun), a place of importance for the local people. Aunty Delta will talking about the dreaming, and introduce you to bush tucker and the local wildlife.
The Glow in the Dark live virtual tour, sounds particularly cool. In a country well known for its strange and fascinating creatures, there's a lot that glows in the Australian forest. From the animals to the foliage to the fungi, be led by your guide Wendi, as she lights up the forest with a UV light attached to a mobile phone and selfie stick. Some of what you see will be bioluminescent (meaning that it lights up on its own – think about the glowing blues you might have seen in the waters of Aotearoa at times), and some will be bioflurescent (meaning that it lights up when you shine UV light on it). What you will see depends on the season, but tours typically spot possums, spiders, lichen and more.
To take part in each tour costs $30 – you can book at visionwalks.com.au