Out of quaraNTine

... and back in Darwin. My release went well: I had my second COVID test on Day 12, received the negative result on Day 13, and was spat out of quarantine on Day 14. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

I now have a certificate to prove that I have been in quarantine.

My exit was very civilised, although I did panic when I realised that I would now be responsible for providing my own meals. The speed with which one becomes institutionalised!

I panicked even more when we were told at the exit that we could remove and discard our face masks. I have been so habituated by life in Melbourne — and life in quarantine — that being without a mask seemed definitely unnatural and almost certainly dangerous. My feelings of panic increased when my taxi arrived at the quarantine centre to ferry me to Darwin. Shades of Charon! The taxi driver was a lovely, very chatty lady from Tonga, who had had her first vax yesterday (eeek! only one, and only one day ago!) and who had a smoker's cough. I had to restrain myself from grabbing my face mask, sanitising the entire cab and opening the window. I kept repeating to myself, There is no COVID in the NT. There is no COVID in the NT.

Jokes (?) aside, she had some lovely stories to tell, including regaling me with social media conversations she'd had with reluctant Tongan aunties about getting 'the needle' and the effect that a $20 gift card in a remote community had on vax rates. I can recommend setting this Tongan lady onto antivaxxers. She was a delight, and I felt 100% back in the Top End. Taxi drivers in the NT have until 26 October to be double vaxxed. If they're not, they can't accept any fares.

My first stop after some basic unpacking was the hairdresser. Hairdressers have been closed in Melbourne for months so this was a real treat. In a frenzy of enjoyment, I sent some friends this little snip of me in the hairdressing salon. Thanks, Melbourne friend (you know who you are), for comparing me to Cousin Itt from the Addams Family.

Next stop was to buy a bottle of wine, after 14 no-alcohol days in quarantine. I had forgotten that, with the stringent NT alcohol laws, most bottle shops in Darwin are closed on Sundays, so it took some determination and walking to find one open. I did enjoy my chilled rosé on the balcony tonight, as the cicadas started singing and the bats floated in at dusk.

Ah, and the final piece in the Darwin experience is the NT News. This was their Sunday front page — admittedly no crocodile photos, but the headline does have a certain ring to it.