Whanganui couple finally home after Covid-19 turns two-week holiday into nine months stay
20 Dec, 2020 04:01 PM
4 minutes to read
Irene Wolmarans (L) and Abigail Marthinusen in transit on their way home to New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chroniclemichael.tweed@nzme.co.nzWhangaChron
Whanganui couple Irene Wolmarans and Abigail Marthinusen have finally arrived back in New Zealand after the Covid-19 pandemic caused a two-week holiday to their native South Africa in March - a few weeks before New Zealand went into Covid-19 lockdown - to stretch into a nine month stay.
New Zealand has been their primary place of residence since 2016, but as they had not yet secured permanent residency, securing flights back into the country was difficult and they were left stranded and forced to put life in Whanganui on hold.