The islanders carefully protect their environment, so when, in early 2020, they realised they were under attack, they wanted to fight back. The invader was the German wasp, a pernicious pest that is unfortunately well set-upon mainland New Zealand, after arriving (somewhat ironically) around the time of World War II. German wasps eat huge numbers of native insects, and also eat the food that other native species need. Left unchallenged, the wasps could take over and destroy the fragile balance of the Chatham Islands ecosystem. And this is what worried Monique and others. In the time of Covid, the Chathams was playing by the rules: the entire population went into lockdown, like the rest of New Zealand, even though there was no sign of the virus there. Their key industries of fishing and crayfishing were keeping going – just – saved by the lifeline of having Air Chathams, their homegrown aviation company, still flying product back to the mainland.