Government guidance is that everyone must stay at home, except to access essential services or for exercise and recreation. We are expected to “stay local” when leaving the home.
The police have been authorised to question people out in their cars, and to turn around and/or fine those driving other than to access essential services.
The Coastguard have asked Kiwis to stay off the water so that their volunteers can meet their own self-isolation responsibilities – rescuing boaties would put their people at risk.
This means that paddling will be off limits for our community – we can’t use our club facilities or drive our kayaks to the beach, lake or river.
CRNZ wishes to reaffirm our commitment to the government’s measures and their strong leadership through the Covid-19 epidemic. We encourage our members to stand with the rest of the NZ public and to follow the guidelines set for our safety.
The sooner we beat Covid-19, the sooner we can get back on the water. In the meantime, we can take this as an opportunity to enjoy other types of recreation and perhaps to do some exercises at home to fix old injuries and prepare us to enjoy our paddling even more in a few weeks!
