Melburnians attempt to flee state’s fourth lockdown

Vaccinated? Tick. Caravan packed? Tick. Good time to bring forward a grey-nomad journey and flee a lockdown-plagued Melbourne? Double tick.

Annette and Peter Kirby pause at Heathcote, north of Melbourne, on Thursday during their race for the border. Picture: Aaron Francis

Vaccinated? Tick. Caravan packed? Tick. Good time to bring forward a grey-nomad journey to virus-free Queensland and flee a lockdown-plagued Melbourne? Double tick.

Annette and Peter Kirby hit the Hume Highway on Thursday and mounted their great escape.

Mid-bowls game on Wednesday, word started spreading that a lockdown was imminent, so the quick-thinking couple from Berwick in the southeast got cracking on their mission to beat the ­lockdown.

By the time Acting Premier James Merlino announced the state’s fourth lockdown, the ­Kirbys were already making good progress to the NSW border after they brought forward their 12-week trip to Maroochydore in Queensland by three days.

Having pulled into the ­Heathcote Junction pit stop for lunch, the adventurers said they didn’t hesitate in avoiding the new restrictions.

“We were pretty complacent. We thought (Melbourne) wasn’t going to go into lockdown again so soon,” 78-year-old Ms Kirby said.

Traffic heading north from Victoria on the Hume Freeway near Albury on Thursday. Picture: Simon Dallinger

“Then we got a bit worried yesterday when we saw that South Australia was going to shut out Melburnians. We were playing lawn bowls and we thought we better get out. It’s devastating to think this has occurred.”

The retired couple packed up the caravan on Wednesday night and left their home early on Thursday.

“It was no mean feat,” Ms Kirby said. “We are quite excited, actually. The adrenaline is flowing.”

Keen to escape the lockdown, the couple believed they would make it across the NSW border by 4pm on Thursday in time to avoid a forced seven days of isolation.

They both had their second ­AstraZeneca jab on Tuesday and were hopeful they might be ­exempt from further restrictions.

“It might help, but you can still pass (Covid-19) on even though you have been vaccinated,” Mr Kirby said.

People enter the Virgin Australia domestic departures terminal in Melbourne on Thursday after the airline cancelled more than 10 flights. Picture: Getty Images

There was a steady flow of four-wheel drives with caravans in tow stopping at the Heathcote watering hole around lunchtime on Thursday.

Off the Hume Highway, Melburnians can fuel up and buy a burger at the popular junction on their way to Sydney.

The stop is about 1.5 hours north of metropolitan Melbourne and was bustling like a “Friday night”, according to the Caltex petrol station’s cashier, Yaswanth Dulipl. “I think tomorrow it’s going to be dead.”

As the Kirbys raced to cross the border, another couple and their dog Charlie contemplated turning around and driving six hours back to their home in Portland in the state’s far west.

“We have just picked up our brand new caravan and were going to go to my brother’s place in ­Albury-Wodonga,” Sheri Middleton said.

“But now with the new lockdown – we are just looking at the border crossing requirements – we are not going to make it so I think we are just going to turn around and just go back to Portland now.”

Ms Middleton’s partner, Ricky Kohlman, said the latest outbreak was a reminder to everyone that Covid-19 is still a real threat to the country.

“We have become complacent. We started to come out of it and feel comfortable not thinking that this thing unfortunately is going to be with us for some time now,” the 65-year-old said.