What didn’t happen this year? With Covid moving in and out of the spotlight there were many other moments that caught our attention - from royals to reality. Here’s a refresher with some of the moments you may have forgotten:
The Charlotte Bellis baby saga
While managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) was removed from Government powers in October, it certainly left its mark.
The MIQ lottery left many Kiwis stuck outside their homeland, including pregnant New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis.
Her plight to leave Afghanistan in January made world headlines and saw her reach out to the Taliban for safe haven when her MIQ applications were rejected.
It led to then Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins apologising to Bellis after making untrue statements about her application to MIQ.
Bellis was finally offered an MIQ spot in February.
Tonga earthquake and tsunami
Underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai near Tonga erupted, causing tsunami waves to hit the Pacific Island kingdom in mid-January.
Multiple eruptions sent ash, steam and gas 20 kilometres into the air. Two Tongans and a British national were killed and others injured in the natural disaster.
Local video footage showed waves washing ashore and ashfall from the volcano eruption mixed with rain, creating a dark and eerie landscape on the main island, Tongatapu.
The extensive damage from the tsunami prompted aid to be sent from around the globe. New Zealand contributed $3 million to relief efforts.
Prince Louis’ Jubilee antics
Prince Louis’ enjoyment at Jubilee celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth II were a mid-year treat.
He stole the show at the Trooping the Colour with his delightful expressions during the fly past at the beginning of Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
Taking pride of place next to the real star - the Queen - he showed the full range of emotions during the fly past, waving to the planes overhead and also covering his ears when the noise got too much for his four-year-old ears.
The Queen appeared to enjoy his enthusiasm, chatting with her great-grandson as 70 military aircraft old and new swooped low over the palace to salute her.
NZ bid farewell to Dr Bloomfield
In July, the face of t-shirts, tote bags and the 1pm briefings, Dr Ashley Bloomfield signed out (to a standing ovation) as Director-General of Health after helping lead New Zealand’s pandemic response.
Bloomfield, who at one point compared the pandemic to Lord of the Rings, had appeared in around 307 news conferences since his first press briefing on the topic in January 2020.
Tourism Fiji offered Bloomfield a free five-night stay on the island to reward him for his hard work but he re-gifted the holiday to an unsuspecting Women's Refuge staffer.
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