The hustle and bustle of New Zealand's most populated city has been replaced with deserted streets, free-flowing traffic and relative silence - a far cry from the usual gridlock of cars and coffee-carrying commuters.
Thursday marks the country's first full day in lockdown, with level four of the four-stage COVID-19 alert system setting in at 11:59pm on Wednesday.
For four weeks, New Zealanders will have to adapt to a new normal - a normal where the home is the workplace, the bar, the cafe, the gym. The home is where New Zealanders must stay.
"This is already the weirdest feeling I have ever had. Hearing absolutely nothing in Auckland City, just off K‘Road, no drunks, no music from nightclubs, no traffic...and this is the first half hour of lockdown," one Aucklander tweeted.
"It’s Day 1 of lockdown and Auckland is eerily quiet... I’ll be able to hear a dry cough a [kilometre] away," another joked.
Aucklanders have taken to social media to share their new reality, many in awe at the city's dramatic transformation.
Christchurch
Photos taken at roughly 2pm in Christchurch on Thursday show a deserted Morehouse Avenue, almost completely devoid of vehicles. The gates to Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens are closed.
Queenstown
Queenstown's typically thriving centre is virtually empty as of Thursday morning.
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