The self-reliant family whose lockdown life has been relatively normal

For millions of Kiwis the coronavirus pandemic has well and truly flipped life on its head but for one family living under lockdown has been relatively normal.

The Vinbrux family from Oamaru were already 90 percent self-sufficient before the lockdown and now they're back sharing their bakery skills with the community.

Mum Christel is enjoying being back at work at their family business, a traditional German bakery which is reopening two days a week for customer pickups.

Christel is in charge and packs bread made by her son and husband Richard from 4am each day and youngest daughter Judy is the barista and makes the sweet treats.

Richard says managing social distancing among the workers at the bakery isn't a problem because the whole family lives together.

"That made it actually really easy for us. Because we are one bubble and we could just start working again."

While many Kiwis scrambled to find fresh food or learn new cooking skills during lockdown, life's been pretty much the same for the Vinbruxs.

"In food we're 90 percent self-sufficient. So we've got all our own spuds, we've got our own meat, we've got our own veg," Richard says.

But the pandemic hasn't been a holiday for the family with fruit and vegetables to harvest. Christel says it got busy when the peaches needed to be bottled and the apples had to be picked in the same week.

Daughter Sarah is also in charge of collecting the eggs from the chickens, and youngest son Danny has been beekeeping since he was 14.

They've also been able to catch up on maintenance jobs around the farm including fixing a broken ride-on mower which is leaving Richard to cut lawns the old fashioned way.

But that doesn't mean they shun modern conveniences.

"I wouldn't say we're off the grid. We've got the internet and telephone and all that normal sort of stuff, electricity. But we're pretty self-reliant," Danny says.

A post-lockdown lifestyle they reckon more Kiwis could try out.