A woman who's been in quarantine in Auckland for two weeks after returning from overseas has spoken of the "emotional" moment she met Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after arriving back in Wellington.
Kate Catalinac, who's been keeping a Facebook diary of her experience in quarantine, rounded out her diary in the perfect way after she bumped into Ardern in Wellington Airport on Thursday.
"High on freedom, I flew from Auckland to Wellington. Upon touchdown I received an urgent text from my sister - alerting me that she had a visual on Jacinda proceeding on foot to the Wellington Koru lounge wearing a grey backpack," Catalinac said on Facebook. "After defibrillating myself, I too proceeded on foot to the Wellington Koru lounge."
Catalinac told her Facebook friends of the moment she came across the Prime Minister.
"Then, like a shimmering mirage, she appeared. In an expertly chosen jewel-tone coat and aforementioned grey backpack, the woman from my laptop screensaver was walking towards me."
Catalinac said she "blacked out" before she started having a conversation with Ardern, before the Prime Minister revealed she had been reading her blog.
"Physically I was still standing. Emotionally I had exploded into 1000 tiny kittens now swirling around the ankles of everyone at the airport."
She said she then asked the Prime Minister for a photo.
"Her reply, 'Oh of course - you've got to round out the blog'," Catalinac wrote.
She said she proceeded to thank Ardern before they parted ways.
"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, you are truly the sweetest slice of the day.
"She walked away with my heart in her backpack, showing absolutely no sign that she was also carrying the weight of our nation’s fears and the world's admiration on her shoulders."
