While hundreds of Kiwis rush to make the last available flights home, some intrepid travellers have been caught in extremely remote locations. Laura Walters reports.

When the call came this week from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for Kiwis to return home as soon as possible amid the global spread of coronavirus, jumping on the next flight was not an option for those in far-flung corners of the globe.

Taygen Hughes is currently living and studying in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, an archipelago halfway between Norway and the North Pole.

Dagamara Wojtanowicz Kiwi Taygen Hughes moved to Svalbard in the Arctic Sea to study nature guiding.

Hughes moved to the harsh Arctic outpost - home to 2600 people and 3000 polar bears - to study Arctic nature guiding at the local university.

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She had just three months left on her one-year course, which was supposed to include long ski excursions and riding snowmobiles on sea-ice.

Now she's holed up in one of the most remote places on earth, planning to wait out the pandemic.

"Things escalated very fast and within a week it went from our ski trip being cancelled, to the university closing, to being told we should leave the archipelago and return to mainland Norway," said Hughes, originally from Levin.

While many returned to the Norwegian mainland, Hughes felt it was safer to stay in Svalbard where there had been no reported cases of Covid-19.

If she were to try and return home, it would mean taking four separate flights, something she thought was risky.

MICHAEL AFFLERBACH Taygen Hughes is waiting out the worst of the coronavirus outbreak in the Arctic.

Hughes said having the rest of her course cancelled was heartbreaking, but the plan was always to permanently move to Svalbard after her course finished.

And while there was a sombre feeling on the island, with almost all of the guides and staff working in hospitality being laid off, a lot of the locals would take this chance to explore the archipelago on snowmobiles or skis without tourists around.

"I am stuck in one of the most unique places in the world, at one of the best times of year with no tourists around."

If there were no cases of the virus, and the airport closed, Hughes said she would be lucky to have Svalbard as her playground for the coming months.

SUPPLIED Nathan and Leona Round, and their children Esme and Owen have had their round-the-world trip interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a Palmerston North family of four are stuck on a remote island in Panama.

Nathan and Leona Round, along with their children Esmé (three) and Owen (one) set off on a year-long, round-the-world trip in December.

A little over a week ago, the Rounds left their big bags in Costa Rica to set off on what they thought would be a short trip to Panama.

Now they are looking at staying at least a month on Isla Bastimentos, an island near Bocas del Toro, on the Caribbean Coast.

Luckily, they described the remote island as a slice of paradise, similar to a school camp with dorms and blissfully cold showers.

SUPPLIED The Round family from Palmerston North in the picturesque Guatemalan town of Antigua.

"We've decided it's probably more dangerous at this stage to try and return home. It could take days of hanging out in crowded airports," Leona Round said.

"We see the reality of travelling now as a bigger risk of us getting sick or becoming carriers."

For the meantime, they planned to stay put until some of the chaos died down, then assess their flight and insurance options in mid-April.

Round said they were fully aware of the government's advice to return home, and didn't want to come across as ignoring officials and putting themselves or their children at risk.

"We have considered our situation carefully and continue to do so."

But they did not currently have a house or jobs to go back to in New Zealand.

"We had planned to travel for the whole year, so for now it's a slightly different adventure than we expected and we are prepared for it to take a long time to return to New Zealand."

Round said the global crisis was like a "crazy movie, or World War III, but against a pathogen, not each other - thankfully".

And while fear was a valid response to the uncertainty, the generosity of strangers and keeping in touch with family and friends would see them through.

SUPPLIED Debbie Knuvers is in Ecuador where she'll be riding out the coronavirus pandemic.

In nearby Ecuador, Debbie Knuvers was volunteering for an animal rescue in Puyo, when the world descended into mayhem.

She was only supposed to be staying a week at the sanctuary, which mostly looked after monkeys, but may now be there for months.

Knuvers, who is also originally from Levin, said it was difficult to get legitimate information.

"You hear rumours, you check the internet, but you really have no idea what's the truth. Different websites say different things."

She had been told neighbouring countries had closed their land borders, and all public transport had been stopped. Even if she could get to an airport, a one-way flight home would cost $2000, which Knuvers said she couldn't afford.

The chances of getting back to her job in Norway next month were slim, provided her job still existed, and Knuvers said her travel insurance didn't cover anything.

Like many others, her plan was to wait and see.

"I will be keeping an eye on the changing situation and try to continue living - it's so easy to just scroll online constantly to try and get as much information as possible but I think that's a great way to start worrying more," she said.

Everyone was trying to stay positive, and the owners had been taking care of providing food and amenities.

"I have my moments where I'm scared I may be here in the unknown for months on months…

"I miss my family and worry about their wellbeing, of course. But if anything, this has taught me to keep calm and take each day as it comes and to try and trust in the professionals working tirelessly and of course in the people."

And if she was feeling stressed, there were always animals to hug.

Some other Kiwis had found themselves in similar positions, such as travel blogger Alexx Hayward, who is quarantined on an off-grid island in the Philippines.

More stories of those stranded in foreign countries were emerging by the day and the window of opportunity to get home was closing.

Aviation commentator Irene King said any Kiwis who wanted to get home needed to take advantage of the repatriation flights on offer.

Travel insurance could cover some of the repatriation flights, and some people may be entitled to money back from their airline, but it would depend on individual policies.

"Once these repatriation flights are over it will be challenging to get home for a period of time," she said.

"I would give a million dollars if I could say with confidence how long."

For those stuck in remote areas, hunkering down and enjoying the landscape may be their only choice.

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