Henry Goines marooned in Maui after COVID-19 halts flights home to Coffs

A favourite at Coffs Coast markets, Henry Goines has been conspicuously absent after being stuck in Hawaii for more than a year

Henry Goines has been stuck on the Hawaiian island of Maui for over a year after direct flights were discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is looking forward to getting back to Coffs Harbour where he runs a 'shave ice' stall at the markets.

A month-long sojourn in Hawaii has morphed into permanent residency for a Coffs Harbour local, marooned on the picturesque island of Maui.

But despite Henry Goines accepting he is probably “last on the list” for repatriation, he is eager to get home and see his kids.

The popular stallholder and his Rainbow Shave Ice van have been conspicuously absent from Coffs Coast markets as Mr Goines enters his thirteenth month stuck on Maui following the outbreak of COVID-19.

“I want people to know I am thinking about them and I am really looking forward to getting back,” he said. “I have been here over a year now, instead of a month.”

With direct flights from Hawaii non-existent, Mr Goines has been in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about flying home from the US mainland, however, it comes with certain risks.

There have been countless stories of Australians being bumped from flights they were booked on when they were unable or unwilling to pay for business class seats, and Mr Goines says some tickets home come with a price tag of more than $10,000 US dollars.

And with flights leaving from Los Angeles, a place which Mr Goines refers to as “the heart of COVID country”, he felt the safer option was to wait it out despite only recently being told of his new exit date.

“I got an email two weeks ago saying (the flight home) was pushed back until October, so I have booked for the second of October.”

Henry Goines in front of his Rainbow Shave Ice van before he left for Hawaii.

Mr Goines said Maui has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with early shutdowns leading to “forty per cent unemployment” before the reopening led to significant community transmission of the virus.

When asked about the challenge of not knowing when he can get home, the typically humble Mr Goines remarks that with life on the island being “pretty sweet”, he’s sure there are others in a more challenging situation in need of help.

He counts himself lucky that as a dual US and Australian passport holder, he has access to social security and two places to call home.

“I am not desperate like some people I have read about in other places,” he said.

“But I would like to get back and see my kids. I haven’t seen them in person for a long time.

“WhatsApp is OK but it is not the same as having dinner with them.”

Before he gets a chance to see his loved ones though he might have to spend a little time sorting out his possessions, with his car having been broken into and concerns his storage unit may have fallen victim to rats.

His boat, which is his house, has also been sitting idle in the harbour.

But you can bet that when Mr Goines does finally make it home, he’ll be ready to spread the spirit of aloha throughout Coffs Harbour.