Trans-Tasman bubble: give us scenery, and certainty to boot

The New Zealand travel bubble is the news we’ve been waiting for since the closure of international borders on March 20 last year. Picture: AFP

Dust off the passport, and break out the beanies and down jackets. New Zealand is so close to becoming a travel reality we can almost smell the sauvignon blanc.

After long months of lockdown, border closures and openings, endless intrastate road trips and quibbles over quarantine, Australians may once again feel the wind beneath their wings as a 737 makes its hair-raising descent into Queenstown (or Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch).

Let skiers rejoice, wine lovers raise a glass, and adventurers polish their hiking boots. This is the news we’ve been waiting for since the closure of international borders on March 20 last year. If it goes ahead, the trans-Tasman bubble’s timing will be perfect for seeing NZ’s spectacular landscape in autumn’s glory, with temperatures a fresh 16C to 18C. Head to Arrowtown and Wanaka on the South Island and Hawke’s Bay on the North to see the trees aglow.

A skier at the Cardrona Mountain Ski Resort near Queenstown.

NZ’s famed luxury lodges will be itching to open their doors to international visitors again. Think Matakauri, looking out over Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu; The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay; or the riverside Huka Lodge in the heart of the North Island.

With the ongoing shutdown in international cruising, ports such as Akaroa, Tauranga (Rotorua), Dunedin and Napier, which normally welcome thousands of visitors during wave season, are hurting. Here’s the chance to see these picturesque destinations without the hordes.

The same goes for enchanting Fjiordland, where the “sound of silence” experience on the likes of Milford and Doubtful Sound are likely to be profound given the dearth of ships.

Hikers at Mount Taranaki in New Zealand.

If the past year has left you in need of a laugh, the NZ International Comedy Festival kicks off in Auckland on May 4. Queenstown’s Winter Festival will take place the following month, while Matariki, the month-long national celebration of Maori culture, starts on July 2.

But first let’s make one thing clear. Australians have had enough of uncertainty. They need to know, when forking out their hard-earned cash, that the door will not suddenly be slammed shut in their face — at either end of their journey. That they won’t find themselves locked in a hotel room for 14 days. And that travel insurers have got their back.

Authorities on both sides of the Tasman need to set clear guidelines about who can travel, when and where, and stick to them.

It’s time to open the bubble, and keep it open.

Visitors to Milford Sound are likely to be profound given the dearth of ships.