The NZ Travel Bubble Opens in Less Than Two Weeks!

Ooft, mark your calendars people! On April 18th you could be flying to New Zealand quarantine free!

New Zealand’s delightful Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is still speaking as I write this, but the froth is too much. See those juicy mountains above? You could be right up in them in under two weeks.

Key Points

• The trans-Tasman travel bubble will start from 11.59 pm on Sunday, April 18
• The bubble will be two-way and not require quarantine
• Travel is still risky and things could change at any time

How’s all this going to work?

While many New Zealanders have been allowed into Australian states for a while, they had to quarantine when they got home and pay for it themselves. Pretty rough deal even when Australia’s pretty great.

The travel bubble removes that restriction and allows Aussies to head over without locking up for two weeks at either end.

Luckily you won’t need a vaccine to get over there. Not because vaccines aren’t awesome, but because our government has been chronically slow at getting them into our arms.

Australian travellers won’t come into contact with anyone who’s travelled internationally, including airline staff, and will pass through ‘Green Zones’ to keep them separated.

Travellers will have to wear masks, submit to temperature readings and download the NZ COVID tracer app before they fly. Which doesn’t really seem like a big deal when we’ve been doing all that for over a year now.

What if COVID flares up again?

The governments have put together a nice little framework for different scenarios:

• If a case is discovered in a ‘border worker’ and well contained, things will stay the same.
• If a case is discovered outside of this, flights will be paused in a mini lockdown while more info is gathered.
• And if heaps of cases flare up, well, flights will be suspended for a set period.

What should I do now?

Probably book a flight to New Zealand hey?

Tourism is New Zealand’s greatest export, and no wonder, because the place is all kinds of messed up pretty.

While you’re at it, keep washing those hands and keeping your distance. On the world stage this is a huge fuggin’ deal, let’s not mess it up!

New Zealand Adventure Inspo

• 6 Unknown Hikes On New Zealand’s South Island
• How To Squeeze Three of New Zealand’s ‘Great Walks’ Into Under Two Weeks
• A Road Trip Across New Zealand’s South Island – From Coast to Coast
• The Dusky Track in 8 Days – Muddy Recollections from New Zealand’s Hardest Hike
• The Ultimate Guide to All 24 of New Zealand’s Ski Fields
• Green Lake Hut is a Secret Winter Escape in NZ’s Fiordland
• Spot Endangered Birds on Tiritiri Matangi – An Island Near Auckland

Or just head to our New Zealand page and explore the map!

Explore NZ

Feature photo by @kennysmithshoots