Best friends reunited at last
Lennox O’Sullivan wasn’t even crawling the last time he saw his mum’s best friend, Aaron Pittaway.
But yesterday, the now 18-month-old was able to run into the Australian’s arms following the launch of the trans-Tasman bubble.
Special moments of reunion between families and loved ones, after long separations due to the Covid-19 pandemic border closures, have since been captured across the country since Monday.
About 400 quarantine-free flights a week are expected between Auckland and transTasman routes by the end of the month, up from just 36 a week at the start of April.
Marking the second day of the bubble, Lennox and his mum, Krystal O’Sullivan, 34, were at New Plymouth Airport to eagerly await the arrival of Pittaway, who had flown in overnight from Western Australia and was due on the 11.55am flight from Auckland.
‘‘Oh I’m so stoked, it’s exciting,’’ New Plymouth’s Krystal said, elated to reunite with her mate of more than 10 years, who was popping over ‘‘to say hello’’.
‘‘The last time I saw him was when he came to visit when I first had Lennox.’’
Moments later, Pittaway’s flight hit the tarmac and he entered the airport to a warm welcome from Krystal and Lennox.
The three crouched and hugged as the two adults shared smiles that were hard to miss.
Pittaway, of Swan Valley, said it was great to be able to visit Kiwi soil once again.
‘‘I feel great. It’s good to be back. It’s been a long 13 months,’’ the 37-year-old said.
‘‘It’s very cool to see him [Lennox]. He’s grown a lot. It’s unreal.’’
The mates have planned a tiki tour of the North Island before returning to New Plymouth to spend time with family and friends.
Jenny Bower, manager of airport cafe Airspresso, was upbeat and wore a grin from ear to ear.
It had been a long time since the airport had been abuzz, she said.
‘‘The hype has been so good. Just the general feel – it’s been so refreshing and alive,’’ she said.
On Monday morning ‘‘you could feel the buzz starting to happen,’’ she said. ‘‘You could tell people were on their way to Australia because they had the big bags.’’
Airport chief executive Wayne Wootten said he had noticed a difference, although April passenger numbers will not be known until the end of May.
‘‘There are no extra flights as compared to the last few weeks but the terminal does appear to be busier.’’
However, despite the extra airport activity, travel agents are not reporting the same excitement.
House of Travel New Plymouth owner Tracey Edgecombe has seen ‘‘a little’’ increase in business since the bubble was announced.
So far, it had been only people heading across the ditch to see family and friends and no holidaymakers.
‘‘There’s been no people booking accommodation, only flights.’’
But Edgecombe, whose business revenue dropped 90 per cent and went from 10 staff to four amid the standstill of international travel, was upbeat.
‘‘There’s a little glimmer of hope,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s definitely heading in the right direction and that’s very positive.’’
Edgecombe believed people were playing it safe for now and waiting to see how the bubble would fare in the event of an outbreak.
Some people will also wait until they have received the vaccination before heading overseas, she said.
Dianne Tosland, owner of Mondo Travel Ha¯ wera, has also experienced a small increase in flight sales and people expressing interest in travel.
‘‘It’s not landslide stuff,’’ she said. ‘‘People want to know the rules around travel and the bubble and the travel declarations. There’s now extra paperwork needed to be able to enter either country.’’
For the past four months Tosland has been ‘‘stupidly optimistic’’ business would soon pick up, but she now believed that would not happen until the anticipated Cook Islands bubble opens.
Even then, she did not think it would be large numbers. ‘‘I think people have become used to not going on holiday.’’
John Lee received the best birthday present he could have ever hoped for yesterday when he met his granddaughter in person for the first time.
On his 68th birthday, he and wife Tricia touched down in Auckland from Western Australia in the early hours of the morning to be greeted by 3-month-old Poppy Lee. The trans-Tasman travel bubble has allowed the first-time grandparents to book an extended stay with son Tom Lee and his partner, Hannah Taylor, in the Waikato.
It was an emotional meeting and reunion for the Lees who have been separated for the past 18 months because of border restrictions and lockdowns.
‘‘It has been very hard. You want to be there for the kids, as well as for the granddaughter, and it’s hard not knowing when the opportunity might come to actually be here,’’ John said.
However, after closely following the news in Australia and from Tom in New Zealand, John and Tricia took a punt two weeks before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the travel bubble, and booked tickets for April 20.
‘‘We weren’t confident, but we had to take the gamble because we so wanted to be here.
‘‘We had already had flights that we booked that Air New Zealand had withdrawn before Christmas, so this opportunity, we wanted to be on the first plane out of WA. It has been a tightrope, but we are here, it’s fabulous,’’ Tricia said.
When confirmation of the bubble came through at lunchtime on April 6 there was still some trepidation.
‘‘Tricia burst into tears a lot. But even then we knew there was a possibility if something flared up then that could change, but I think the emphasis was on both countries being able to cope with any outbreaks and the mobile tracking which we’ve got is a very, very good safety feature,’’ John said.
The Lees admit it was magic to walk through the gates and finally get to hold Poppy.
‘‘To be able to touch her, cuddle her was precious.
’’And cuddling Tom, it’s 18 months since we have seen Tom and Hannah, so that is the longest time we have not seen them, so it was the whole package,’’ Tricia said. It was an emotional reunion for Tom as well who has been using social media, FaceTime and video to keep family updated of Poppy’s progress.