SKY’S the limit
At last, Kiwis can spread their wings, writes Mike Yardley.
TRAVEL’S NEW AGE IS DAWNING. Two long years of bottled-up wanderlust is finally being uncorked for Kiwis. An absolute frenzy of flight bookings is under way, as travel-starved Kiwis embrace their new-found freedoms to roam beyond our shores.
This pandemic is certainly not done with the world yet, so many prospective travellers will continue exercising a high degree of caution as to where they choose to go, when they go and for how long.
Unsurprisingly, Australia is the biggest object of our affection with a bookings boom under way, while the South Pacific will resemble a bumper winter holiday playground for tens of thousands of Kiwis, with the Cook Islands and Fiji leading the charge as tropical escape tractor-beams.
Even if you are eyeing up a getaway across the Tasman or within the South Pacific, there’s no shortage of tripwire to navigate, as entry requirements, declaration forms and the reams of red tape constantly evolve. You need to be tightly attuned to the evolving dynamics.
If you’re Australia-bound, you no longer need to undertake a pre-departure test. That requirement came to an end on April 17. You will still need to show proof of being double-vaccinated.
A word of advice, if you are travelling to Western Australia. If you’re flying direct to Perth from New Zealand, the same entry conditions apply — you’ll just need to be double-vaccinated. However, if you are heading to Perth on an inter-state flight from within Australia, triple vaccination is the entry requirement.
Across Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tahiti and New Caledonia, being double-vaccinated and pre-departure tests are currently the standard entry requirements.
Travellers returning to New Zealand from the South Pacific, from the likes of Fiji and the Cook Islands, currently don’t require a negative pre-departure test. However, the South Pacific is the only exemption prior to flying home to New Zealand.
I hope that we’ll soon follow the likes of Australia, Canada and much of Europe — and drop pre-departure testing. The less crinkles in the travel process, the better.
To keep up date with the ever-fluid entry regulations, country by country, most airline websites include a comprehensive page, specifying the entry requirements of your chosen destination.
A big bug-bear of mine is the yawning variability in the cost of pre-departure tests. The price range is wild, so shop around. Now that supervised rapid antigen tests are being universally accepted as a legitimate pre-departure testing option, they are definitely the most cost-effective option, rather than forking out for a PCR nasal swab or saliva test. You could pay anything from $40 to over $200 for a supervised RAT for international travel purposes.
Some providers are exploiting unsuspecting travellers with exorbitant charges, just for a RAT. If you are heading off for a family holiday in the South Pacific, don’t get stung forking out $800 for the four of you, when you could only have to pay $160 from the likes of your local
pharmacy. I contacted half a dozen of my local pharmacies, and the price for a supervised rapid antigen test ranged from $40 to $75.
Similarly, in Australia, pharmacies seem to be the sharpest-priced, from $40. Histopath’s testing centres within the international terminals at the major airports charge A$59 for a RAT test.
Don’t leave home without travel insurance and ensure it extends to Covidrelated cover. All the key players like CoverMore, Allianz and Southern Cross offer comprehensive cover.
But every insurer and every policy is different. The major feature is ensuring you are covered for medical expenses if you catch Covid-19 while away, along with cancelling/rescheduling costs if you or a relevant person are diagnosed with Covid before you leave.
Similarly, check the extent of cover for costs incurred if your travels are disrupted by Covid, during the trip.
If you’re going on a cruise, make sure it’s not excluded. Understandably, visiting a country subject to a “Do Not Travel” alert, government-imposed lockdowns or sudden border closures due to Covid-19 will not be covered by travel insurance.
And be sure to keep on top of the formfilling faff, with declaration requirements ahead of your next destination, including the NZ Traveller Declaration Form, before catching a flight home.