Australians eager to get on Milford Track

Australians are snapping up spots on the Milford Track and bookings were ‘‘trickling’’ into Te Anau ahead of the trans-tasman bubble opening.

The first trans-tasman flights under the bubble arrangement land in New Zealand today now that travellers between the countries no longer have to quarantine.

Te Anau’s Anchorage Motel co-owner Nigel Humphries said a trickle of Australians had made bookings in the town.

The tourism-reliant town has been particularly hurt by border closures, which began in early 2020.

Humphries believed it would be lots of friends and families travelling across the Tasman Sea initially.

Bookings would represent ‘‘some off-shoot’’ of that, but ‘‘not a massive wave’’, Humphries said. ‘‘There is a lot of uncertainty because a lot of us don’t know how to plan for winter.’’

He said there were lots of package deals on offer in Queenstown at the moment, and when asked if Te Anau needed to be offering more deals, he said many operators already had them.

‘‘Prices are very competitive because we have a lot to come back from,’’ Humphries said.

He described the mood among tourism operators as cautious optimism.

However, he said that from a personal perspective, ‘‘there’s disbelief this is actually happening’’.

April had been the best month in Te Anau since lockdown and the border closure a year ago, and speaking generally across operators, business was down 50 to 70 per cent compared to April 2019.

‘‘There’s light at the end of the tunnel,’’ Humphries said.

Fiordland Outdoors Company owner Christine Wallace had

‘‘There’s light at the end of the tunnel.’’

Nigel Humphries

Te Anau’s Anchorage Motel coowner

seen an immediate impact from the bubble arrangement.

One Australian was landing today and heading straight for the Milford Track, Wallace said.

‘‘We’re rapt to be getting up and welcoming our friends, family and visitors from across the ditch,’’ Wallace said.

‘‘Definitely early days, but we are grateful for anything we get.’’

There were also good bookings coming in for Australians to do the track out of season, in May, she said.

‘‘It’s clear they have missed us, and we have missed them.’’

Even out of season, the Great Walks were still a drawcard, she said.

‘‘If you leave Sydney in the morning you can be on the Milford Track that night.’’

Wallace believed immediate travellers would likely be families and friends reuniting, and she herself had friends coming on April 20 for the end of the fishing season.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden confirmed the travel bubble with Australia earlier this month, meaning travellers can fly to and from Australia and New Zealand without the need to go into isolation.

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said there were 5200 passengers booked to fly across the Tasman today.