Look what’s on the horizon
The closest a Kiwi could get to a tropical winter getaway last year was to stare at an image of a palm-fringed beach on their device and turn up their home or office heater. This year, we can look forward to the real deal again thanks to the New Zealand and Australian governments finally reaching an agreement on the long-delayed transTasman bubble, which is set to inflate on April 19.
For those who’ve been itching to leave Fortress New Zealand, I’m guessing you are feeling a bit like inmates nearing the end of their sentences. Our prison maybe a pretty one but, as a wild-haired Mel Gibson so memorably demonstrated in Braveheart, you can’t put a price on ‘‘freedom’’. There will be emotional reunions in store for many, and some pretty exciting holidays.
While Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has warned that Kiwis could get stuck in Australia in the event of an outbreak of Covid-19 in either country, airlines are already reporting strong sales. That isn’t surprising as many of us have friends and family in the ‘‘West Island’’, and it’s always been one of our favourite destinations.
Having lived in Sydney for a few years, I thought I knew the city and its surrounds pretty well, but a quick trip back in the winter of 2019 made me realise how many treats it had kept under wraps.
I did my best impression of a carefree Home and Away cast member on the peach-coloured beach the series is filmed at, discovering what is arguably Sydney’s bestappointed brunch spot in the process (Google ‘‘The
Boathouse Palm Beach’’); surprised myself by not falling off a standup paddleboard off the coast of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park; and developed an expensive taste for Hunter Valley shiraz on a tour of the region which, happily for animal-mad tourists like myself, also happens to be home to big gangs of kangaroos.
The highlight, though, had to be the sunrise hot-airballoon trip over the valley, about a two-hour drive north of Sydney. I am not a morning person and our 5am wakeup call came the day after the aforementioned wine tour, but by the time we climbed into the oversized picnic baskets that would carry us through the air, the magic of the experience was beginning to kick in. Peering down through pink clouds at kangaroos across red-soiled vineyards and eucalyptus-lined country lanes was amazing.
Researching new attractions that have opened in Australia since borders closed for the story on pages 34-35, I was again reminded of our neighbour’s capacity for surprise. The world’s largest island has one hell of a lot hidden within landscapes that range from snowy mountains to sandy deserts.
I’ve said before that I’ll need a lifetime to explore New Zealand thoroughly, but I reckon I’ll need another 10 lives to properly explore Australia.