Delight at end of the chaos
Before 2020, Corona was a beer; zoom was a camera feature; toilet paper was never a topic of conversation; none of us would ever put a rat up our nose; and testing positive with a little white stick usually meant you were pregnant. How life has changed.
Let me take you back two years . . . it’s mid-March 2020, and I am in one of my favourite places in the world: Fiji.
But, I have a bit of nervous energy pulsing through me. I am sitting on the deck of our villa, reading about a virus causing chaos in Italy, after it was discovered in China a few months earlier.
One of the cleaners at the resort is anxious as it has no future bookings. Zero.
She is tearful as she explains all 16 staff at the small establishment might be out of jobs for a month or two, until the virus, called Covid-19, has passed.
It wouldn’t be long, she had been assured.
But, as we all now know, there would be no quick tidal change with Covid.
The world faced an unrelenting tsunami of cases, as one of the biggest global events to impact the modern world unfolded. I can’t imagine the hardship so many families in places such as Fiji went through, as the lifeblood of the economy – tourism – all but disappeared.
Millions have died, many more livelihoods have been affected, and the world will never quite be the same. But, after this Omicron wave, we all hope that a little more stability might be around the corner.
New Zealand’s border is now on a five-step plan to reopen, with Kiwis in Australia able to return home without needing to go through MIQ later this month.
Air New Zealand has announced a huge scaling up of international operations and airlines such as Air Tahiti Nui are also returning to our shores.
The prospect of an international holiday this year is looking more likely by the day.
And one destination on the radar is Fiji.
It is about to roll out the welcome mat to New Zealanders, with regular flights starting soon.
So, how easy is it to travel to Fiji, and what can you do when you get there?
Join me on pages 38 and 39, as I explore the new world of travel, and the golden chain of islands that await.
If you are not quite ready for an international trip, but instead need a good laugh, head over the page to 32-33.
This week, the Stuff Travel team reveal the worst travel disasters that have happened to us, ranging from a helicopter evacuation to the police turning up for a hunger emergency.
So, whatever your appetite for travel, we have you covered.