Vaccinated Aussies will *finally* be allowed quarantine-free travel into New Zealand/Aotearoa next month so kia fkn ora mates!!
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Wednesday morning Aotearoa will be reopening to the world after it closed its borders in 2020.
Vaccinated travellers from Australia will be able to enter the country without quarantining from April 13. No tiny room of sadness for you!
From midnight May 1, tourists from other visa-waiver countries will also be welcomed.
All travellers will be required to have a negative COVID test before they leave, and will need to show two negative tests when they arrive. You’ll also have to do another test on day six of your stay, but the good news? You can use rapid tests!
“We’re ready to welcome the world back,” Jacinda Ardern said, per the ABC.
“In particular, I look forward to welcoming back our trans-Tasman travellers, who have historically made up 40 per cent of our international arrivals.
“They will be able to arrive in time for the Australian school holidays and provide a particular boost for our coming winter ski season.”
New Zealand tourism minister Stuart Nash said the move is a super exciting moment for the country’s tourism sector.
“I don’t think even the most ardent kiwi sports fan would begrudge me saying we are ready to roll out the green and gold carpet for our Australian neighbours,” he said.
“We have missed you.”
Awww. We missed y’all too!
It’s been two whole years since Jacinda Ardern closed New Zealand’s borders during the first wave of COVID. At the same time NSW just saw a huge spike in COVID cases overnight, reminiscent of December 2021. Time is a flat circle and nothing is real, etc.
New Zealand will reopen now that most of the population has been vaccinated. According to The Guardian, 95% of people aged over 12 years old in NZ are double-vaccinated and 72% have had a booster shot.
