Shane and Pauline London are in New Zealand. Their belongings and future life is in Australia. Photo / Supplied
Shane and Pauline London are all packed up with nowhere to go.
Well, that's not entirely correct. They want to go to Australia - where Pauline's daughter is soon to give birth - they just can't get on a flight there.
Having made plans last year to move permanently to Brisbane, the Kiwi couple sold their Bay of Plenty home in Matatā two weeks before New Zealand went into lockdown in March.
Then once lockdown ended, the home's new owner had to move in and the Londons had to move out.
So they packed their belongings and shipped them 2460km away to Brisbane.
Yet unlike their furniture, the Londons haven't been allowed to cross the Tasman due to Australia closing its borders to Kiwis to limit the spread of Covid-19.
It's left the family with no job, no car and no belongings as they crash at Shane's brother's house in Rotorua.
"We've just got enough stuff to put in a bag, get on the plane and get out of here," Shane said.
The couple had initially hoped to gain entry to Australia on compassionate grounds, so they could be with Pauline's 22-year-old Australian citizen daughter, who was due to give birth to a second child in October.
That was rejected.
Shane said he had hoped cases like his could be looked at more closely by immigration officials, given how well both New Zealand and Queensland had done at limiting Covid-19's spread.
He said the couple already had a house deposit ready for a new home in Australia and had also bought a new car in Brisbane.
They were even paying fees to keep their belongings in storage in Brisbane after the shipping company warned it could take eight weeks to ship the items but instead - in a surprise bout of efficiency - delivered them in one week.
And while they didn't have new jobs lined up, they did have savings to support themselves in the meantime.
Shane said the couple's documents made it obvious they were committed to moving to Australia and weren't simply on a holiday jaunt.
As further proof, they recently took out Australian driving licences and collected other documents, before attaching them in a second submission to Australian authorities.
That was weeks ago and so far they hadn't heard a peep back.
"There are probably a lot more people worse off than us," Shane said.
"But it is still pretty bad that you can't get a flight-in on compassionate grounds even though all your furniture is in Australia."
In the meantime, the couple is without jobs in New Zealand.
Shane took redundancy when it was offered during lockdown, while Pauline also gave notice to resign.
With the transtasman bubble possibly opening within months, it wasn't so easy to get new short-term jobs, Shane said.
But they have tried to make the best of the situation.
Taking advantage of the lack of international tourists, the couple hired a campervan for 36 days and made a grand tour of the South Island.
Yet with that behind them, their minds are back on the waiting game, as they cross their fingers they get there in time for the arrival of their new grandchild.
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