Newstalk ZB's Chelsea Daniels Australian-based mother Michelle made quite the entrance on-air before Chelsea revealed she's coming home with Tuesday's announcement of a travel bubble. Audio / Newstalk ZB
Crossing the ditch didn't used to be a big deal - more than 2 million people did it either way each year in the lives we had before Covid-19.
Now it's the biggest deal going for travel-starved Kiwis or those with family on opposite sides of the Tasman.
Michelle Hurley is one of them.
The Auckland mum-of-two hasn't seen her own mum, Sydney-based Robyn Hurley, since Christmas 2019 - three months before our borders shut to stop the spread of a virus which has since killed almost 3 million worldwide.
"I'd normally see mum three or four times a year - she comes here once and I'll go over there [the other times].
"Before the borders shut, it really wasn't a big deal travelling to Australia."
Quarantine-only travel, which followed the closure of New Zealand's border to all but citizens and residents, ended that.
Tomorrow night, at one minute to midnight, the opening of the travel bubble again makes it possible for families on different sides of the Tasman to be together.
Hurley's already booked four tickets to her native country.
Michelle Hurley with her 10-year-old daughter Alice, are planning their long-awaited holiday to Australia. Photo / Supplied
More than a year of separation and worry - her mum is 79 and has a number of health issues - will soon be in the past.
Over the long Queen's Birthday weekend, plus an extra day, Hurley, her husband and their daughters Honor, 13, and Alice, 10, will be reunited with their much-missed mother, mother-in-law and grandmother.
She's especially happy for her mum, who has been isolated by the pandemic, Hurley said.
"Our life hasn't been too bad. But for mum, she hasn't been able to go to golf and bridge, and she can't see her friends.
"Her life's really shrunk and I know it means a lot to her to see us. I'm grateful there's a bubble ... I really feel for people with family in [other countries]."
The rest of the family can't wait either - and that even goes for 13-year-old Honor.
"They're really excited. Even the teen, who usually goes, 'Ugh, I just want to say with my friends'."
