Whanganui man Alex Rothman, who now lives in Uzbekistan, pictured on a trip in Kosovo.
Photo / Supplied
Whanganui man Alex Rothman, who now lives in Uzbekistan, pictured on a trip in Kosovo.
Photo / Supplied
Former Whanganui residents who have been stuck overseas since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic are relieved they will soon get to see their families once again.
Fully vaccinated Kiwis returning from Australia no longer needed to self-isolate from Monday, and from Friday those from all countries are free todo the same.
Alex Rothman, who grew up in Whanganui and is an international school teacher in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is feeling an immense sense of relief after securing tickets to return to New Zealand in early April.
"By the time I land in New Zealand, it would have been three-and-a-half years since I've seen my parents or any of my friends here."
Not only was MIQ expensive, but there was no way to justify spending a precious two weeks stuck in a hotel, Rothman said.
"Now that I'm back in a month, it feels like I am coming to New Zealand in a very normal way. I'll get to see my parents and my friends, more or less from the start."
It had been a "very, very frustrating experience" seeing New Zealand's approach to Covid-19 and how it treated New Zealanders across the world, Rothman said.
"There were decisions that I didn't agree with and thought were overly conservative. But at the same time, I am slow to blame New Zealand's political leaders because more or less they are following the will of the New Zealand people."
Paige Mailman is excited to see her family this weekend after almost three years apart.
She has been in Perth, Australia, for the entirety of the Covid-19 pandemic and is stoked at the prospect of finally setting foot back in her home country.
Paige Mailman, who lives in Perth, Australia, will be returning to NZ for the first time in almost three years this weekend. Photo / Supplied
"It is pretty overwhelming. I have come close to coming home a few times, but now it is feeling pretty real."
She had some reservations to begin with due to the climbing number of Covid cases in New Zealand, but the opportunity was too much to pass up.
Mailman said she didn't even try to enter the country through MIQ as it didn't make sense to have to spend two weeks in isolation in New Zealand on arrival and two weeks in Australia upon her return.
"It turned a two-week holiday into a six-week holiday. It just didn't make sense."
She plans on coming back again later in the year with her partner when Australians are allowed to come to New Zealand.
"Every time I have felt like I have been close, it has just been ripped out from underneath me. It probably won't feel real until I jump on the plane."
Earlier this week marked two years since the country's first Covid case, with many New Zealanders locked out shortly after the borders closed.
There has been the occasional bubble open at various times over those two years, but the lottery-styled MIQ system didn't guarantee a return, with thousands of New Zealanders putting their names in the hat for just a few hundred spots.
MIQ will still be used for unvaccinated travellers.
Arrivals will need to produce a negative pre-departure test and then do a rapid antigen test on arrival in New Zealand and then again on day 5/6.
Any positive cases will then have to carry out normal isolation requirements at home and also follow up with a PCR test to allow genome sequencing.
