Known for its astonishing landscape, New Zealand is every traveler's dream destination. However, traveling to New Zealand for leisure might still be a long journey with the uncertainty caused by Covid-19.
If you wonder if you can travel to New Zealand now, here are some information and updates you should know.
Covid-19 situation
New Zealand reported the first case of Covid-19 on 28 February 2020. In less than one month, the New Zealand authority closed down the borders to non-residents, while returning residents required to do self-quarantine.
New Zealand took the Covid-19 measure seriously by implementing a nationwide lockdown from March to May 2020, resulting in a huge drop in the numbers of new cases per day. As of 5 May 2021, New Zealand has a total of 2.629 cases with 26 deaths all across the country.
The number of daily new cases in New Zealand are mostly single-digits and there are some days without any new cases of Covid-19, consecutively.
Vaccination progress
The New Zealand government signed an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy 1,5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. On 20 February, 100 nurses in New Zealand became the first people to receive the Pfizer vaccine, followed by other healthcare workers, border workforce, essential workers, dan those at risk.
This phase will be followed by vaccination for people aged 75 years old and over, 65 years old and over, people with underlying health conditions disabilities, and then the remainder of the population.
Can I travel to New Zealand now?
The borders are currently closed to almost all travelers to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, there are some keynotes for those who really need to travel to New Zealand.
Quarantine-free travel applies to travelers coming from the safe zones in Australia, Cook Islands, and Niue. Travelers must meet the immigration requirement, have spent 14 days in either Australia or New Zealand, tested negative for Covid-19 in the 14 days before departure, and complete the travel declaration as well as answered questions about their health at departure.
However, quarantine-free travel is only permitted on commercial airlines while private flights and maritime borders remain restricted. Travelers don't need to provide vaccination proof to enter the quarantine-free travel zone.
Tourist attractions in New Zealand
New Zealand’s natural beauty makes you want to leave your suffocating cubicle in the middle of a grey city and fly all the way to cleanse your lungs in pure, natural air. Here are some of the best attractions in New Zealand you cannot miss.
- Lake Tekapo
- Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve
- Gloworm Caves
- Milford Sound
On a sunny day, warmth radiates from this lake that is famous for its milky turquoise shade. There are many large rocks and pebbles surrounding the lake. During the chillier seasons, gaze over the turquoise blue lake while you dip in the hot pools of Tekapo Springs.
Due to the high quality of its starry night, over 4300m of Aoraki Mackenzie land is acknowledged as a certified International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) International Dark Sky Reserve. You can see the Milky Way all year round in this reserve.
The glowworm (arachnocampa luminosa) is a sensitive creature that naturally emanates lights on the ceiling of the Waitomo Caves. To get the full experience of the glowing cave, visitors make their way down the Waitomo River in complete silence as they are guided under these magical creatures.
Dubbed as the ‘eighth world wonder’ by author Rudyard Kipling, Milford Sound is a natural wonder that is almost untainted by humans. The lake stretches 16km in length and houses two waterfalls – the Stirling Falls and the Lady Bowen Falls.