‘Full of emotions’: trans-Tasman travel bubble to let families finally grieve, rejoice and hug

Some have missed the heartbreak of a funeral, others the joy of a pregnancy, but all are celebrating Australia-New Zealand travel

• See all our coronavirus coverage
• Trans-Tasman travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia to start on 19 April
• The bubble is here! Where should New Zealand tourists go?

For Nicole Haines, it's a chance to begin the grieving process. In June last year, her mother in Sydney died suddenly and unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm.

It was just heart-wrenching," says Haines, an Australian based in Christchurch for the past 10 years. With two children and an elderly aunt living with her, she couldn't afford the time and cost of staying two weeks in quarantine on the return trip.