Three months ago I decided to take the risk of booking us a trip to Western Australia (WA). Back then, the borders to WA were securely closed, but I had this hope / expectation that things might change. And, oh how they did! But worryingly, the likelihood of the borders being open to allow us to go looked slim.
We had been lucky enough (with the COVID situation) to enjoy a three-week holiday in South Australia (SA) in June. We revisited the state (SA) after 44 years of wedded bliss – as this was where we spent our honeymoon. We had not been back since. It was a very different experience from our ‘first time’, when as poor university students, we could afford to do very little. We flew from Brisbane instead of driving our 1961 VW beetle from Tamworth, and we stayed in smart accommodation instead of a Bed and Breakfast in Henley Beach (where we paid $58 for the week!!), and we actually knew what wine should taste like. And we were not disappointed. The McLaren Vale wines in particular shone through.
Anyway, I’m not here to write about that trip. Back in June 2021 I realised there were too many people in continuing lockdowns that it did not seem right to describe our enjoyment and fun on that trip.
Living in Queensland (QLD) as we do, we have had very few (or short) lockdowns, and the wearing of masks and the use of the QR code sign-in app have been about all we have had to bear. In saying that, QLD has had a few COVID outbreaks and until very recently, 25th October to be exact, if we had travelled to WA we would have had to undergo 14 days quarantine at our own expense.
Now that QLD has joined Tasmania, SA and the Northern Territory as being considered “very low risk” for WA, our trip is on.
But, it still comes with a level of risk for us.
We are due to fly out from Brisbane to Perth tomorrow. While in the air (just under five and a half hours) we have to hope that no new COVID exposure sites are identified in QLD that have any links to us. If so, we will be expected to go into quarantine for 14 days.
In order to get approval to travel from QLD to WA I had to complete online declarations that provided details of our health, our immunisation history (by uploading our COVID vaccination status), as well as details of our planned itinerary for our three and a bit week stay, and details of our movements in QLD for the 14 days prior to our departure. We both had to download the G2G (good to go) app onto our phones. This app uses face recognition to ensure that if we are directed into quarantine, we can be monitored to ensure we stay where we are supposed to.
When we land, we will be ‘screened’ before being allowed on our way. I’ll know more about exactly what that entails tomorrow.
We remain optimistic, but still we. have our fingers and toes crossed.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 
Be safe and have a great time.