It has been a difficult 15 months for many around the world. Last month, a “travel bubble” opened between Australia and New Zealand. I have been living in New Zealand where my kids reside for awhile when the COVID curtain came down in March 2020, severely limiting international travel, including my once-regular travel to Australia.
A view of the early night-time sky during a catch up with local clients from rooftop restaurant at 2KW, Adelaide, South Australia.
Many of us have been through lockdowns during the current pandemic. As humans, it is an inherent part of our make-up to want to socialise and interact with each other, which of course, one cannot do so much in the COVID environment. In my own business, I believe clients need the occasional in-person check-in to see how things are going with their own situation.
View of Sydney harbour from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
With the opening of the Australia/New Zealand travel bubble in last month, I decided it was time to show my clients that I am not just some AI construct on a Zoom video call. I decided to visit my clients across Australia. And so between 17 to 27 May 2021, I travelled from Christchurch, New Zealand to Brisbane and Gold Coast (Queensland) Australia, then onto Adelaide (South Australia), Perth (West Australia), Sydney (New South Wales), and finally Brisbane (Queensland) before heading back to Christchurch, New Zealand. Obviously there was not simply enough time to see everyone, but at least I made a first foray to see clients, with more air tickets already purchased so I can see others that I did not get to see on my most recent trip.
View of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
A selfie of the photographer himself on location.
View of the Story Bridge in Brisbane during an evening catch up with local clients.
Wow, what a trip it has been! I am so happy to see all those that I managed to see. I think I really had help from above that I made it through the entire trip without stumbling into a COVID hotspot, as at the time of this writing, Melbourne, Australia is suffering a COVID resurgence and lockdown. I look forward to continuing to see clients on my future trips. I hope you all are managing ok and staying safe in the current pandemic climate.