Planning Travel During a Pandemic

No advice to be found here; this is just what’s happened so far.

The discussions about leaving Mauritius started in July 2019. At the time we decided we were almost ready but not quite ready, so contracts were extended at least until September 2020.

There was always a health risk for us being in Mauritius, and around the beginning of 2020, for us, the risk rating went from Medium to High for various reasons, so September would be the exit date for sure. Then the pandemic hit. At that point for us, the risk rating went from High to Critical. 

Plans started to turn into actions around April when all employers were informed. We could then start paring down the household accumulation by putting things up for sale and giveaway. 

About that household accumulation, that’s a blog for another time. For now, let’s just say home is where the heart is, but we are nesters, and you need more than sticks to build a nest. Feathers and fluff are very important to make it comfy, not to mention the media centre, cooking equipment, the liquor collection… 

Back to our story…

In July Emirates starts selling tickets out of Mauritius, the first flight leaving in September. Perfect! We book our tickets for 14 September 2020, flying to Dubai, then to Melbourne. Melbourne airport is closed, but they have announced they would open 8 August. 

Did I mention two members of the House are feline? One came with us from Australia, and the other adopted us in Mauritius. Not a worry! Melbourne is the only place accepting live cargo. Of course, the cost is going to be huge compared to what it cost pre-pandemic, but we are ready to suck it up. 

The beginning of August sees a heartbreaking flare-up of COVID-19 in Melbourne, and the airport remains closed. About that time, Emirates decides they will not conduct flights out of Mauritius until 2021. Not a worry. We never thought this would be easy. 

While all that is going on, we are going back and forth with the Australian government about allowing one of the House Members into Australia, the one that holds only a US passport. We apply for a compassionate exemption and are denied. Not to worry! A granddaughter with a heart of gold and a can-do attitude toward life comes to the rescue. One Member would take a detour through the US and is currently expected to join up with the House again the beginning of 2021. All set.

Remember how live cargo can only go through Melbourne and Melbourne airport is not opening any time soon? Not to worry. We find a temporary House for the felines in Mauritius. It is expected they will join the TnT House the beginning of 2021 as well. 

Meanwhile, back in Australia, Queensland (our target destination) will not accept the quarantine from any other Australian state. If we do not fly into Brisbane, we will be in quarantine for two weeks wherever we land, then fly to Brisbane and go into quarantine two more weeks. Quarantine costs $200 per night, each. Not to worry. We never thought this was going to be cheap. Still think we need to do this. 

Air France has been having one flight a week for months out of Mauritius to France. We book a flight from Mauritius to France for three of us leaving 16 September. Six hours later one will be on a flight to LAX. The other two will need to stay in Paris for a few days until there is a flight to Brisbane out from Paris. Not to worry! We have a friend we can visit in Paris and there are plenty of places to stay now and the prices are good. Sorted! 

Oh, wait. 

Most governments are putting out updates every two weeks about their current strategy with fighting COVID-19.  Last week France stated non-citizens would not be allowed to leave the airport, and you must have a connecting flight within 24 hours. This prompted one of the Ts to read the current COVID-19 travelling directives from 109 countries to see where we could go since connecting flights to Brisbane are few and far between. This gives you an idea as to why we can attempt something like this. It takes work and perseverance and trust. It’s never easy, but over time we keep getting better at it and it has always been worth it. 

One challenge with these government directives is to not assume you know the definition of words. For example, “resident” can mean

1. The country where you were residing in the last six months. If you were residing in Australia for the last six months, you are welcome even if you are not an Australian citizen. If you are an Australian citizen but residing in, say, Mauritius for the last six months or more, you cannot come here. (Travelers from Mauritius are not allowed in many countries right now even though Mauritius has been COVID-19 free for over two months.)
2. The country where you are a citizen. If you are an Australian Citizen who has been residing most anywhere else for the past six months, you are welcome. 
3. The country where you are a citizen AND you have been residing for the past six months.  Are those people travelling?

You must read it all very carefully and follow all the “further explanation” links plus call the consulate to get a confirmation of your understanding. 

The current plan is to fly into Paris. Within 24 hours one Member will fly on to the US, the other two will fly into London and wait there for a flight to Brisbane. 

Reality is, travel directives to the UK will be evaluated again at least once before we are ready to fly, and there’s no reason to expect they won’t change. And as they change, so do the directives from every other country. 

I leave you with some quotes found on Projectmanager.com.

On why we are leaving now:

Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

Richard Cushing

On risk management:

It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.

J.R.R. Tolkien

In this case, might not be so bad:

If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.

Yogi Berra

What one T knows and the other T is learning:

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

Charles Darwin

On why it’s important to read 109 government directives even though you know they may change:

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

Nixon quoting Eisenhower quoting “a very successful soldier”