Visiting Neighboring Australia

Sydney Harbour

One of the great things about New Zealand is its remoteness from the rest of the western world. Unlike the UK, Switzerland or the Netherlands, which are all inside Europe, and thus, so easy to travel to and fro, New Zealand is so far away from everyone else. Corollary, while postgrad students based in London or Amsterdam get to travel to the rest of Europe during their breaks, thereby missing out on what the UK has to offer, postgrads based in New Zealand are "forced" to explore the island nation. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Because of its isolation, I got to discover everything Aotearoa had to offer, from its wineries to its lakes to its volcanoes to its ski resorts. And I got to do everything there was to do like bungy jump, skydive, and kayak. I loved every single minute I was travelling there.

However, this is not to say that you can't travel outside New Zealand during your stay. Not so far away is neighboring Australia, which is just a reasonable 3 1/2 hour plane ride away. So in the event you get bored with tiny and remote New Zealand, you can plan a short vacation to the land of kangaroos, koalas, and Hugh Jackman.

The first thing you have to do, of course, is to apply for an Australia visa. You can do so at the Australian Visa Application Centre (AVAC) in Auckland. The process starts by choosing the kind of visa. There's the Visitor Visa (Subclass 600), which can be for 3 to 12 months validity, but expensive, and there's the Transit Visa (Subclass 771), which is for 3 days, in transit to another country and FREE.

If you plan to return to New Zealand, then you must apply for the Visitor Visa (Subclass). I availed of the Transit Visa (Subclass 771) as I planned to visit the Philippines right after, so it was perfect for me.

The Application Form can be obtained from border.gov.au. The supporting documents you need to prepare are as follows:

• Completed Form 876
• Valid Philippine passport
• Signed passport photo
• Your travel itinerary (your flight schedules)
• Your onward plane ticket

Although the Australian government won't charge you for the visa, the processing center will. AVAC will charge you NZ$37 for the service fee for the Transit Visa (Subclass 771). After submitting your documents and paying the fee, AVAC will email you your visa approval within a few days (the website says at least 10 working days, but I got mine in just 6 days).

The processing center in Auckland is located at TT Services New Zealand, Level 1, West Plaza Building, 3 Albert Street, near Downtown Mall. It is open from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

Paddleboarding in the Central Coast, NSW

I visited my brother in Sydney, New South Wales. I found the city to be a cross between Auckland and Manila. It had the cleanliness and beautiful landscape of the former and the business of the latter. It's a bigger and richer version of Auckland for sure. I visited the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Went paddle boarding in the Central Coast and checked out some beaches. There were other areas to explore and activities to do, but there's only so much you can pack within 3 days. From my experience I suggest a proper visit in Sydney to be at least 7 days. Of course, you can extend your stay and travel to Melbourne and Canberra.

So, there, if you get bored in New Zealand, and/or you have family in Australia, you can easily jump on Air New Zealand or Jet Star and visit the Land Down Under. Other travel options near New Zealand are the islands of Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, all in the South Pacific.

Happy travels!