Real Journeys general manager Paul Norris is looking forward to hosting more Australians in Southland, following the opening of the Trans-Tasman bubble yesterday (Tuesday April 6).

Real Journeys belongs to the Wayfare group of companies and employs about 250 people in Fiordland, Stewart Island and Queenstown.

Mr Norris told the Southland App today it was not yet clear how many Australians would be coming over to New Zealand this winter, but the move by the New Zealand and Australian governments to open the borders was positive.

Advertisement: Pro Moving & Storage

Advertise on the Southland App

“It is a positive for the whole region, the country full stop, but particularly Fiordland and Queenstown regions. It is welcome news. We are starting to make plans for a few more visitors,” Mr Norris said.

Air New Zealand has increased its scheduled flights to and from Australia, beginning on April 19, and coinciding with the start of two week-long Term 1 school holidays in New Zealand.

The airline begins operating international flights into and out of Queenstown Airport from April 19.

There will be between 3 to 5 flights a week from Melbourne and between 4 to 7 flights a week from Sydney.

From 5 May, 3 flights a week from Brisbane will be added to Queenstown’s schedule.

Mr Norris said he expected family and friends would be keen to get back together as soon as possible, after a year of separation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

That initial surge of activity would be followed up by Australians coming over for a winter ski holiday, he said.

Real Journeys has a new winter schedule for The Fiordland Navigator, in Doubtful Sound. PHOTO: Supplied

However, Real Journeys’ market would take off from September, when many Australians visited New Zealand for a summer break and booked Fiordland and Stewart Island cruises, he said.

Coach tour companies did not operate through the winter months, so from a planning perspective, Real Journeys was focusing on getting that business back in the spring.

“Over the coming weeks we will be talking with those [coach] companies . . . and trying to get a feel for what their bookings might be like, particularly around Christmas time,” he said.

With the Trans-Tasman bubble opening for the school holidays and coinciding with Anzac Weekend (April 24-26), the domestic visitor market was also looking strong, Mr Norris said.

Real Journeys has already put new schedules and staffing levels in place for the period between April 19 and August 30.

A few more jobs might become available at Real Journeys, but the opening of the Trans-Tasman bubble would not create a need to double or treble the workforce, Mr Norris said.

“We are obviously different to the ski industry, where they have to take on a whole lot more people.”

Advertisement: Donald Buckley

Advertise on the Southland App

Real Journey’s new winter schedule sees the addition of a two-night, three-day cruise in Doubtful Sound (twice a week), on the Fiordland Navigator (except June). 

This trip was trialled late last year and had gone well with the domestic market, Mr Norris said.

Daily one-day Doubtful Sound cruises on the Patea Explorer will continue as normal.

There will be regular trips to the Glow Worm Caves at Te Anau (2 -3 times daily, depending on demand), and daily two-day cruises at Milford Sound on either the Milford Haven or the Milford Mariner.

The company also runs two daily return trips between Bluff and Stewart Island, and has added a new two-night, three-day package based around Stewart Island Lodge, twice a week, for the winter.

In Queenstown, the company continues to operate its normal TSS Earnslaw and Walter Peak Station farm excursions, except for most of May and June, when annual maintenance has been scheduled.