A dream trip rapidly descended into a living nightmare for a St Albans couple who found themselves stranded in South America, unsure how they would get home.
Jane Hughes and her husband set off on a trip to Antarctica in early March. At the time government advice said it was safe to travel.
The pair flew to the city of Ushuaia in Argentina, where the boat to Antarctica sets out from.
However, during the three-day layover in South America, countries across the globe, including Australia began to close their borders to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“We were actually in a restaurant having a pizza and a lady stopped when she heard our accents. She asked if we were getting on a boat and we told her we were off to Antarctica,” Ms Hughes said.
“She looked at us and said that the Australian government was closing everything and was telling everyone to get home, so we went back to the hotel confused.”
Tickets home proved difficult to find, so the couple decided to try their luck at a larger airport in Buenos Aires.
“When we got in, we quickly realised that no hotels were taking tourists, so we had to call the Australian embassy to find somewhere that would take us,” Ms Hughes said.
“We had a ticket home via New Zealand, which we spent $8,000 on but Air New Zealand pulled the pin on flights while we were over there.
“So we paid another $10,000 to get on a Qantas flight.
The flight stopped at Santiago in Chili and was supposed to make its way to Australia, but things weren’t that easy.
“We got there, presented our ticket at the counter and were told the plane was cancelled,” Ms Hughes said.
“But after waiting two and a half hours, we were allowed to take the final seats on the plane.”
The couple touched down in Sydney before making their way home to St Albans where they have just completed the mandatory two-week isolation period.
“It wasn’t the trip we thought, but it was definitely unforgettable.”
