Kait Ludwig misses the simple things most. A cuddle with her nephew, a Canberra coffee and a walk around Lake Burley Griffin.
She's relieved that after two years of travel uncertainty, she's a step closer to reuniting with family and her hometown for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic changed the world.
Ms Ludwig and other Canberrans will be able to return home from next week as Australia prepares to ease quarantine requirements and reopen its international borders.
She has been scanning flights daily from Manchester, where she's lived since 2014, eager to be reunited with family she hasn't seen since December 2019.
By April 2021, after "well over a year of not seeing anyone, that was when it really began to become apparent that ... trying to get home before the end of the year would be almost aspirational," Ms Ludwig said.
"But the fact that now there's a slim chance, or you know there's a possibility that that's a reality, it's definitely a relief, not only for myself but for Aussies over here."
From November 1, NSW and Victoria will remove caps on fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents arriving from overseas, opening up seats on international flights that have been near impossible to book.
Fully vaccinated people will also avoid 14-day quarantines, required only to return a negative test after arrival and prove their vaccination status.
A cap on arrivals will remain in place for returnees who are not fully vaccinated, as will a mandated 14-day quarantine.
The ACT does not currently have any international flights but easing movement from next month will mean fully vaccinated people who land in Sydney or Melbourne and test negative will then be able to transit through to Canberra.
The government has also said it will "align our mandatory quarantine requirements for people arriving from overseas with NSW from November 1".
Further possibilities will arise for returning Canberrans as other jurisdictions open their international borders, with Queensland to scrap quarantine for fully vaccinated returning citizens and residents when the state hits 90 per cent vaccination coverage.
For Ms Ludwig, it means meeting her nephew for the first time, and hugging family after a long separation marred by Manchester's long and dreary lockdowns.
"I've got my family [in Canberra] that I haven't seen in quite a while," she said.
"And my little sister's had a baby and is due to have second. I've still not met the first."
Beyond family and the familiarity of home, it's the sun that is drawing her back, she said: "Canberra's not the warmest but [its] warmer than Manchester."
Ms Ludwig has booked tickets for the end of the year, and is due to return on Boxing Day.
She said she'd noticed flights becoming available about a month ago, but at exorbitant costs.
"So a lot of us have just had to wait," she said. "And we'll continue to wait until the first of November and hope that more seats mean something more affordable for people over here trying to get home."
