Sydney International Airport

[Gerhard Delport]

Guys,

I will be traveling to Vanuatu in September.

Johannesburg-Dubai-Sydney with Emirates

Sydney - Vanuatu with Vanuatu airways.

I will have to get a transit visa for Sydney as Emirates and Vanuatu airways dont have a Interline Agreement.

Now my question is will Sydney customs have problems with fishing gear on a Transit Visa?

I have seen the reports here with regards to spools of the reels not in the hand luggage but in the check in luggage.

Any advise will be welcomed as I dont want to pick up problems at the Sydney customs and have my trip spoiled...

Thanks,

[Wayne Brown]

I have not had an issue with reels in my hand luggage but highly recommend that spools be kept in checked in luggage, unless of course the line has been removed. Line is an absolute NO.

[Gerhard Delport]

Thank you Wayne,

The spools and Fly Fishing reel will go into plastic containers in the check in luggage.

[Dan Kaggelis]

Any fishing line will not be allowed in carry on luggage. This is also the same for hooks and sinkers and tackle in the main. I have been hassled a few times about this and was forced to take the spool off the reel and place in carry on luggage

[Gerhard Delport]

Thank you for the information.

I understand from posts here on the forum that most travel with jigs and plugs in their carry on luggage.

Have you ever experienced problems with the carry on weighing more than the allowed 7kg?

Working in Saudi Arabia I travel with Etihad most of the time.

There is no issue with a "laptop" bag as well as a carry on bag.

What how do you travel regarding the carry on bag/bags?

[Brandon Khoo]

I think you can assume reels are quite safe to carry provided they have the spools with line removed. Anything else is taking a chance. If you carry jigs and poppers/stickbaits, you leave yourself at risk. I can easily see a security officer taking issue with a long jig. Konishi San had them look very, very closely at big gammas.

Sure, you will get "experts" who will tell you they had no problem with jigs but that doesn't help you when a security officer objects to it. All these experts will tell you later is they did not have a problem.

I also have no idea how you would physically go back to check something in as you're past passport control.

On the hand luggage weight issue, noone can give you certainty. It is clear some airlines are checking that now too.

[Gerhard Delport]

I think you can assume reels are quite safe to carry provided they have the spools with line removed. Anything else is taking a chance. If you carry jigs and poppers/stickbaits, you leave yourself at risk. I can easily see a security officer taking issue with a long jig. Konishi San had them look very, very closely at big gammas.

Sure, you will get "experts" who will tell you they had no problem with jigs but that doesn't help you when a security officer objects to it. All these experts will tell you later is they did not have a problem.

I also have no idea how you would physically go back to check something in as you're past passport control.

On the hand luggage weight issue, noone can give you certainty. It is clear some airlines are checking that now too.

Perfect thank you,

Traveling from Saudi Arabia get my last gear packed at home in Pretoria, then fly 33 odd hours to go and chase GT's and Doggies...

Way to much travel to take chances.

The jigs and poppers/stick baits other lures as well as terminal tackle, spare braid, and reel spools will all go into check in luggage.

I appreciate the info and assistance...

[Brandon Khoo]

That is the safest approach, Gerhard and it takes the worry out of it. Good luck with your trip - you are travelling very far!! Which charter are you going with in Vanuatu?

[Gerhard Delport]

That is the safest approach, Gerhard and it takes the worry out of it. Good luck with your trip - you are travelling very far!! Which charter are you going with in Vanuatu?

Working on construction projects on year to year basis my vacation time is limited.

End of contract vacation is from the 10th of September. Now its a skip and a jump and I could be fishing in S Oman with top class charters but mid September its still 47C + here.

After looking at the reports here about Ocean Blue as well as other reports and talking to the guys from Jigstar Africa I have decided to take up the offer on the single anglers adventures..

It will be my 1st trip and most probably the 1st time I get to target GT's unless I can get to the Mussendam during the next couple of months. It will definitely be the 1st time for Doggies.

But these species are not my main focus.

Catching as many different species as possible and having a lot of fun is my main focus.

If a beasty decides to come and have a work out it will be a bonus... 

Oh and there are still two spots open for 15-20 September...

[Brandon Khoo]

That is a really good attitude to have when to comes to fishing. I still remember reading a post in the past 24 months where someone who I cannot remember wrote that the objective of this trip is 50kg + GTs. I don't ever remember seeing a follow-up post from him so I assume that the 50kg + GTs did not eventuate. Setting objectives like that for a trip is simply a recipe for disappointment.

[Gerhard Delport]

I a spinning from the rocks in the Arabian Gulf and my attitude at this stage with the cold water is

"if it has fins and scales I am happy"

then on Friday morning you get a surprise ...

W8ZjA&feature=c4-overview

[Chris Webster]

I had a hard time with poppers in my hand carry.
Error in judgement having them in there.
Got them through but not worth the trouble.

Chris

[Gerhard Delport]

I had a hard time with poppers in my hand carry.
Error in judgement having them in there.
Got them through but not worth the trouble.

Chris

Thanks Chris,

Poppers and jigs are going into the check in luggage.

[Andre van Wyk]

G,

As most have said on here, its not worth taking the risk, especially on such a valuable trip ( time and money concerned ) to have some "otherwise" customs or security officer take issue with what you are carrying is just not worth it...

I've also found that the Middle East airlines are far more lenient in terms of weight restrictions/allowances than others... if you are used to Etihad/Emirates/Qatar airlines, be prepared for a little bit of a wake up on the other airlines... certainly here in SA it seems every airline employee recently got raked over the coals and got told that there is a ZERO Tolerance policy in place in terms of overweight etc... gone are the days of getting away with 2 or 3 kilos extra here and there... I had a client get charged R 1400 for being 1 kilo overweight on his way back to Germany... yip, 1 kilo! Personally I've also had 4 flights recently where before I would for sure have not had to pay for the extra couple kilos, and now been charged for everything....

So pack well, and pack carefully...

All lures and terminals in check in luggage... Spinning reels without spools in your hand luggage... Overheads, Flyreels and Spinning spools in your Check in... Take all your rods out of their rod socks, strap them all together and wrap them in your fishing shirts/shorts etc and put them in the rod tube, this will save you space in your main check in luggage for tackle....

You're gonna have an epic trip mate!

[Gerhard Delport]

Thanks Nepps,

I have contacted Vanuatu Air explaining the situation regarding luggage weight and where I am traveling from.

They were nice enough to exempt the 7kg.

Emirates is 30kg and Vanuatu is 23kg for economy class.

That extra 7kg will be a huge help.

Etihad nailed me $320 US for 8kg's end of Jan coming back to Saudi.

Had to pay as there is no tackle shops here and no biltong shops as well.
Worth every $ on that flight...

Counting down the days till 12 September...