Overseas Travel and Aussie Customs

[Mizuko]

Hello my fellow Aussie mers!
I have some strange questions about travelling overseas with your tail. haha!
Having gone overseas before, but never with a tail, I am feeling apprehensive about customs. They can get kinda finicky regarding anything that may be carrying sand/water from another country.
Has anyone traveled through customs with their tails (particularly back into Australia), and how was the experience?
I'm picturing myself being forced to pull out the tail from its bag, and shake it furiously to prove its clean. haha!
Did you have any trouble, or was it just another piece of luggage in their opinion?

Please share your experiences, and any tips you learnt through doing it!

Thank you so much! <3

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I dunno... Don't have a tail yet.

But if they're anything like my sand shoes, I always soak them in fresh water overnight and rinse with fresh water and hang to dry in shade. That way the sea water don't get dried up in my shoes and leave salt marks.

As for the sand, after drying you could try brushing it with a soft brush, use brush lightly so you don't damage your tail. Shake tail. Then vacuum to get the stubborn bits of sand off.

[Mermaid Kelda]

Ireneho, I don't think it's getting it clean that is worrying Mizuko; it's having to prove to customs that it actually is clean. You don't get to bring wood ornaments into Australia just because you "cleaned them" - they can still have microbes in them that could be harmful to Australia's ecosystems. Customs can be real sticklers, and the last thing anyone would want is their tail being held, or worse, destroyed, because of the possibility of contaminants.

It's one of my fears too, Mizuko! It might be worth calling customs and asking what their policy would be for something like that.

[Mizuko]

Thank you Melaina! I think I will have to ring them- my biggest fear is customs destroying my tail I'm guessing it should be ok, as surfboards and things go through customs all the time, but I have a feeling they'll kinda go "what the heck is this?" and not know how to approach checking it.
I almost want to message Hannah Mermaid and ask her, as I know she's a jet-setter and is always bringing her tails in and out of Australia!

[AniaR]

they swab it and run the swab through a machine. if it dings, they hold onto your tail. if it doesnt, you get it. it's the same at most customs.

[AniaR]

as long as you dont take your tail to a farm you should be fine