Originally Posted by
tandempower
Did you need visas for layovers? How long did you spend at each destination?
There is free travel between Australia and New Zealand. No visas needed. To get into Canada, I needed to obtain an electronic visa.
Had we gone through the US instead, however, I would have needed an ESTA. Machka would not have needed a visa, but certainly her Canadian passport to enter the US. In Europe, there are restrictions under the Schengen Zone rules that limit stays to 3 months covering all EU countries except the UK (and this applied before the Brexit vote).
Some people treat with disdain these things, but they exist for a reason which you evidently don't understand, despite the fact that you proclaim yourself as a thinker.
In fact, it might surprise you that there are people who are citizens of two countries, and conceivably could be of more than two countries at one time. They can carry two passports and have perfect right to pick which one they should use. Makes it very easy to head for destinations that have the weather which suits their activities.