It cost $12,000, involved numerous cancelled flights and a fortnight in quarantine but Heath Cooper has nothing but praise for Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The 1986 Nowra High alumnus and his husband had their first taste of freedom on the weekend, when their mandatory hotel quarantine came to an end.
"It's so good to be out and walking round. We got so excited about being out, we walked 12km and are now paying the price for being too active," he said.
The couple spent the weekend in a Melbourne CBD apartment before travelling to Canberra to be with family. It was the end of an epic journey that began in Estonia, transiting in Germany and London, before getting to Melbourne, where they spent 14 days in a single hotel room with a view of the car park.
They had been studying Italian in Lombardy, which became Europe's coronavirus epicentre, but were in Estonia when the crisis took hold and the Australian government urged all citizens to return home.
"We took that advice and our mission was to get to London, where we had to catch the repatriation flight, from London to Perth which then ultimately ended up in Melbourne," Heath said.
That mission was far from simple, with the shutters coming down, borders closing and flights being cancelled.
"We managed to book I think four flights. All of them were cancelled.
"Each time we booked a flight, it was then cancelled so we had to book another flight, it was then cancelled, book another another flight and it was cancelled.
"Finally through Lufthansa we were able to make the link through to London and we explained it was a repatriation flight, it wasn't a holiday, and we finally made it back. But the amount of airlines that were cancelling their flights made it increasingly difficult to get out of the various spots."
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The couple flew from Estonia's capital Tallinn to Frankfurt, where they were forced to sleep on an airport bench surrounded by hundreds of other travellers desperate to get home. The following day they flew to Heathrow to link up with the repatriation flight back to Australia.
"I suppose the lesson I learnt the hard way was in and emergency situation and evacuation like this one was that you book directly with the airline," Heath said.
He and his husband Sangkyu Park spent much of their time in quarantine chasing refunds for the cancelled flights.
"The agents have been extremely reluctant to give refunds and have been passing the buck left, right and centre."
The flight from London to Melbourne, with a refuelling stop in Perth, was anything but ordinary.
"There was no entertainment, no alcohol, no fizzy drinks, there was simply three solid, healthy meals with water. That was it. And you had to remain in your seat."
Only two people at a time were allowed to queue near the toilets.
"You were given a virus pack before boarding the plane. You were given a health check before you boarded. You were given a little green token to say you were able to board the plane, then they gave you your virus pack which contained masks, hand sanitiser and you were able to sit in your seat. And that was it for 24 hours."
Getting off the plane in Melbourne and to the quarantine hotel was also an odyssey.
Passengers were disembarked in groups of 20 and had to pass by desks where forms and information were distributed. These included dietary requirements for the hotel quarantine.
"Then you went through passport control and at the end of passport control you were given a little care package of food and then you were held in lines and then basically had to board the bus again in groups of 20. And they even had porters there to help you with your baggage to get aboard the bus," Heath said.
At the Parkroyal Hotel, arrivals were assigned rooms and given a hot meal. The long confinement had begun.
Throughout the stay, Heath and Sangkyu were checked on by a nurse every day and every fourth day a welfare worker called to see how they were coping.
The food was nothing flash but it was healthy. "Just like your mother's cooking," Heath said.
"They gave you linen every four days. Your toiletries and everything were supplied plus you had priority ordering via Woolies online. So you didn't pay for the room, you didn't pay for the toiletries, the tea, the coffee, the milk or your three meals a day."
The couple ordered up big from Woolies: plenty of chocolate and noodles for Sangkyu.
In 14 days, they were twice allowed out into the car park for half an hour's fresh air. They used the time in quarantine to organise sim cards and phones, get their laptops in order and even get immunisations so they could visit Heath's sister, who has a newborn baby, when they were released.
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Despite the ordeal, Heath was full of praise for Australian authorities.
"I think the Australian handling of the pandemic has been outstanding, a bit shaky at the beginning but, as one nurse put it to me the other day, we have never done this before, we're making it up as we go. Given that situation, I think Australians have done an outstanding job," he said.
"Lots of people are going the extra mile around us and the best I can do here in response is to make their job as easy as possible. That doesn't mean it's not tough. It just means that I think my responsibility to them is to be thankful and grateful and to do my part, which is to do my best getting through what is a difficult situation."
Plans for the future, as they have with most people, have been thrown into uncertainty for the 52-year-old IT specialist and his husband.
"We're not quite sure about what we're going to do, to be honest. It's one of those very big unknowns that we hadn't thought of dealing with this year."
