Five-year-old Oscar Gordon is finally back in his hometown of Lismore after being separated from his parents and stranded in Thailand since February.
Oscar and his Thai grandmother spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in Sydney and were finally released into the arms of their family yesterday.
His father Tim Gordon said it was a surreal moment.
"Funnily enough, [there was] no crying — just a wave of happiness to be able to grab him and pick him up, plant kisses on his little cheek," Mr Gordon said.
"We were all in a huddle for five minutes.
"It has been six months of waiting and hoping and finally it all came true yesterday morning."
Six months of waiting
Oscar and his grandmother were stranded in Thailand because of COVID travel restrictions that came into force in February, then the return trip was further drawn out because of bureaucratic delays with a visa approval for Oscar's grandmother.
Once out of quarantine, Oscar visited his two big brothers who live in Sydney, then they hit the highway back to his home town on the New South Wales north coast.
"As we were coming into Lismore he was saying 'I remember that!' I remember that', he was just really pleased to be home," Mr Gordon said.
Eager for school
Oscar told his father he wanted to head back to school straight away, but his father said they would get some new uniforms, given how much he has grown in the six months.
Mr Gordon credited Oscar's kindergarten teacher at St Carthage's Primary School, Christine Bierstaker, for the amazing work she has done of keeping him connected with his class.
"She got all the kids to do letters and drawings and last week she filmed a video in the class with all the kids individually, reaching out to Oscar saying how much they loved him and he missed them," Mr Gordon said.
The family said they were humbled by the support they have received.
"He just keeps asking about going fishing," Mr Gordon said.
