The first returnees who had been stuck in Victoria waiting NSW Government approval to travel home to Canberra have begun to trickle in.
About 100 Canberrans have been stranded at the NSW-Victoria border since Friday after strict coronavirus restrictions stopped them driving home through NSW.
The sudden change in border rules caught many travellers off-guard, leaving some forced to sleep in their cars.
After six days of talks with the ACT Government, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard gave Canberra drivers stranded in Victoria a four-day window to make it home from the NSW border.
Under the rules, the drivers had to travel between 9:00am to 3:00pm, have sufficient fuel for the whole journey and have a valid permit to enter the ACT.
They were also only allowed one rest stop — in Gundagai.
Gundagai Mayor Abb McAlister said he was unhappy that his town had been chosen as the place for the Canberrans to stop.
"Doesn't sit overly well," he said.
"I would have preferred it to be a rest stop on the highway — a lot easier to control.
"You got a business here that's being used by a lot of other travellers and locals."
'Waste of time and energy'
Canberra resident Anne Cahill Lambert was one of about 25 Canberrans who made the trip today and stopped for a short break so she and her dog could stretch their legs.
"This has been a long saga, it has been like sitting in a departure lounge for a week, so we are tired," she said.
She said the whole process has been a "waste of time and energy".
"When Victorian politicians are able to come through without all this palaver it is embarrassing that we're using all these resources that shouldn’t be used."
Another man, Joe Craddy, described the experience as "frustrating".
"I was staying with a friend, so I was only a few kilometres away from the border but not able to go anywhere," he said.
"I'm really excited to start my quarantine."
As Canberrans reached Hall, just over the ACT border, they were met by ACT police officers and health workers.
Detective Superintendent Mick Calatzis said the checkpoint allowed their permits to be checked and give a reminder that they would now have to self-isolate at home for 14 days.
"They're under respective public health orders," he said.
"ACT Health have also got some welcome packs as well and they'll be under quarantine and directed to go to their address."
The welcome packs include grocery items like bread, milk and fruit to get residents through until they can organise groceries to be delivered.
