The sister of Otorohanga father Tom Phillips says she feels like her heart is whole again having Tom and his three children home safe.
The 34-year-old turned up at his parent's Marokopa property yesterday morning after 19 nights camped out in the bush with Jayda, Maverick and Ember.
"It was shocking in the best way possible," says Rozzi Pethybridge.
She says "it's just amazing, best day of your life seeing them all again being able to realise that and hold them in your arms, tell them all the things you wanted to."
The eight, six, and five year olds walked in the door Thursday morning with their father, they were last seen September 11.
"They're great, bouncing around having milos and playing with their cousins."
Police were aware the family could be alive on Wednesday at dawn when a local spotted a man and three children on a bike along Mangatoa Road 15 kilometres from where their ute was found.
An immediate aerial search failed to find them.
"The guys that specialise in sea conditions gave us some pretty grim facts. We were braced for 4-6 week wait to pull the bodies out of the sea."
Rozzi Pethybridge told Newshub she is eternally grateful to LANDSAR teams, police, the iwi, and volunteers for every hour they spent searching for her brother and his children.
Existing in freezing temperatures for 19 nights is not unheard of for the savvy bushman.
The children too are tough, outdoorsy kids who locals say have been learning techniques like white baiting since they were in nappies.
Fresh water is in abundance, so too are wild goats, ducks, pheasants and lambs.
Police say the family used a tent of sorts, they're still talking to them to understand whether they moved around, or if they actually heard search teams.
"For the children it was an adventure, they were warm and dry and wouldn't know any different," Pethybridge says.
Oranga Tamariki has confirmed it's received a Report of Concern, normal in situations like this.
It says its staff are working with police to determine whether or not Oranga Tamariki needs to be involved further.
Waikato West Area Commander Inspector Will Loughrin says, "At this stage it may take some time to work through all the information we need to gather from the family, from the community to work through what we are starting to learn."
The cost of the search for the family is expected to run into the hundreds of thousands- helicopters, drones, boots on the ground and boats at sea.
But the cost of having three children home safe can not be underestimated.
