Two Australians fleeing the war in Ukraine have finally touched down in Tasmania to the warm embrace of family after a marathon 30-hour journey.
Rachel Lehmann-Ware and her husband Duncan Ware flew into Hobart on Friday afternoon after travelling for 30 hours from Bucharest in southern Romania.
Ms Lehmann-Ware, wearing a dress made by a Ukrainian fashion designer, was met by members of her family, who were holding blue and yellow flowers.
The couple's daughter Alexandra said having them home felt "not even real at this point".
"It was just a blink ago that we weren't even sleeping and were just waiting for them, praying around the kitchen table," she said.
From now on, she said, it would be "just enjoy every day together".
Alexandra said "my mum has always cared about people who have it worse than others".
"I'm not surprised in the slightest that has been her uppermost concern through this whole time," she said.
Ms Lehmann-Ware's own mother Sue said "I can't wait to get them home and feed Duncan up".
"He's as skinny as a rake … I will make sure they get lots of rest," Sue said.
Ms Lehmann-Ware said just as they were leaving "Russians bombed the town".
She said at one stage they were on a train that had all the lights turned off, so Russians could not see it and bomb it.
"We had to walk across the Ukraine border. That was like something out of the World War II movie," she said.
"We are so gravely concerned for what's happening to our friends and the people in Ukraine," she said.
Ms Lehmann-Ware said she would start teaching Ukrainian students again online from Monday.
The couple, from Huonville in southern Tasmania, had been living and teaching in Ukraine since July 2021, but were unable to leave in the weeks leading up to the conflict after they contracted COVID-19.
As Russian forces started closing in around them and the fighting intensified, the couple and several other colleagues took shelter in the basement of an international school they worked at in Kyiv.
But on February 28, the pair were told they had 30 minutes to pack up everything and catch a train to Chernivtsi in the country's west, to ensure they could make it out of the capital alive.
"It was something like a Jason Bourne movie, it was crazy, there were just thousands of people everywhere but there was such dignity" Ms Lehmann-Ware said.
Six days later they crossed the border in to Romania on foot with a few possessions and their three cats — where they were met by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs officials at Siret.
While Rachel and her husband are now safe, they are worried for the Ukrainian colleagues they left behind, particularly the men who had to stay in the country and fight.
It's the first time the couple — who have worked in international schools around the world — have been back to Australia for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but said it was bittersweet.
"We are finally glad we are coming home but the circumstances under which we are going home isn't the best" Ms Lehmann-Ware said.
The Tasmanian government assisted the couple, and arranged their trip back to Hobart after first getting in touch with them while they were still in Ukraine, with Ms Lehmann-Ware praising the assistance as "amazing".
Ms Lehmann-Ware plans to seek counselling to help her process what she has experienced in the past month.
"This is something a lot of people don't talk about but I think it's important … it's going to take us a long time to process this".
The couple have kept in touch with the school in Ukraine and plan to offer online learning for students once they are set up in Tasmania.
The couple's three cats will remain in Romania with friends until the couple are able to return.
"We left them there because our plan is to go back and build up the country again and the school and the people of Ukraine and we will be a part of that and the cats will be too," Ms Lehmann-Ware said.
