Jackie and her 78-year-old husband Neil's tour of South America was cut short last month due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In March, the Stewarts were due to fly to Colombia from Lima but the Colombian border was suddenly closed. They were confined to their hotel awaiting a rescue mission.
A month later, a New Zealand government-assisted LATAM Dreamliner flight flew the Stewarts as part of a group of 60 New Zealanders and three Australians to Auckland, landing at 5am on Wednesday. The couple is now in "managed quarantine" at the Pullman Hotel near Auckland Airport for two weeks.
Neil Stewart keeping himself occupied with a book from the hotel's book exchange. Photo / Supplied
"Yes, we have to now stay in isolation for 14 days, but nothing compares to being stuck in a hotel room halfway on the side of the world ... While in lockdown in Lima we still had to pay full hotel rates for our room and food and our money was starting to run out."
Jackie said they felt angry and disappointed the New Zealand Government "took so long to act" while they watched their hotel empty out.
"It got to the point where, apart from a businessman from Costa Rica, it was just us."
Jackie said they were told by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade via an email last week this flight was their "last chance" to get home and if they did not take it, they should be prepared to wait in Lima "possibly for months".
"The tone of the Ministry's email riled me the most...But I feel so sorry for all the other Kiwis still stranded overseas," Jackie said.
The Stewarts "maxed out" their credit card to pay the almost $11,000 fare for their flights.
Jackie said the New Zealand Government treated them and other stranded Kiwis in Peru "without a hint of sympathy or humane concern".
"We never said their [NZ Government] job was easy but neither is feeling abandoned with no hope from the only people who could be in a position to help," she said.
"It was just fortunate we had an empty credit card."
Jackie said once through Customs at the airport, their temperatures taken, they were given a bunch of Covid-19 paperwork and then taken by SkyBus to their hotel.
The view from the Stewart's hotel room, where they remain in quarantine after escaping Peru. Photo / Supplied
Hotel staff lined the front of the building, all wearing masks, and members of the Defence Force manned the lobby.
"We're being treating really well especially considering the extra strain hotel staff must be under and everyone else is very pleasant and our food is very nice," she said.
"It's a bit interesting as our three meals a day are delivered to us in brown paper bags left outside our door as no one is allowed inside our room, including the cleaning staff."
Jackie said this included a three-course breakfast, which on their first day was scrambled eggs, two rashers of bacon and hash browns and some "absolutely delicious" fruit.
"Last night we had steak and chips for dinner and a little dessert cake which was quite good," she said.
Jackie said if they didn't hear a knock on their door, by the time they realise their meal was there it was often cold and they did not have a microwave.
"But it's not the end of the world as the meals are very nice."
"It is a novel experience but nothing can compare to being confined 24-7 to our Lima hotel under military law," she said.
The hotel room where the Stewarts from Papamoa remain in quarantine. Photo / Supplied
"After almost a month in lockdown in Lima, we've had plenty of practice and I'm trying to keep busy and I even asked for some cleaning products so I could clean the bathroom."
Neil has managed to borrow a book from the hotel book exchange and apart from watching TV, I 've been spending time on my tablet catching up with family and friends.
Jackie said they were grateful for small things.
"Having access to proper Wifi and being able to phone our family is a huge blessing and the view of Rangitoto and Auckland harbour from our 11th-floor room is wonderful.
"We have pretty much caught up with our sleep, but it's the mental tiredness and the stress we've been under that gets to you. But we are so grateful to be home."
In response, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters's office said finding solutions for New Zealanders overseas had been a major focus in recent weeks.
"This has been an incredibly complex operation and officials based at the New Zealand Embassy in Santiago and our team in Wellington have been working around the clock to make it happen.
