Injured New Zealand woman on her way home from disaster zone

Still recovering from her injuries, Rotorua woman Anna Barnett is on her way back to New Zealand after surviving the devastating tsunami in southeast Asia.

Taking a break from studies at Wellington's Victoria University, Miss Barnett, 22, and her partner Brett Rigby, 22, were holidaying at the Thai beach resort Kohlanta on Boxing Day when the tidal wave hit, killing an estimated 155,000 people across the region.

Mr Rigby had gone deep-sea fishing, leaving Miss Barnett reading a book on the beach when the tsunami hit.

Miss Barnett was running for safety when the wave tossed her into a beachside bure.

As the water receded, it threw her back down the beach, leaving her with cuts to her legs and back.

Retreating to hills behind the resort, she waited for news of her partner, who had also survived the disaster.

The couple were evacuated to a hospital in Bangkok where Miss Barnett was treated for a serious eye infection.

Her father Phil Barnett said his daughter was feeling a lot better and had been discharged from hospital.

She and Mr Rigby were expected to be on their way back to New Zealand today.

Mr Rigby's parents would be arriving from Napier on Friday to see their son, he said.

Miss Barnett had planned to attend a summer university course but would instead be recuperating, her father said.

"Although she is feeling a lot better and has a lot of the vision back in her infected eye, she just isn't up to going back to her studies so she'll be spending a few weeks at home just resting."

Miss Barnett would be visiting a specialist on her return, he said.

"She has a lot of scrapes and scratches on her arms and legs that are still infected. We are just glad they are both safe and on their way home."

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)