The last thing Petria Martin said to her parents before she and sister Rebecca left for Samoa was "don't worry Mum".
But as Kerry and Lynne Martin waited for news of their daughters, they couldn't do anything else but.
Through tears, the Matamata couple told of their grief at a press conference yesterday morning at the New Zealand High Commission in Apia.
The Martins had just finished milking on Wednesday when they heard about the tsunami on the radio.
However, they did not know whether to be concerned as they were unsure what part of the island the women were staying on. Their cousin Jodi McGlashan, a travel agent in Hamilton who they were travelling with, had organised the trip for them and another friend, Olivia Loeffen.
"The girls weren't concerned where they were staying either," Mrs Martin said. "Petria said just before she left 'don't worry Mum, we've got the travel agent with us so if any problems come, Jodi will sort it'."
Later that day a man who had been holidaying at the same resort as the four women, Taufua Beach Fales, phoned the Martins from the High Commission to tell them their two daughters were missing but their cousin and friend were alive.
The Samoan liaison officer for the New Zealand police, Ross Ardern, then phoned the parents and repeated the man's story with more detail.
"We knew reading between the lines that night that it wasn't going to be good," Mr Martin said. "So that night we didn't sleep all night, we talked and laughed and cried. We still had a glimmer of hope but we thought it wasn't going to be good."
The next day, the Martins were told the body of a woman thought to be 24-year-old Rebecca had been found. On Saturday, when the couple arrived in Apia, they were told the body of Petria, 22, may have been found.
The women were formally identified on Sunday.
Mrs Martin said Rebecca, a teacher at Hamilton's Rototuna Primary School, was "very bright, bubbly, energetic, loved her class. She's my little mother hen".
She had saved for years to pay off her student loan and "needed and wanted" a holiday. Petria, who worked at Matamata's sports centre and ran an aqua exercise class, "had a way with the older people".
The two women were excited about being aunts for the first time as their older sister Kristi, 26 - who got married in April with Rebecca as her maid-of-honour - and her husband were expecting their first baby, which they had announced at a family gathering on Fathers' Day last month.
"But our family dynamics have obviously changed forever," Mrs Martin said.
The couple said holidays to the beach had been an "important part" of their family life.
But when asked if they felt the same way about the sea, Mr Martin replied: "Not quite. We know that this tsunami is something different. When you see the damage it has done, it's beyond belief. We know they just weren't lucky enough to make the last yard or two they needed to make."
After the media conference the Martins attended a memorial service at the Matafele Methodist Church.
Today they will fly back to Auckland with the bodies of their daughters and hope to hold a joint funeral for them on Saturday.
How you can help
Pacific Cooperation Foundation
Deposits can be made at at any Westpac branch. All the money raised will go to the Samoan Government
Red Cross
- Make a secure online donation at redcross.org.nz
- Send cheques to the Samoan Red Cross Fund, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington 6144
- Call 0900 31 100 to make an automatic $20 donation
- Make a donation at any NZ Red Cross office
ANZ bank
Make a donation at any ANZ bank branch, or donate directly to the ANZ appeal account: 01 1839 0143546 00
Oxfam
- Make a secure online donation at
Oxfam.org.nz
- Phone 0800 400 666 or make an automatic $20 donation by calling 0900 600 20
