He would be quarantined in Auckland before he was reunited with his family.
The first part of his journey within the Philippines had been almost impossible, Graeme said, given the severe travel restrictions in place.
"Even in and between small towns, the travel permits and medical clearances you could get depended on how much you were prepared to pay," he said.
"Because passenger numbers had declined flights were less frequent, and some scheduled aircraft didn't have pressurised cargo holds, so live animals couldn't travel on them.
"Only my sister-in-laws refusal to give up and persistence in obtaining the never-ending number of documents the police and airline personnel demanded for her and Nathan to travel led to this result. They actually travelled from her home in Barobo to Butuan, the nearest regional airport, in a bus that was being towed for repairs, and therefore wasn't stopped at the many police checkpoints because it supposedly didn't have any passengers on board.
"This was a risky journey because my sister-in-law didn't have a medical clearance or travel permit for that day, and there would have been harsh penalties for non-compliance for her and the driver if they had been checked. Fortunately the driver was a family friend, but he still charged a hefty fee for helping us out."
Graeme landed back in New Zealand in September last year, leaving the Philippines on his 71st birthday, because that date offered the cheapest available fare.
"We had planned to come to New Zealand together as a family in January this year, but I was in so much pain from arthritis in my hip that I decided to come back early so I could get treatment in New Zealand," he said.
"That turned out to be a waste of time, as I had to wait nearly a year for an appointment with a specialist at Whangārei Hospital."
His wife, Che, stepson Charles (aka CB) and their daughter Skylar arrived in January as planned. CB was in Year 7 at Pamapuria School, and was loving every aspect of his new life, while Skylar, who would be two in December, went to the Pamapuria Playgroup two mornings each week, and was thriving.
"Che has slowly settled in, although she naturally misses her family, especially her mother, whose health is not too good," he added.
"She is able to video call her mum every day, which is good for them both, and we help out as much as we can financially, although we are on a very tight budget ourselves."
He had often agonised over the cost of getting Nathan home: "There are so many other ways we could have used what little money we have for the betterment of our family," but Che had been adamant.
"She refused to let me give up, and together with her sister persisted in spite of every problem they encountered until each obstacle was overcome," he said.
"We are very confident now that the rest of Nathan's journey will be straightforward. PetAir Malaysia, which is now in charge, is a very competent company that communicates very thoroughly with us. We are happy to let them get on with their job, and just await Nathan's arrival around the beginning of April.
The cost was still a problem, however. Graeme was still hoping for assistance via his Givealittle page (nathans-long-trip-begins-hes-coming-home) - an earlier appeal raised $1450 - but donations had been very slow until recently.
"I had almost given up hope that Nathan would be able to come home, however in a new update I was able to say his journey had actually begun, and there were two immediate further donations from people who have supported me from the beginning," he said.
"I now have a huge debt to repay to a supporter who provided much of the money needed on the condition that I would pay him back 'whatever and whenever' I could. Due to delays caused by Covid, costs have continued to rise, but I'm so relieved that I did not have to carry out Plan B, which was to have Nathan put to sleep as he was no longer enjoying the good life I wished for him."
