"I had a lovely time there, the staff were absolutely brilliant. Whenever they had time they'd stop by for a natter. It was nice to feel safe, especially when the storm was still raging outside."
Ms Cramond said she had "pretty much" recovered but still felt nervous if the wind picked up at night.
"When I hear sudden noises I get a bit jumpity," she said.
Housing New Zealand staff heard about her predicament and found her a new home in town.
She was grateful to everyone who had gathered up what remained of her belongings and helped her move, including friend Margaret Tolladay, members of Kaitaia's Timebank, and "four big burly men" from Kiwidotcom who did the heavy lifting.
When she left hospital all she had to do at her new home was plonk herself down in her chair. Other kind gestures included a double quilt made by the Kaitaia Quilting Club, flowers from MP Mike Sabin, and donations of new furniture and appliances from Kaitaia businesses. A Whangarei couple donated a new lounge suite.
"Lots of people have been very kind," she said.
While she liked her new house and neighbours, she was looking forward to going back to her old home.
Ms Cramond said the landlord was planning to rebuild to the same floor plan. She hoped to move back before next winter.
The former St John Ambulance officer said the narrow escape had brought home to her the importance of keeping a calm head.
She had been able to raise the alarm because her phone was just within reach.
If she had panicked and dropped her phone when at first it didn't seem to work, she would have been waiting a long time to be rescued.
It was also important to keep a sense of humour, she said.
"Keep a smile on your dial, that's my motto."
Survival seems to run in Ms Cramond's family.
Her great-uncle Wilfred Stone, a medical orderly, was among a handful of survivors when his ship was torpedoed in World War I; and her cousin, Heather Rhodes, survived falling 300m off a South Island mountain range last November.
