An Altona family is finally coming home after an extended stay in Hawaii thanks to Hurricane Lane.  

Low-laying shops and homes were cleared out and sandbagged for protection from potential flood waters.

Dwight and Marla Neufeld and their three kids boarded a plane today (Monday), two days after their originally scheduled departure on Friday evening.

"Tuesday when we woke up and checked the weather and saw the hurricane warnings we started phoning the airport to see if we could get home, and of course being an island there are only so many flights and so many people can get on and we were not one of them," said Marla.

She noted they called the airport a several times every day to see if they could catch an earlier plane, but even their Friday flight was rescheduled for this week Tuesday. However, persistence paid off and the Neufeld's were able to catch an earlier flight on Monday. 

This still meant the family would have to ride-out the storm in their third-floor condo. 

While the apartment was located half a block from the beach, Marla said it was situated at the top of a hill so there were no worries about flooding, but noted people did start to clear out and sandbag some lower-laying units. She added the family did get to work collecting water, candles, batteries and flashlights in case of emergency. 

As it turned out, the part of Maui where the Neufelds were staying only saw some rain and wind. Marla added, however, other areas of the island and the big island of Hawaii weren't so lucky and are still experiencing washouts and landslides. 

"It just felt like we were almost in a little bubble in our area," she said.

Marla noted the hurricane didn't deter any of the family's plans for touring and sight-seeing, adding they got in their stops before the storm hit. 

The Neufelds boarded their return flight this morning and are due to arrive home Tuesday.

The Neufelds quickly starting gathering water, batteries and flashlights to hold them over in case of an emergency.