It's a welcoming comfort for Joel, who has spent the majority of the last 12 months in Sierra Leone as part of a united Red Cross mission combating the Ebola epidemic which first ripped through West Africa in late 2014. 

Joel finished his third stint in the country in late September.

At the time of writing, Joel said Sierra Leone had had 40 days without a confirmed Ebola case - ­ just two days away from the "magical" 42­ day mark where Sierra Leone can be declared Ebola free.

However, it takes just one new case and that timer is restored to zero.

Joel therefore emphasised how cautious the country needs to be, particularly with bordering country Guinea still receiving "two or three cases every two or three weeks."

The use of traditional burial practices, a distrust of government stemming from a long and bloody civil war, and ancient tribal rivalries were all obstacles that had to be overcome to effectively combat Ebola in Sierra Leone.

"We had patients in the Ebola centre who were terrified we were going to steal their blood and sell it," Joel said.

Joel said that "without intending it" his three trips to Sierra Leone coincided with the three major stages of the epidemic.

His first trip, from November 2014 to January 2015, came at a time when the Ebola crisis was at its peak.

The second trip saw the continuation of this, while his most recent trip saw the stream of patients dry up.

"It's really weird how horror becomes work," Joel said.

"You go to work, clean up the bodies of dead women and children, and it becomes normal at the time."

The difference between that and arriving back home after his first stint was highlighted when driving into nearby Forster.

"Just days later I was driving across the bridge at Forster and saw dolphins," he said.

"I just thought it was unbelievable, like is this the same planet?"

Joel reasons that his trips away have gotten easier for his wife of 11 years to accept.

"She's gotten used to sending me away on these hair-­brained schemes," Joel smiled. 

The couple moved from their Hallidays Point home three years ago to their current property at Rainbow Flat, south of Taree.

Remarkably the two attended the same primary school in Mona Vale, North Sydney, before leading separate lives for roughly 25 years.

When Joel attended Sandi's twentieth high school reunion "things clicked."

It's led to a relationship between the two which has withstood some tense times with Joel working overseas with the Red Cross and the Australian Army.

"One of the things I love about Sandi is she gets it," Joel said.

"I don't have to decode it, I can talk about what I've seen and while she finds it upsetting, it's not overwhelming."

"I feel like I've been working in the Red Cross too," Sandi said.

Sandi got a first hand view of Joel's experiences overseas when he was in Kabul, Afghanistan, working as a nursing officer with the Australian Army.

The pair was on a computer video call when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into a neighbouring embassy.

Joel immediately had to react but, in an adrenaline-fueled rush, didn't shut the laptop down.

With his spare radio charging next to the laptop, Sandi heard every word Joel said over the subsequent two hours before he arrived back in his barracks, stunned to see his wife still on the computer screen.

Sandi's extensive nursing history has no doubt helped her understand Joel's work from an important viewpoint.

Sandi works as a community nurse and midwife, as well as a TAFE teacher teaching a business administration course in the medical unit.

It's also why she understands Joel's drive to return to Sierra Leone.

"After the first trip I felt like it was personal," Joel said, referring to a turning point in his view of the crisis.

He tells the story of a young, heavily pregnant woman, ­ "a teenager", ­ who was rushed to the treatment centre with Ebola symptoms. 

The young woman's husband had already died during the ride there.

Centre protocol means nurses cannot do night rounds visiting the patients, so before nightfall, Joel pleaded with the young woman to pull through until morning.

"I was saying, 'do it for your child, do it for your husband,'" said Joel, knowing that the unborn child was probably already dead.

The next morning Joel was doing the first rounds for the day.

He quickly returned to where he had last seen the young woman. 

She had given birth that night.

Both mother and child had died, alone in the dark.

"I'm not a person who hates particularly easy, but at that point I hated Ebola like it was a person," Joel said.

What has made it easier for Joel was seeing the incredible bravery of the Sierra Leone locals who "dropped everything" to help in the fight against the virus, which has claimed roughly 11,500 lives.

The hard work of the locals and organisations was reflected by the plummeting number of patients in the country.

Joel said by the third trip they were dealing with deaths on a weekly basis, a massive change from his first trip where he was dealing with "a flood of bodies."

He also described the religious acceptance between Muslim and Christians as "really cool."

At the first burial he saw there, Joel witnessed a man giving traditional Islamic burial blessings to the deceased.

When finished with the Islamic verse, he launched into Christian blessings.

According to Joel, they were unsure of the victim's religion.

"We had to give her what she needed," the man told Joel when he asked.

For now Joel will remain in Australia.

He has some work as a nursing officer in the Army Reserve, and both he and Sandi have their hands full on the farm and volunteering with the Black Head Surf Club and the local Rural Fire Service.

Joel refused to rule out any more trips to Sierra Leone.

Indeed, if he can find work with the World Health Organisation or something similar, it's likely he'll go back to continue the mission there.

"I've got a sense of attachment to the country," Joel said.

And Sierra Leone is better for it.

This story first appeared in the January edition of Mid North Coast NOW magazine. 

lachlan.leeming@fairfaxmedia.com.au