They arranged to pick up a car in Brisbane for a road trip.

But during their holiday, things changed.

As Delta spread, and as Dallas Kotrba began to plot a way home in their car in August, he decided to bypass NSW via Northern Territory and South Australia to get to the Spirit of Tasmania in Melbourne.

These plans changed when the Tasmanian Government's Essential Traveller service told the family they could drive through rural NSW to get to the Spirit terminal.

So they followed this advice instead, only stopping at Cobar for fuel and then sleeping in the car at Castlemaine in Victoria on August 14 to board the Spirit the next day.

In the early hours, Mr Kotrba checked the government's coronavirus website again and discovered a significant change buried in the guidelines: their route would no longer gain them entry back into Tasmania without quarantining.

They would need a G2G PASS, but were rejected that same day due to there being "no vacancies in hotel quarantine" in Tasmania.

It meant the Kotrba family was stranded in regional Victoria.

"It was lucky I checked the guidelines that morning and stayed in regional Victoria. If we had got onto the boat and got rejected there, we'd be in a much worse situation," Mr Kotrba said.

They have since been able to find a former Airbnb in Hamilton in the Western District in the meantime, but as every day passes, they grow more concerned for their farm business in Tasmania where they grow potatoes for Simplot, and cart grain and stockfeed.

"The big thing is planning for the coming season. We have multiple projects that need to be completed before planting on October 1," Mr Kotrba said.

"While I haven't been there, starting new staff into positions for the coming season has been very hard. The other concern is that we have sheep lambing, cows to feed, we've had people doing that while we're away but they're getting busy and finding new people is difficult."

For the past week, they have struggled to get any response from Tasmanian authorities.

The family was concerned that, despite following Tasmania's guidelines and advice every step of the way, they still found themselves stranded. Mr Kotrba said it would make sense to let them just quarantine on their Powranna property.

"We're stuck in the hotel system waiting for a spot to open up, when really we're able to quarantine at home and take pressure off the quarantine system," he said.

"We all want to keep Tasmanians safe - that's where our livelihoods are - but it has to be a practical approach."

While Mr Kotrba was able to spot the change in guidelines at the last minute, others who travelled to the Spirit terminal had become stuck in Melbourne, unable to leave for the regions due to Victorian guidelines.

Some Tasmanians were believed to be sleeping in cars as they waited for hotel quarantine spaces to open up back home, and others had found places in quarantine hotels in Melbourne itself.

The shortage of hotel quarantine spaces in Tasmania had also resulted in people being stranded in NSW, including David Johnson.

READ MORE: Why it's a bad time to be a renter in Tasmania

He and his wife initially travelled to NSW and the ACT in June to attend a wedding, before the outbreak spread to the regions.

They have since been stuck in Tocumwal in the NSW Riverina region.

The government added a further 108 rooms to hotel quarantine last Monday, bringing the total to 594.

A government spokesperson said work was ongoing to "maximise" the number of Tasmanians who could return to the state.

"The Delta variant of COVID-19 has resulted in a number of rapid border restriction changes," the spokesperson said.

READ MORE: How lack of hotel quarantine is leaving Tasmanians stranded

"Additional domestic quarantine hotel capacity is being brought online to respond to the increased demand arising from the current border arrangements."

The spokesperson said all e-Travel and G2G applications "receive regular communication" to check for changing border restrictions, and those with approved passes receive "direct notifications of cancellations or changes to their travel passes".

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