The Court of Appeal released the helicopter pilots from Paparoa Prison on Thursday, pending their appeal in the South Westland greenstone case.
Ngai Tahu kaiwhakahaere (chairman) Mark Solomon issued a media release yesterday stating the Saxtons' release on bail "does not change the fact that at this point in time they are guilty of stealing large amounts of Ngai Tahu pounamu".
"We have confidence in the court process and the prosecution case brought by the police."
Family spokeswoman Lisa Saxton said yesterday her father Dave (62) and brother Morgan (30) were spending time with close friends and family and would make their way home at the weekend.
It was not known when they would arrive in Haast but Ms Saxton thought it would be "sooner rather than later".
"We are all very happy. The court has recognised the appeal does hold merit and was not frivolous," Ms Saxton said.
Saxton Appeal Trust chairman Michael Hill, of Christchurch, said yesterday he had spoken to Dave Saxton yesterday and "he's good".
The trust would continue to raise funds for the men's ongoing court cases.
The first goal had been to obtain bail. Next, the trust would focus on fighting the forfeiture of Dave Saxton's Haast farm, which remains the subject of a Crown application.
The trust's third goal was to appeal the convictions, Mr Hill said.
Mr Hill declined to reveal the total amount already raised by the trust, which is understood to be at least $70,000.
That amount includes at least $50,000 raised at a charity auction in Wanaka and the sale of about 1000 Wild On Saxton Calendars by Haast photographer Neroli Nolan and a group of Haast women.
The Saxtons were charged in 2004 with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of greenstone from the Cascade Plateau and convicted last year after a defended trial in the Christchurch District Court.
Dave Saxton received a two-year nine-month jail sentence in February, and his son received a two-year six-month sentence.
They were also ordered to pay $300,000 reparation to Ngai Tahu.
Greenstone ownership was vested in Ngai Tahu by an Act of Parliament in 1997.
