The father of a Sydney woman detained in China has broken his silence over her ordeal.

Kalynda Davis returned to her Glenmore Park home on Monday after being detained in China for nearly a month, where she was accused of trying to smuggle up to 75 kilograms of ice out of the country.

On Wednesday, Mr Davis told Penrith paper the Western Weekender that he was informed of his daughter's release on December 5.

He said he immediately boarded a plane to Guangzhou on Saturday morning to bring home his youngest child.

"When I saw her for the first time, I just collapsed. She didn't know that I was coming either. She kept saying 'I'm sorry dad, I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't do it'," the paper reported Mr Davis as saying.

"When we hit the tarmac in Sydney, we both just cried."

Friends celebrated Kalynda's return with tears and hugs on Wednesday, bringing gifts to the family's home and posting happy snaps of the former private school girl, as mystery surrounded her sudden and secretive release from China.

The Davis family reported their daughter missing in November. Days later, she surfaced in custody in China. She had been arrested at Guangzhou airport with her travelling partner, New Zealander Peter Gardner, who is still in custody in China.

Facing accusations that it had failed to secure the release of Mr Gardner, the New Zealand government revealed that Australian officials did not negotiate with their Chinese counterparts over Ms Davis' release and had nothing to do with it.

Earlier reports suggested that Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop had played a role in a delicate diplomatic rescue operation involving weeks of intense negotiations by Australian consular officials in China.

Ms Davis' parents had thanked the Australian consulate-general and staff in China on Tuesday for their "dedication and work in negotiating with the Chinese government and authorities".

Mr Gardner, 25, has lived in Sydney for many years. He went to Richmond High School and worked for a local building company.

New Zealand's consul-general has visited him in a detention centre in Guangzhou and said he was being supported by his family and legal representatives.

It is not yet clear why Ms Davis was released but Mr Gardner wasn't.

On Wednesday, Mr Davis told the Western Weekender his daughter had planned a trip overseas to visit New Zealand but she changed her plans at the last minute to head to China for a few days. He believed she was then to come home to Sydney before continuing her holiday in New Zealand.

He said he and his wife, Jenny, became concerned on November 10 when they realised their daughter had not accessed her Facebook account. Police then advised them that she had not boarded her return flight from China to Sydney.

On November 12, Mr and Mrs Davis were told their daughter had been detained in China and was being investigated for drug trafficking. They were told the investigation would last for 30 days and the results would be forwarded to prosecutors, who would lay any charges.

Ms Davis was not allowed any contact with the outside world, had her long hair cut short into a bob, and was shackled during her time in detention. She had told her father that while the facilities weren't of a high standard, her treatment by Chinese authorities was "very respectful" and "incredible".

Mr and Mrs Davis said that during their daughter's detention they received very little information.

"I don't know what I have been feeling this past month, it is like I have been brain-dead," Mr Davis told the paper.

"Think of a parent's worst nightmare and multiply it by 10, that's what we went through. I know my daughter, I know my daughter – it was just my worst nightmare."