It may be almost an entire decade since the Boxing Day tsunami wiped out 230,000 people in southeast Asia, but for Richard Nott it is as raw as if it happened yesterday after the unthinkable loss of his son and daughter-in-law. Richard will never forget the joy he felt when he received a call from his son Christian, and his wife Moi, to say they were pregnant on Christmas Day in 2004. But that feeling of overwhelming happiness only lasted 24 hours as the Sydney couple died in a beach hut in Khao Lak, Thailand when the 98-foot freak waves smashed in from the Indian Ocean. 'I didn't want them to go to Thailand because of the social unrest - it never occurred to me that a tsunami would be the problem,' he said. Scroll down for video . Christian and Moi Nott's wedding day just two months before the tsunami took their lives in Thailand - pictured with his father Richard (left) and his sister Fiona (right) Their whole lives were ahead of them as they had announced to their families that they were pregnant on Christmas day - the day before the tsunami hit . Christian, 34, a chef and photographer, and Moi, 31, a Channel 9 producer, met about five years earlier and had been living with Richard for six months in the family home in Pymble, on Sydney's north shore, before the horrendous tragedy. 'Most people say opposites attract but they were both very similar - we used to say Moi was a clone of him,' he said. If the 72-year-old could describe his son in one word it would be 'rejoice'. 'His positive attitude was his art of living,' he said. 'He was exuberant and demonstrative about his feelings something I never experienced from my father - he was the antithesis of that.' Richard was only able to bring himself to watch their wedding video just last week. 'It was a combination of great joy and despair,' he said. 'They would have been wonderful parents - I almost had a chance to be grand dad and make up for the mistakes the first time around.' Richard was only able to bring himself to watch Christian and Moi's wedding video last week . Richard said the emotions were as raw as if the couple had just died yesterday . Since his wife died of a heart attack 30 years ago - when Christian and his sister, Fiona, discovered their mother's body - Richard took on the role of both father and mother. 'A day away of someone you love is equal to a year - so 10 years in some ways seems like 100 years,' he said. 'It's such an emotional involvement for us and our friends.' With the incredible capacity to see the positives of enduring such an unspeakable tragedy, Richard said it could have been worse as Fiona, who had just been holidaying with the couple in Vietnam, had originally planned to also join her brother and sister-in-law in Thailand. 'If she wasn't invited to a wedding in Sydney - I would have lost the lot of them,' he said. 'So when you look at adversity you have got to think how much worse off you can be.' Christian and his sister Fiona (left) had a close bond that could never be broken . Moi was so similar in personality to her husband that she was described by Richard as a clone of his son . On the fateful day, while waiting for the news of Christian and Moi's whereabouts, Richard fell off his roof when the ladder slipped away while he was cleaning the gutters and broke several vertebrae. His daughter Fiona, who lives in Hong Kong but was home for Christmas, took charge in coordinating the search for their bodies. Christian's body was found within a few weeks by computer generating a match with his teeth from a photograph. But his wife's remains took many more months to retrieve - then both bodies were flown back to their families six months later. Richard could not speak highly enough of how the Thai and Australian authorities handled the unprecedented crisis. 'It was incredible,' he said. 'The government even offered to do another post-mortem when they came home.' Fiona is returning to Thailand with her father for the 10 year anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami . Christian and Moi's bodies were returned to their families in Australia six months later . A year later, the couple's belongings were retrieved including carry bags, wallets, phone and their wedding rings. 'I asked for a hair lock but he was too far gone,' he said. 'They told me his body was in tact because he had two or three broken ribs which means he would have passed and subsequently drowned.' A decade on, Richard still dreams about his son three times a week. 'He sometimes appears as a small boy and sometime as a grown man - it reopens the immediacy of the situation - so yes 10 years has passed in record time,' he said. 'He did appear to me in a dream once and told me the whole tsunami never happened to him and his life was still carrying on,' he said. 'He said he has moved into another dimension which we are not a part of but we are still there with him in our own way.' The couple died in a beach hut in Khao Lak, Thailand (pictured) when the 98-foot freak waves smashed in from the Indian Ocean . Richard said he has to move forward otherwise he would 'roll into a ball and pull the stone across the cave and fade into nothing'. 'But the loss and the emotional yearning and loneliness of not having them there is still as raw as it was 10 years ago,' he said. 'It doesn't seem to soften things to that extent with someone that you are profoundly connected to.' Richard, who went to Thailand six months after the horror and then two years later, is going over again with his daughter, Fiona, for the 10 year anniversary. After The Wave - the untold story of the Boxing Day Tsunami Australian documentary premiere will air on Sunday December 14 at 8.30pm on SBS ONE . Richard asked for a lock of his Christian's hair but he was 'too far gone'
Christian and Moi Nott died on Khao Lak, Thailand in Boxing Day tsunami .
Couple were on honeymoon and announced day before she was pregnant .
Richard Nott speaks of devastation of losing his son and daughter-in-law .
He will visit Thailand with his daughter for 10 year anniversary this year .
SBS documentary, After The Wave, airs on Sunday at 8.30pm .
It may be almost an entire decade since the Boxing Day tsunami wiped out 230,000 people in southeast Asia, but for Richard Nott it is as raw as if it happened yesterday after the unthinkable loss of his son and daughter-in-law. Richard will never forget the joy he felt when he received a call from his son Christian, and his wife Moi, to say they were pregnant on Christmas Day in 2004. But that feeling of overwhelming happiness only lasted 24 hours as the Sydney couple died in a beach hut in Khao Lak, Thailand when the 98-foot freak waves smashed in from the Indian Ocean. 'I didn't want them to go to Thailand because of the social unrest - it never occurred to me that a tsunami would be the problem,' he said. Scroll down for video . Christian and Moi Nott's wedding day just two months before the tsunami took their lives in Thailand - pictured with his father Richard (left) and his sister Fiona (right) Their whole lives were ahead of them as they had announced to their families that they were pregnant on Christmas day - the day before the tsunami hit . Christian, 34, a chef and photographer, and Moi, 31, a Channel 9 producer, met about five years earlier and had been living with Richard for six months in the family home in Pymble, on Sydney's north shore, before the horrendous tragedy. 'Most people say opposites attract but they were both very similar - we used to say Moi was a clone of him,' he said. If the 72-year-old could describe his son in one word it would be 'rejoice'. 'His positive attitude was his art of living,' he said. 'He was exuberant and demonstrative about his feelings something I never experienced from my father - he was the antithesis of that.' Richard was only able to bring himself to watch their wedding video just last week. 'It was a combination of great joy and despair,' he said. 'They would have been wonderful parents - I almost had a chance to be grand dad and make up for the mistakes the first time around.' Richard was only able to bring himself to watch Christian and Moi's wedding video last week . Richard said the emotions were as raw as if the couple had just died yesterday . Since his wife died of a heart attack 30 years ago - when Christian and his sister, Fiona, discovered their mother's body - Richard took on the role of both father and mother. 'A day away of someone you love is equal to a year - so 10 years in some ways seems like 100 years,' he said. 'It's such an emotional involvement for us and our friends.' With the incredible capacity to see the positives of enduring such an unspeakable tragedy, Richard said it could have been worse as Fiona, who had just been holidaying with the couple in Vietnam, had originally planned to also join her brother and sister-in-law in Thailand. 'If she wasn't invited to a wedding in Sydney - I would have lost the lot of them,' he said. 'So when you look at adversity you have got to think how much worse off you can be.' Christian and his sister Fiona (left) had a close bond that could never be broken . Moi was so similar in personality to her husband that she was described by Richard as a clone of his son . On the fateful day, while waiting for the news of Christian and Moi's whereabouts, Richard fell off his roof when the ladder slipped away while he was cleaning the gutters and broke several vertebrae. His daughter Fiona, who lives in Hong Kong but was home for Christmas, took charge in coordinating the search for their bodies. Christian's body was found within a few weeks by computer generating a match with his teeth from a photograph. But his wife's remains took many more months to retrieve - then both bodies were flown back to their families six months later. Richard could not speak highly enough of how the Thai and Australian authorities handled the unprecedented crisis. 'It was incredible,' he said. 'The government even offered to do another post-mortem when they came home.' Fiona is returning to Thailand with her father for the 10 year anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami . Christian and Moi's bodies were returned to their families in Australia six months later . A year later, the couple's belongings were retrieved including carry bags, wallets, phone and their wedding rings. 'I asked for a hair lock but he was too far gone,' he said. 'They told me his body was in tact because he had two or three broken ribs which means he would have passed and subsequently drowned.' A decade on, Richard still dreams about his son three times a week. 'He sometimes appears as a small boy and sometime as a grown man - it reopens the immediacy of the situation - so yes 10 years has passed in record time,' he said. 'He did appear to me in a dream once and told me the whole tsunami never happened to him and his life was still carrying on,' he said. 'He said he has moved into another dimension which we are not a part of but we are still there with him in our own way.' The couple died in a beach hut in Khao Lak, Thailand (pictured) when the 98-foot freak waves smashed in from the Indian Ocean . Richard said he has to move forward otherwise he would 'roll into a ball and pull the stone across the cave and fade into nothing'. 'But the loss and the emotional yearning and loneliness of not having them there is still as raw as it was 10 years ago,' he said. 'It doesn't seem to soften things to that extent with someone that you are profoundly connected to.' Richard, who went to Thailand six months after the horror and then two years later, is going over again with his daughter, Fiona, for the 10 year anniversary. After The Wave - the untold story of the Boxing Day Tsunami Australian documentary premiere will air on Sunday December 14 at 8.30pm on SBS ONE . Richard asked for a lock of his Christian's hair but he was 'too far gone'
his son and daughter-in-law. Richard will never beach hut in Khao Lak, Thailand when the 98-foot pregnant on Christmas day - the day before the Day tsunami . Christian and Moi's bodies were daughter, Fiona, for the 10 year anniversary. After The Wave - the untold story of the Boxing air on Sunday December 14 at 8.30pm on SBS ONE .