One has a wedding to organise, another was looking forward to her first chartered flight and a third simply craved sleep.

But Australian Olympic gold medallists Libby Trickett, Emma Snowsill and Steve Hooker agreed that for all the success of their Beijing campaigns, what they wanted most now was home.

They were among about 500 Australian competitors and team support staff who boarded two Qantas charter flights late on Monday afternoon for the flight to Sydney.

Not all team members were on the flights, as some athletes have left Beijing already.

Snowsill and Craig Walton became engaged only a few weeks before she won Australia's first Olympic triathlon gold medal in a command performance at the Ming Tombs Reservoir.

The two Olympians - Walton competed in the Sydney triathlon - are yet to even set a wedding date.

"He left quite a few days ago, so he's left me to my own devices over here to have fun.

"It won't be a little while still until we get onto that ... I got the (engagement) ring and that's it.

"We're all just looking forward to going home, being in our own beds and seeing all the familiar things."

Snowsill, Trickett and Hooker all took part in the spectacular closing ceremony.

"I got home from the closing ceremony and couldn't have thought of anything worse than going out," said Trickett, who won two swimming gold medals.

"It's a lot of fun, it's so different to what we normally do.

"It's fantastic, it's the first chartered flight I've had home because I didn't go on the one from Athens.

"The swimmers are all on the one flight ... it will be good to be there as a team and get off in Sydney and come home to a really warm reception."

Hooker was bleary-eyed after winning the pole vault three nights ago.

It was Australia's only athletics gold medal at these Games and he has partied hard since.

"I'm looking forward to getting on the plane so I can get some sleep - there hasn't been much," he said.

"It's good, I'm really happy, I'm just really looking forward to going home and catching up with everyone, that's the main thing."

Trickett said that after so much effort, pressure and expectation, there was immense relief that the Olympics were over.

"It's fantastic to have it all over and done with, we spend four years preparing for this moment and you have so much emotional time and energy, so much physical time and energy that you put into this," she said.

"To have it over and done with for another four years is a nice feeling, that's for sure.

All three will have time off before they start planning their next major competitions.

The first charter flight is due to touch down in Sydney at 6.15am AEST, where Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Opposition leader Brendan Nelson and federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis will be waiting alongside family and friends to greet them.

The second flight will arrive at 7am.