2/1/2026 Relocation and recovery

We both slept well, and I awoke to the smell of fried egg bagels which Morg had cooked for breakfast. I was able to check in officially from 1400 hours but the motel stated that it would hold luggage for early check in. Luckily for me, my room was ready so they let me check in early as well which pleased me no end.

Si and I stayed here last time, so I know the area of Newmarket well, and really like it. There's a lot to do and it has a much nicer feel to it than the CBD. The motel also has a coffee shop, but unfortunately due to it being a bank holiday it was closed which was a bit annoying. I tried to book the hotel opposite as that is a bit nicer, and we’d stayed in that one too when we came back from our camper van road trip, but couldn't get in as it was fully booked. At the time Morg was living in Newmarket which is why we selected this particular location.

This time I have a little lodge that’s just next door to the motel, it's much nicer than the motel rooms and more modern. It comes with a safety chain on the door which makes me happy, a microwave, desk and fridge and of course the obligatory bed.  There is also a large parking space outside the room which is really handy for Morg to park the truck. When I was in Auckland CBD there was no parking which was awkward but it had a pool. You can’t win em all can you?

We unloaded my stuff from his truck and dumped it in the room, then Morg drove us down to the Westfield shopping centre to get some food for the week from Woolworths.  

My food shopping done, we wandered through the shopping centre and Morg spotted one of his favourite food stands from when he lived in Australia, the name has escaped me now. He was so excited as he’s not seen one over here until now, and he went and picked up some salads for his dinner tonight. He loves the variety of it and after a week of food that lacked salad and vegetables he was grateful to have some for his dinner ! He then stopped at the cinnamon roll stand and bought 4 cinnamon rolls for my birthday cake, and when we got back to the motel we cut them all in half so we could have a taste of them all. They were pretty bloody good! Almost as good as the ones I used to make for Si! 

He left shortly after and I unpacked my sturdy rucksack and sorted out my laundry ready to do a wash. I know where the laundry is from last time so once I have got some coins for the machine I’ll get my clothes washed.  Although it’s not anywhere near as hot as Fiji it was still hit and I felt obligated to put the aircon on to cool me down, which is a tough problem to have…. In January.

I had a cup of tea, followed by a long cool shower, and smothered my poor parched skin in moisturiser and fell into the lovely comfy bed clutching my photo of Si, mentally and physically exhausted.  Apologies for my short and rather boring day. Possibly tomorrow will be

a little more interesting.

Much love

Mrs Leonard

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