20/1/2026 Forward planning.

Huzzah, first in for food today, and the gossip around the place is all about the rumpus last night. The guests I believe have been asked to leave. Which has to be a tad embarrassing for them. 

I had company for breakfast today which was really lovely, and once again I am amazed at the innate kindness of people. I have exchanged a few words with this lady over the last week and she is the sister of the lady who gave me goose bumps in the pool. The main of our conversations have been at breakfast time and have centered around my clothes, sewing machines and crafting. Today we ended up sitting together because we were talking about a snorkelling trip they had taken yesterday which sounded amazing. They visit the Islands frequently as her sister lives here and her niece runs the sea scooter turtle tours. The one you wont catch my cowardly custard arse doing as its deep  dark water and after seeing the size of that tuna , just NO! Amanda sent me the photo this morning so I can prove how bloody enormous it was.  The other one was bigger!

Our conversation moved to them returning home later today, and my next adventures. As we were chatting she mentioned where they live, and it's the opposite side of the Bay to Morgan in Devonport as her husband is in the navy, and that's where the Naval base is.. I've been invited, when I return to NZ to meet up with her for the day and she'll take me around the Naval Museum, have a coffee and go and meet some of her English friends.  I'll take the ferry over to Devonport and she'll pick me up from there which will be perfect and a nice way to spend the day. She is such an interesting lady and I could listen to her talk about her culture for hours, although my powers of retention are far from good unfortunately. 

I arrive back in Auckland on the 3 feb and on 6 February is Waitangi Day which is the most significant event in the country's calendar. It's the day that marks the founding of New Zealand. In February 1840, representatives of the British crown and over 40 Maori chiefs gathered on the grounds of James Busby's house in Waitangi to sign this founding document; eventually more than 500 Maori leaders across the country signed it. The treaty was intended to establish a partnership between the British crown and Maori , but differences between the English and Maori version of the treaty text caused decades of conflict and land confiscations. The treaty is now recognised as a living document and Waitangi Day is an opportunity to acknowledge the past, honour the partnerships and look forward to the future.  

Celebrations and festivals are held all over the country but the Festival at the Wainangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands (Si and I went there, but not on Waitangi Day) is apparently unforgettable. It begins at 0500 with a dawn service in Te Whare Ruananga which is the carved meeting house. The dawn service is a serious event but as the sun rises the mood changes from solemn to celebratory and the party gets started. 

Cultural performances are shown on stages, Traditional Maori Waka (canoes) provide  demonstrations on the water, there are market stalls selling traditional arts and crafts and food stands serving up all manner of foods and snacks. 

Even though the main festival is in the Northland, most cities and towns in New Zealand host their own celebration. I am currently looking for one in Auckland that has the Waka because that would be a sight to behold I think. Morgan will be off work, but I don't know if it's something he'd be interested in going to, but that's ok as I'm more than happy to go alone. Even if it's just for an hour or so. I have more reading to do on it, but it's so interesting, and will keep me occupied. 

Our conversation turned to where I was going to go next and I am so glad I spoke to them. New Caledonia whilst very pretty, isn't actually that nice a place. They advised me not to leave the hotel on my own, make sure I get one with security and if I was going to do a tour make sure it was an official one. There is a lot of crime and three or four days there is more than enough. As it's only a two hour flight it could possibly be a long weekend trip. This is why it's good to chat with people I guess. It's going to have to be a week long jolly though because the best ( and cheapest direct) flights are on Mondays. There are other flights of course but direct flights from Auckland are few and far between with the main budget ones taking 48 hours to get there …because they go via Australia. Go figure.

I have been given a recommendation for accomodation to go in Samoa, and when I looked them up after, the price tag would lead me to double think that particular location, £5000 for a fortnight … that's silly money. I can go to many more places for that amount of cash. They did say that the island is considerably bigger than Rarotonga which I knew, and that you need a few hours to drive around it. They reassured me that it is very safe, I'd be fine walking around Apia alone, but said to stay aware of surroundings and don't venture out of the main town because as with anywhere there are places that are rough. Which is all just common sense anyway. The country is beautiful and the people are kind and want to show off their country to the best of their ability. So that's staying on the list. 

Tonga is back on the list after being scrubbed.  I'm starting to  feel a bit sorry for  poor old Tonga. It's been on and off the list more times than any other country, it's actually a Kingdom. So I’m going to go, although not for a long trip. I will only easily be able to get to the one island which is better than none isn't it. I'm guessing it might be a week to 10 day trip max, but it needs to be ticked off because Si and I had it on our list and I have to do it for Si. 

I had considered Bora Bora as it is very simple to get to from Cook islands, but having chatted with them today I'm going to scrub it. They also were able to tell me how accessible it would be to me and how much I would get out of the trip realistically.  The result? Difficult to get around, overrated, and better experience in New Caledonia especially if i stay on the island soooo , I'll save my money. Weirdly I did have a cruise pop up for the islands but as we know I'm not a fan of boats. However if i really wanted to go that badly then that could be the answer. I will look into it anyway, I have got nothing else to do I have I?. Ugh. goddamn package and resort holidays? Who the hell am I? I'm really not sure I like this way of travelling but unfortunately it's something I'm going to have to get used to if I want to continue to travel, we will see. 

Vanuatu is still most definitely on the list so it's been a productive day. 

Before they left they gave me a load of mosquito bands. Handy for my planned trip into the middle of the island and the rampant mosquitoes. 

I tried to book my quad trip, but annoyingly I don’t think it's going to happen because of my stupid bank. Tomorrow I'm going to ask the receptionist if they can assist me in this endeavor. I got sent a form I had to fill in the card details on for payment. I'm not sure whether this counts as an online purchase or not. I'm hoping they will take the card details over the phone from reception so i can go. If not, well I am clearly not meant to go on any excursions whilst on the island. Which is fine. I can take the bus, visit the markets and town and hop on and hop off the bus where it looks interesting. The other resort is looking very appealing, I have a cunning plan tomorrow. Early breakfast. Hit a lounger by 0800 til 10. Quick change and then catch the bus, whichever one comes past the resort first. Into town for some exploring and window shopping. And maybe visit the cook island fudge shop. Read that as definitely be visiting the fudge shop …. 

Back to Club Raro around 1400 then catch the shuttle to the other hotel so I can sit on the beach and get in the ocean which is accessible straight from the hotel with no steps, just white sand and colourful fish. Which all sounds bloody marvelous. 

I haven't seen the ladies today apart from briefly having breakfast. They went for their tattoos and some last minute exploring around the island. 

I was talking to some more kiwis while I was sitting on the ocean sun loungers, again,  just the nicest people, and their son in law is from the UK. They are a family of prison guards (the males) and the women are all teachers. It's getting much easier but my fear now is I have nothing of interest to say to people.

Amusingly, a chicken walked past us mid conversation and then got all pissy with a random wild bird that dared land on the sand. The chicken reminded me of Hei Hei  and was  so funny

It's been really nice today, very breezy, and just enough cloud cover to prevent the sun burning my eyes out. I didn't lay out until this afternoon, as I was still a bit curly up in a bally after returning to my room after breakfast. Tomorrow I must not waste my day so I shall endeavor to stick to my plan. Even if I just go to town, have a walk around and then come back, leaving the other hotel til Wednesday. 

I'm trying really hard to keep my mind from going places i dont want to go but it is so hard as my thoughts are so scattered and even forcing myself to concentrate  to speak to people is bloody hard work . I'm absolutely exhausted!!

Much Love

Mrs Leonard

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