7/2/2026 Auckland to Apia, Samoa

Ugh 0330 wake up alarm. Not from my phone, oh no that’s not scheduled for another hour,  this was from a loud diesel car, pulling up outside my open bedroom window, people and kids piling out and slamming every door. Oh do fuck off. And turn the volume down on your kids. Yes I’m bloody grumpy. Anxiety is through the roof anyway I’ve been startled awake with the noise and I’m off on another adventure today.  Which is bittersweet. 

Whilst I’m very much looking forward to getting to Samoa and exploring it as much as I can, it’s the first place on our list that I will be ticking off so it’s making me a bit tearful. Yep here we go again with the snot bubbles and leaky eyes.  It’s really not a good look but it’s totally out of my control and at this point I do not even care.  At all. 

As I was awake I decided to have a shower so I could zip my bag up and I’d be ready for Morg at 0445hrs. Bloody marvelous idea, well it would have been if I had the right time but in typical Mrs Leonard fashion I got it all wrong. By an hour ffs.  Never mind I had the opportunity to ring about my card as the times were compatible. So, the card has been blocked for all online transactions due to the one to Expedia which I already knew about and expedia had refunded. However there was another one on the same day to Agoda for 350 that I cannot remember making and because I can’t remember it the solution is for them to cancel the card and send me a new one. To home. And I’m not at home… Since that’s not an ideal solution for me really as I need my card, they’ve agreed to block any online transactions, and I also can’t see it on my mobile banking app which is bloody weird and something I don’t understand. I will still get paperless  statements but I can’t access the card through my app. I now have to set up a different payment account to pay my card which whilst not the end of the world is just a bloody irritation and it’s really pissed me off. On the upside, they are allowing me to use my card for physical transactions and in atm so I’m not completely without it.  I just need to ring when I get home and they’ll send me out a new card and add it back to my accounts. Guess how happy I am about that on a scale of 1-10…. I probably should be grateful I can still use it. 

Morg arrived whilst I was still on the phone, and carried on loading all my stuff into the truck for me until I was finished.  He’s discovered it’s a good plan to follow what the maps tell him when travelling around Auckland as the traffic on the motorway is a nightmare, and it was this morning it seems as we were taken all around the houses to get there.  

Eventually we got there and found a parking space near the entrance and he wheeled me in.  We went straight to the check in desk and got rid of my sturdy backpack, before going to the special assistance desk.  We encountered our first unhelpful individual and she was actually really rude and refused to speak to me at all, only addressing the questions to Morgan. Morg has a very short fuse for ignorance and I could see the steam coming out of his ears. We were told to be back by 0715 no later so we decided that was probably some good advice and we got out of there before Morgan lost his shit with her. We went for a coffee and I bought him a breakfast bagel, he’s not the best when he’s hangry either!  I looked at my ticket and noticed it wasn’t the one I had paid for.  I had bought an extra leg room seat and the check in desk had put me 8 rows back in an aisle seat which is not helpful to me at all.  So we went back and told her I wanted the seat I’d paid for.  To do that I had to prove to her that I had paid the extra for it, but it wasn’t summarised on the invoice or itinerary.  As I was going through my emails, Morg spotted one that was a seat confirmation and the confirmed seat number that was on it.  The check in desk tried to say that sometimes third party bookings don’t get forwarded to the airline, which was bullshit because my booking was all confirmed.  What they were trying to do was shove me in the cheap seats so they could make more money out of someone else again.  Nope not having it,  you my dear can offity piss best you change my seat please. She’d been on the phone to someone about it and was clearly not happy at having to give me the seat.  I’m just grateful that I had the confirmation!  

That sorted we went back to the special assistance ogre. Her mood hasn’t improved any in the time we've been away, perhaps she's hangry too.  The trip didn't get off to the best start but started to improve once I left the holding pen with a lovely young girl and a lovely attendant pushing me. The stress had sent me into spasm and everything had seized up so the flight was going to be a real barrel of laughs.  Not sure of the young girl's story but she’s coming with us!  We were whizzed through security and into the departure gate where I was parked up to wait to board.  I decided it might be a good idea to use the loo before boarding and tried to self propel in the airport chair which had the small wheels.  I was doing ok, slow but ok when there was a tap on my shoulder and the young Samoan girl offered to push me to the toilet.  I gratefully accepted and was there in half the time.  Again people’s kindness is incredible.  Finally we were wheeled through to board the plane. Me, the Samoan girl and 17 others. Bloody 17 of us!!  I was on first and when I got to my seat plonked myself down, put on my seat belt and the ear plugs. The crew put my sticks and bag up in the overhead lockers for me and I settled in.  It’s an air New Zealand flight but subbed out to wamos air.  Think Ryan air and you’d be close, the seats were so uncomfortable! It would appear I’m turning into an aircraft snob.

 Anyway as we waited for the rest of the passengers to board, there was another tap on my shoulder and my little Samoan friend asking if I needed anything bless her too.  I want to bring her home with me she’s so adorable.  

Loading was really efficient which given how the start of the trip went was something of a surprise to me, and we were soon in the air.  Breakfast came around really quickly and I had the overnight oats fruit and yoghurt, a bag of granola and a muffin of some description, it was warm, and the lady gave it me with tongs so that’s good enough for me and it was pretty good, my film of choice was “How to train your dragon’ and I enjoyed it as much as the animated version.  

Flight was pretty smooth despite the rattling old plane, although after they’d collected the trays they pulled all the blinds down on the windows for some reason. Was that so we couldn't see the wings falling off?? The seat beside me was empty which thrilled me no end as you can imagine and the three hours passed by really quickly .  

Coming into land over Samoa was breathtaking, the water is the most beautiful turquoise blue and next to the lush green grass and trees it was almost luminous, and it came up to about 200 metres from the runway.  

We all disembarked and I was Wheeled through at a fast trot by a lady with the most fabulous nails I’ve seen in a while. I had nail envy,  the designs were seriously impressive. I told her how

much I liked them and she told me that she’d had Barbie pink ones last week and her grandmother told her that they were childish, it’s a comment I would expect from someone closely related to me!  Seems like granny’s word is law so she changed them to a more adult burgundy with white floral art on them.. 

I was really happy to get my  passport stamped by customs as I find it most disappointing when it doesn’t get stamped!  As always we were through the formalities in double Quick time and straight to the carousel to pick up the sturdy backpack. As we got to it the sturdy one came by us and  the lady pushing me picked it and I said for her to put it on my lap rather than her struggle with a trolley and me, it’s also way quicker! 

There were three men in brightly coloured shirts singing to the new arrivals as they waited for their luggage. One of the drawbacks to the efficiency of my glamorous assistant is that I missed most of it because I was out in the arrivals lounge.  I spotted a young man holding a sign with my name on and was taken over to him. He relieved me of my bag and introduced himself as Ofi.

The heat outside the airport hit like a brick. It was really hot, but the sunshine made me smile. I’d booked my room  for one person but for some reason they were expecting two of us.  That would have been perfect but nope, just me unfortunately.  Anyway Ofi went to wait for the other person who wasn’t actually coming which was a mess up from reception. He left me in this huge black people carrier with a bottle of iced water and the air con blasting. It was interesting people watching, in particular the airport security directing traffic and moving people along.  They were also taking cash payments off people who wanted to abandon their cars right outside the exit. They must make an absolute fortune on the side!  Ofi had rung the resort and they must have checked my booking and told him it was only me so we got on the road.  

My first impressions of Samoa is that it is really clean and the roadsides and front of the houses are immaculate.  Ofi asked me if i liked the Island so far and he told me that every two weeks the village chiefs from every village on the island, check the fronts of the houses, the gardens and the roadside verges to make sure they are well maintained and kept looking good.  If anyone isn’t doing their job of keeping it tidy they have to feed the whole village or pay a big fine.  It’s enough of an incentive for them to do their jobs (as Ofi put it) properly.  There is huge amount of island pride and he was keen to point out things as we drove by them.

I’d missed the market today as it finishes at 12: 00, however the fishermen were selling last night's catch on the side of the road to the villagers.

Also sold roadside are bananas and coconuts, basically anything they have an excess of they sell to other villagers and tourists.

All the houses are brightly coloured and just immaculately kept. Outside there are open sided structures that they eat in and use to dry their laundry and generally socialise in. The families are big and they all gather frequently so the space is needed.  

We passed the primary school and it looked nothing like our schools, for a start it was bright pink! I mean what’s not to like about that?

Even the rocks along the side of the ocean are painted in vibrant colours, I’m loving all these happy things around me.  

As we drove along Ofi pointed out the local attractions to me, and the stadium that UB40 played in a few weeks ago. He’d been to the concert but wasn’t greatly impressed. Clearly not a fan!  The conversation moved to rugby and the stadium where the concert was held is where the big rugby games are played  and he said all Samoan boys play it. A lot go to NZ and Australia to play, drawn by the financial rewards.  

We came into the capital Apia and he asked me if I would like a tour of it so of course I said yes please, and he pointed out all the sights for me.  We went past the only McDonald’s in Samoa and he said it was very expensive so not many people went to it. Amazing, shit food that costs a fortune is a bloody cheek if you ask me.

I asked him where his favourite food place was and he took me to a pizza place. It took me a minute to see where he meant , stupid here hadn’t noticed it was above a clothes shop, but he said It was the best pizza in Samoa, I’ll take his word for it.  He explained the town was busy as work was finished for the weekend and people were off to enjoy themselves and apologised that it was so busy. I didn’t think it was too bad! 

One of the Samoan buses was coming towards us and he explained to me that they are made out of wood. They cut down a coconut tree, slice it and then leave it to dry out in the sun then use the wood to build the bus. He was really proud of their ingenuity, and to be fair the buses are really cool and all painted different colours. They hold around 50 passengers, and if there aren't any spare seats, strangers will sit on your lap because it’s against the law to not be seated on a bus in Samoa. 

I asked him if the island was safe as I’d recently seen a video of a girl who was bothered by a man at one of the natural pools. He said most people are ok but there are some, but they are dealt with by the village chiefs. He was saying how important it is to the islanders that people feel welcome on the island and that everyone wants to show off their homes and island so people will come back. 

He smiled permanently, and as we drove along everyone I saw was smiling, ok so it was Saturday but still, they appear to be a very happy nation.  As we drove through Apia, we passed the town clock, police station, government buildings and a lot of churches and he reminded me that everyone goes to church on Sunday, except he can’t go as he’s working.  He asked me if I wanted to go to church and which one because he’d show me where it was.  He didn't seem surprised when I said I wouldn’t be going to church!  Like rarotonga there are a lot of churches on the island…

We also passed the Casino which is a Sheraton resort and I very nearly stayed there, having driven past I am so glad I didn’t!

We couldn’t go via the market as it had closed but he said it was worth visiting as there are lots of crafts and delicious foods on offer so it’s definitely on my list. 

The resort was about 45 mins from the airport and we turned off the main road onto an immaculate drive way, with perfectly manicured verges and came to a stop at a guard station and barrier. Ofi explained everyone had to show identification to get in the resort and the gate was lifted and we drove over the bridge, up a sweeping drive and pulled up outside the hotel. 

Well bloody hell I think it’s the most fancy place I’ve ever stayed at! They carried my bags in and put them on the desk. I was checked in, had a garland of pink and yellow flowers that smelt wonderful placed around my neck, bought a glass of juice, and an ice cold wet, mint infused flannel to freshen up with . Ofi offered me the use of the resort wheelchair because I was struggling to move, but Mrs Stubborn declined gracefully! Once I’d checked in I was taken to my room and it is absolutely bloody stunning. A white robe laid across the one bed with hibiscus flowers on it, another garland on the other bed in a heart shape. 

Huge sliding doors open out onto a private area with chairs and side tables looking out into the water.

The bathroom is confusing to my tired and emotional brain. There’s a sliding glass door that doubles as a toilet door and a shower door. In the dark I couldn’t find my way into the toilet  and was frantically pushing at the glass shower wall trying to open it. It took me a while to figure out the sliding door thing. Not ideal when you're busting for a wee! But I got there in the end. Probably if I had located the light switch first I might have had more success with the door situation.

I took my juice out onto the front deck area which is a real suntrap in the afternoons with the sun shining right into it. The seats are WIDE, low and really comfortable, with handy tables. As I sat there a lizard ran across the grass and into the shrubs. It’s landscaped beautifully and they utilse coconut shells to keep the weeds down. With my drink finished, I unpacked my bag and hung up the stuff that could be hung, while the kettle boiled, changed into my swimmers and made a cup of tea that I took outside and just watched the world go by. 

There was a knock on the door at 1800 hours and it was one of the staff bringing me a list of tomorrow's activities, and a handful of wrapped chocolates. I can get used to having chocolates delivered to my room. The list detailed the activities on offer tomorrow, the expected weather, Samoan word of the day, and offers that the resort has going on which is helpful. 

As it had been a particularly early start to the day, i decided an early night might be a very good plan. Also my aches are aching and i.m bloody knackered. 

Much Love

Mrs Leonard

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