Holiday Diary: Day 1

Well it was a bit touch & go there for a while as to whether we would actually make it to NZ. Morgan had gastro on Wednesday arvo then I ended up with the same on Wednesday night. Poor Muz had to look after both of us. Morgan eventually started to improve after managing to keep down a feed around midnight. I spent all of Thursday on the couch or in bed worrying about our flight on Saturday. By Friday morning I felt so much better and got on with the packing. Our holiday was back on track!

We had an early start on Saturday. Despite having almost everything ready the night before, we still ended up leaving home a bit late, which meant we were cutting it fine with checking in & getting through customs. Have to say, paying extra for a Works Deluxe ticket was worth EVERY CENT!!! I was given an express pass at check in so could thankfully bypass the massive queue at customs and bag check, saving time and keeping me sane! It was a bit of a hike to the Koru Lounge but well worth it, even if we only had 20mins or so to spend there. They had a family room where Morgan was able to have a roll/crawl around and I got to sit down & eat some breakfast.

Another benefit of the Works Deluxe ticket was having the seat next to me reserved so I had extra space. As it turned out both seats next to me were empty. Morgan was starting to get restless & wriggly so I was relieved when we finally took off. Being a big fan of flying, I still get a buzz everytime when hurtling down the runway! Morgan looked out the window and didn't cry once, much to my surprise. I gave him a feed then tried to get him comfy for a snooze. He wriggled & whinged for 10mins or so but eventually went to sleep. I played a few games of Solitare and filled out the arrival cards. Morgan woke up as breakfast was being served so I had to keep him distracted while I ate one-handed. Thankfully it was a short flight (2hrs 55mins to Rotorua) and Morgan only started to grizzle for the last 10-15mins as we descended.

I'm so glad I decided to fly into Rotorua. As it's a small airport, the plane doesn't have far to taxi to the terminal, the flight wasn't full so getting through customs was a 2min ordeal, didn't have to wait long for luggage and super quick through bag check. 

It was great to see my parents, who had driven up from Napier to collect us, and as a surprise my Aunty and her two boys had driven down from Tauranga to see us! I haven't seen her for 3 or 4 years so was super excited and so glad she could get to meet Morgan. After a brief catch up at the airport, we headed off on the drive back to Napier. Morgan slept most of the way. I'm not a fan of the windy Napier-Taupo road so was glad once it was over.

Had the best welcome to Napier...I spotted my first ever out-in-the-wild Pukeko on the side of the road! So cute, but I wasn't quick enough to whip out the camera for a pic.