Flying Solo - The Eagle has Landed

April 3rd, 2015

Kia Ora whānau,

     So, I was thinking twice about carrying on this carry-on, and then I saw that my first SOLO post gained a whole 14 views and thought ‘I’m changing the world’.. LoL! So, here I am taking in Day 2 of my Solo Flight to Logan, Queensland, Australia.
   What I might say, is that this Little Girl is HILARIOUS!!

     And, I think it’s mostly because she’s growing up in a house full of men (4 of them to be exact - her and her mother) but she’s loving having another female presence in the whare.. But, it’s hilarious and I’m second thinking sharing this experience, but it’s just so funny so I’m gonna anyway!
     So, we’re lying down together and then she looks at my uma (you’ll have to look that up in a Māori dictionary, if you don’t know it) and goes ‘What’s that?’… LoL… I laugh & go, Mum’s got them too  and she sits up, looks at Kura’s uma and goes ‘Oh’.. LoL.. it was just so funny… then later on this evening she’s lying on top of me then gets up and goes ‘You’ve got eggies’.. I’m like huh? Eggies, what’s that?  She points at my uma and goes 
‘There!’ I point her to her kumu pāparinga and say you’ve got some too, there! She has a small whāwhā and goes ‘Oh!’…. JUST SO FUNNY.. she runs off to show Kura and Shaun her eggies… She’s crack up!

 

     So, anyway she is such a funny one - no taring though, even at the best of times coz she knows who runs this world and it’s HER.. right now she’s snoring on my bed - so blimin cute!

    I’d like to also that this opportunity to review EMIRATES… I’ve been looking forward to trying them out as an airline for a few years now - and I’ve gotta say, they’re a little under-whelming.. and it’s just because AIR NEW ZEALAND & even QANTAS are really good services with professional timing and such.. for real - for at least 20minutes there the drink trolley parked up in the middle of the aisle… just no one minding it or anything, just there.. LoL! Huh… so, while of the crew they spoke 23 different languages amongst them, I just didn’t feel like it was worth the wait, but I’ll take that on the shoulders - EMIRATES didn’t ask me to have my hopes up in them, so my fault - they’re still a WHOLE lot better than AEROLENEAS ARGENTINA whom I will NEVER fly with again.. (that’s another story though - for another time)..

   We went for a drive to the ferry that I’ll be taking with the kids to Stradford Island - that ride reminded me of how it takes so long to get everywhere here in Brisbane, it was a nice drive - but nothing like Gizzy where anywhere in town takes up to and no more than 10minutes… We’re looking forward to getting out there - I hope it’s nice weather when we go out, it’d be MORE fun!

     Ok, well nothing TOO extraneous on today’s edition - we’ll see what happens apōpo, certainly an awesome, relaxing start to the day when I heard little pitter, patter of feet roaming around the dining room while I slept in the lounge (I fell asleep where I laid my head last night - LoL) and it was Awatea, looking for me.. SHE found me and we cuddle through-out the morning.

   Still missing Mama Kiwi - but, called her to check in & they were driving from Christchurch to Picton in order to catch the ferry back to Wellington and then drive on home - Lil Greg Collings will be bless on Sunday at church.  Should be lovely!  Anyway, this humidity is knocking the wind out of me whānau - SO, pōmarie..

   Maybe tomorrow my visits will be a roaring 15 views.. LoL!

Anyway, pōmarie whānau…

The Eagle has Landed.. MWAH!

 Having fun photo taking session with Awatea & Jojo.. (he’s got big muscles!)

Flying Solo… Australia Bound

HAPPY EASTER WHĀNAU…

May we remember the reason for the season & think of all 

Christ has lovingly done for us.

     Here I am again, at another airport, on another hīkoi overseas - sadly this time I’m alone.  Exactly this time last year Mum and I were The Flying Kiwi’s roaming around LOST in New York city… Such fun!  I often go back and read through the BLOG’s and think well, that happened.

     It was amazing to have had all of those experiences with Mum on our hīkoi through America, and having you all come along for the ride.  It actually feels a little lonely this time around, why? Because my partner in crime - MUM - decided against coming to Brisbane, Australia with me. I was hanging out with Aunty Mate today and she asked why Mum wasn’t coming to Australia with me and secretly I think it’s because UNCLE ROSS (dress for less) doesn’t live in Australia.  LoL!  We all know how she loved him stopping to say hi and spending her fortune at EVERY Ross’s that we went passed.  So, anyway, here I am without my buddy - and thus, FLYING SOLO.

     Have to say though, only a few hours into the trip and it is already with its adventures and mis-haps.  I actually went to sleep at midnight last night and had about FIVE different alarms set to make sure that I woke up - you know how it is, when you have to wake up early AS - you have a fitful sleep and are paranoid that you’ll wake up late and miss the plane, the ONLY plane from Gisborne to Auckland to catch my evening flight to Brisbane.  So, sure enough the first alarm went off and I was up in a flash and ready for the upcoming adventure.

    Question is, when flying such an early flight & it being pretty cold - why is the air con on? My feet were makariri and that is not the life I’m about - so, I was pretty sad on the flight to Auckland. LoL! It’s the small things..

   Get to Auckland, Aunty Mate & Uncle Andy are there to pick me up and we go back to Harwood Cres & Uncle Andy cooks up these Snapper frames… Food of kings man!  Real soul food.. LoL.. and I’m still full from it now HOURS later.. I had wondered what Māori Soul Food is - Hāngi, Boil Up, fish heads/frames, kaimoana etc… So, that was definitely an plus side already.

   Went around with Aunty Mate and did some shopping for the little KREMLINS (Komene’s) lollies etc.  Went to look for the Māori material that Kura wants, but found that it was cheaper online for her to buy compared to the shops - Aunty Mate goes to me ‘Did you tell the shop owners it’s cheaper online?’… HAHA!  No.. (could definitely envisage her telling them though).

   We get to Auckland airport - HOW UNHELPFUL - signs are crazy - we literally drove around the place THREE times!! 

***MUST BE A COLLEGE RUGBY TEAM that just went passed singing E PAPA - LOUD AS - LOVE IT!!!***

     Yeah - so that wasn’t fun.. went to check in - and the lady was asking me if I was going to Sydney, but I wasn’t listening coz I was filling something out and must have said YES.. then I give her my itinerary and she’s like “Uh, you’re going to Brisbane”.. I’m like ‘YEAH’.. she proceeds to tell me off for answering yes when she asked if I was going to Sydney - then I proceeded to tell her that I wasn’t listening to her.. LoL!  So, she checked me in on my first flight on Emirates - BUCKET LIST CHECK.. Economy is a far cry from First Class which is another bucket list item.. So, we’ll work up to that one..

    Get to customs and they pulled me up coz I had an UP & GO in my bag and told me I had to drink it then and there and couldn’t bring it through - little do they know that I had just drunk roughly half a litre before coming in to customs coz I knew I wasn’t allowed to bring that through - so, I pushed the straw in it and took one sip - NOT ABOUT THAT LIFE.. drinking warm UP & GO, so got her to throw it away.. HAHA..

   Ok, time to go find my gate, the lady who told me off at check in made sure to tell me that I had to go to GATE 10, coz GATE 15 is going to SYDNEY.. LoL!!! Funny lady!

   Well, see you on the other side whānau!

Aroha’s,

Flying Solo