New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 1: Flying SQ Business Class and Visiting the New SilverKris Lounge!

New Zealand, known also Aotearoa or the “land of the long white cloud” is one of our top recommended destinations if you’re interested in nature. In New Zealand, you’ll find some of the most beautiful and uninterrupted views of nature that range from mountains to volcanoes, from rivers to green pastures. Due to COVID-19, we had to cancel our trip to Sydney in 2020 but thanks to SQ and Krisflyer’s policy of extending points validity, we were able to extend the points that were refunded till this trip to New Zealand.

This flight to New Zealand was going to be our first long haul flight out after COVID and we’re gonna be flying in style with SQ Business Class from Singapore to Auckland. As with all flights on SQ business class or SQ first class, we were going to first check out the newly revamped SilverKris Lounge!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary – Checking Out SQ SilverKris Lounge

We’ve actually written a separate post on our SQ Business Class flight and SQ SilverKris Lounge experience from Singapore to Auckland. So we’re gonna relive some of the most interesting parts of our experience on day 1 of our New Zealand Travel Itinerary!

SilverKris Lounge Changi Airport Singapore

After clearing customs, we headed to SilverKris Lounge, starting with one of the first “must-dos” and that is, a shot with the SQ Batik Wall outside of SilverKris Lounge at Changi Airport.

The Dining Hall of Business Class SilverKris Lounge

Upon entering into SQ SilverKris Lounge, we found the newly revamped lounge to be so SPACIOUS! There are 4 new areas inside the SQ Business Class SilverKris Lounge: The Quiet Zone, The Living Room, The Dining Hall and the Open Concept Area. Of which, our favourite is definitely the Living Room…

The Living Room Business Class SilveKris Lounge Singapore Changi Airport Review

Dim sum and nuggets at SilverKris Lounge Business Class Changi Airport - Have more nuggets! They're so crisp! — Dim sum and nuggets at SilverKris Lounge Business Class Changi Airport – Have more nuggets! They’re so crisp!

The Living Room is an incredible area that resembles a homely take within an airport lounge. Here, you’ll be able to find comfortable sofa chairs, intimate dining areas and best of all, it is right opposite the dining area!

SilverKris Lounge Business Class Dining Hall

Here, we were able to savour the Taittinger Champagne, selection of wines, beers and of course excellent food on offer…

SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore - The Dining Hall - Taittinger Champagne — SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore – The Dining Hall – Taittinger Champagne

SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore - The Dining Hall - Wine Dispensing Machine — SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore – The Dining Hall – Wine Dispensing Machine

SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore - The Dining Hall - Fried Vegetarian Noodles — SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore – The Dining Hall – Fried Vegetarian Noodles

SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore - The Dining Hall - Har Gau and Siew Mai — SilverKris Lounge Business Class Singapore – The Dining Hall – Har Gau and Siew Mai

Spicy Wanton Live Station at Business Class SilverKris Lounge Singapore

Japanese Udon with chicken karaage at Business Class SilverKris Lounge Singapore

There’s also a Live Station where we had a great meal of Japanese Udon with Chicken Karaage. Along with the great selection of wines, we had a pretty good start to this trip to New Zealand.

Another favourite part of the SilverKris Lounge is the bar where you’ll be able to enjoy freshly concocted cocktails and this time, we had Whiskey Sours and Negroni…

Cocktails at Open Concept Area Business Class SilverKris Lounge Singapore

Probably one of the best Negroni that we’ve had. Freshly peeled orange – citrusy and fresh. Yum!

There were other great food choices such as the Gong Pao Chicken, Spicy Wanton and Dim Sum. However, the Laksa loses out to that served at SATS. After a shower at 9pm to freshen ourselves before the flight, we moved to our gate to fly out on SQ Business Class from Singapore to Auckland!

SQ Business Class from Singapore to Auckland on Airbus A380

As always, SQ Business Class is an excellent product. The seat is comfortable with generous spaces for storage. And yes, the seat is able to be “transformed” into a fully flat bed as well…

SQ Business Class seat on A380-800 - fully flat bed for 2bearbear — SQ Business Class seat on A380-800 – fully flat bed for 2bearbear

SQ Business Class Airbus A380-800 - Leg space when lying flat — SQ Business Class Airbus A380-800 – Leg space when lying flat

SQ Business Class Airbus A380-800 - Mirror — SQ Business Class Airbus A380-800 – Mirror

In terms of food, never skip the Lobster Thermidor via the Book the Cook Menu. We’ve tried several options on the Book The Cook menu and the Lobster Thermidor never disappoints…

SQ Business Class from Singapore to Auckland Book The Cook Menu - Lobster Thermidor — SQ Business Class from Singapore to Auckland Book The Cook Menu – Lobster Thermidor

After our meal, we had a pretty good sleep – probably one of our most shiok on SQ business class. Despite the small leg space, we had no problems turning from right to left to sleep on our side on the fully flat bed. We also managed to connect to the Wi-Fi during the flight – now complimentary for Krisflyer members. KrisWorld was nice but one thing we thought it could improve on was the touch-screen technology.

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Flying SQ business class from Singapore to Auckland was definitely a great start to the holidays in New Zealand. Stay tuned as we show you some of the attractions that we visited during this trip to North Island New Zealand, including Hobbiton, Mud Spa at Hell’s Gate and visiting some great wineries / craft beer joints enroute!

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New Zealand North Island Travel Itinerary

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 1: Flying SQ Business Class and Visiting the New SilverKris Lounge!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 2: Arriving in Auckland and Hanging out in Hamilton

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3: Visiting Hobbiton, Lake Rotorua and Eat Streat in Rotorua

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 4: Mud Spa at Hell’s Gate Rotorua, Huka Falls, Dixie Browns and Millenium Manuel Hotel Taupo

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 5: Mini Golf, Lake Taupo Maori Cave Carving Cruise, Cornerstone Taphouse and Steaks at Edgewater Restaurant Taupo!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 6: Mission Estate Winery, Te Awanga Estate, Remutaka Crossing and Hey Day Beer Co Wellington

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 7: Breakfast at Wellington Sea Market, Fork and Brewer Craft Beer, Wellington Museum, Rogue and Vagabond, Shelly Bay Wellywood Sign

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 8: Mount Victoria and driving back north to Bulls and Skotel Alpine Resort, Tongariro National Park

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 9: From Skotel Alpine Resort to Tama Lake, Mount Ngauruhoe with views of Mount Ruapehu

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 10: Stopping at Taumarunui enroute to Huhu Chalet and Waitomo Ruakuri Caves!