Day 1 Auckland to Singapore.

We were up from our good night’s sleep early, full of expectation. We had completed most of our packing the week before. We left home as planned at 08:30. On the way I had to call to Sony in Mt Wellington to buy a battery with a larger power storage which took longer than expected; as a consequence we arrived at the airport ten minutes late at 09:45 to meet with our tour Guide, Greg. After checking in we enjoyed Air New Zealand’s hospitality.
The flight on Singapore airlines SQ 286 was excellent. Very smooth with good food; too much actually, provided with excellent service. The flight information video was interesting. I particularly liked the world globe which showed the areas of the world by day and by night together with the position of the sun in real time. Our flight was an all daylight flight. I could watch the sun catching us up. Although we left the ground half an hour late (12:35 NZ Time) we arrived in Singapore at 18:30 (Singapore Time) After leaving Auckland we travelled up the West Coast as far as the southern end of 90 Mile Beach before turning slightly to Port towards Queensland. The weather was fine; I could see the full extent of the Kaipara and Opononi harbours as well as doubtless bay. We passed directly over Townsville and Darwin before crossing Timor. When approaching Singapore our plane changed from the direct route several times to avoid turbulence. The sun did not catch us, although it was not far behind when we landed.
Changi Airport is massive and new. It looks beautiful. Our entry through customs into Singapore was very easy. We were met by our local guide who directed us to a waiting bus. The heat was very noticeable. As we travelled into the city I observed a beautiful orangey red sunset. The sun had caught up. I did not know that Singapore had 12 hours of sun each day all the year round; I probably learnt this at school many years ago but had obviously forgotten. I much prefer our four season climate with its long summer evenings and its long winter nights some of which is spent by a nice cheery fire.
We retired for the day just after midnight.