All New Zealand towns and cities offer modern communications technologies, such as mobile phone networks and broadband internet. It’s easy to keep in touch with your friends and family in your home country.
Most public phones take stored value cards that you get at all sorts of shops. They have a minimum value of NZ$5. Some also accept credit cards - few accept coins. Calls to emergency services (dial 111) are free. The country code for New Zealand is 64. Calls to numbers starting with 0800 and 0508 are free.
Area codes (drop the 0 if calling from another country) are:
White Pages (alphabetical listings) www.whitepages.co.nz
Yellow Pages (business category listings) www.yellowpages.co.nz
If you want to make a call from New Zealand to another country, dial 00 before the country code. Some houses have a ‘toll bar’ to prevent expensive calls being made and not paid for. Local calls are free.
Text messaging and mobile phone calls are very popular with students. You can use global roaming on a mobile phone from your country, buy a prepay phone, or set up an account with a local mobile service provider once you're in New Zealand.
These are available at newsagents and stationers. They are economical and popular because you can call anywhere in New Zealand or the world, from any phone. When you've used up the minutes you paid for, just buy another card.
Stamps are sold at supermarkets, stationers and local shops. New Zealand Post is open Monday to Friday, 9pm to 5pm. Post Shops are open on Saturdays and Sundays in some places. Post Shops offer international courier and fax services. Mail is delivered to your street address, so if you move you need to tell the Post Office.
Universities, schools and public libraries often have computers available for email. Internet cafes often charge a few dollars for 15 minutes’ use.
To connect a laptop computer in New Zealand you will need a RJ45 type plug, and an adaptor with a flat 2 or 3-point power plug to connect to the power supply.