Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
International Calls
Payphones allow international calls, but the cost and international dialling code for calls will vary depending on which
provider you're using. International calls from NZ are relatively inexpensive and subject to specials that reduce the rates
even more, so it's worth shopping around - consult the
Yellow Pages
for providers.
To make international calls from NZ, you need to dial the international access code
00, then the country code and
the area code (without the initial 0). So for a London number, you'd dial
00-44-20, then the number.
If dialling NZ from overseas, the country code is
64, followed by the appropriate area code minus the initial zero.
Long Distance Calls & Area Codes
NZ uses regional two-digit area codes for long-distance calls, which can be made from any payphone. If you're making
a local call (ie to someone else in the same town), you don't need to dial the area code. But if you're dialling within a re-
gion (even if it's to a nearby town with the same area code), you do have to dial the area code.
Information & Toll-Free Calls
Numbers starting with 0900 are usually recorded information services, charging upwards of $1 per minute (more
from mobiles); these numbers cannot be dialled from payphones.
Toll-free numbers in NZ have the prefix 0800 or 0508 and can be called free of charge from anywhere in the
country, though they may not be accessible from certain areas or from mobile phones. Telephone numbers beginning
with
0508,
0800 or
0900 cannot be dialled from outside NZ.
Phonecards
NZ has a wide range of phonecards available, which can be bought at hostels, newsagencies and post offices for a fixed-
dollar value (usually $5, $10, $20 and $50). These can be used with any public or private phone by dialling a toll-free
access number and then the PIN number on the card. Shop around - rates vary from company to company.
Time
NZ is 12 hours ahead of GMT/UTC and two hours ahead of Australian Eastern Standard Time. The Chathams are 45
minutes ahead of NZ's main islands.
In summer, NZ observes daylight-saving time, where clocks are wound forward by one hour on the last Sunday in
September; clocks are wound back on the first Sunday of the following April.
Toilets
Toilets in NZ are sit-down Western style. Public toilets are plentiful, and (to make a sweeping generalisation) are usually
reasonably clean with working locks and toilet paper.
See
www.toiletmap.co.nz
for public toilet locations around the country.
