We will be in New Zealand in Feb. I will need to access email from my office. Does anyone know if I will be able to use a laptop to access email over a local number (assuming I get an ISP with a local number) and will I need special adaptors or anything? If not, what is the availabilty of internet cafes and the cost of using them to pick up email? Thanks for any information you can give me.

I spent 6 months in NZ, and accessed my email account through CompuServe, which has local access numbers in most large cities. Many phones in NZ used a different jack - you can easily get a plug adapter for your modem. Some U.S. modems have problems detecting NZ dial tones - I had to turn off the dial tone detect feature on my modem in order to make it work. This meant that the modem dialed a number whether or not a dial tone was present. Every once and a while this was a problem when the modem started dialing before the dial tone arrived.<BR><BR>There are lots of cybercafes in most towns too. As long as you can use a Web browser to access your account back home, this will work too. Costs vary widely, but I would guess that the average is about NZ $10 per hour.<BR><BR>I was traveling in remote areas, so I needed a local ISP. Also, at the time, my college email was not accessible through a Web browser. This was 2 years ago, and it looked like more cybercafes were arriving on a daily basis.

Sharon -<BR><BR>Internet access is readily available throughout NZ, even in smaller towns. We've had no trouble finding places that offer Internet services and it's surprisingly cheap. You'll find computers at information/tourist offices, post offices, motels, B&amp;B's, cafes, coffee shops, the occasional bar and an assortment of businesses designed specifically for that purpose.<BR><BR>In fact, I've found that Internet services are cheaper and easier to find in NZ than in the US!

I agree. The internet cafes were very cheap and very available. We traveled for 7 weeks and never had a problem. Our son is in South America so keeping up to him was paramount to us. I hit one cafe and paid $1.00 for half an hour. Wendy

Do these places have computers you can use to access the internet or do you have to bring your own?<BR><BR>Thanks

They all have computers. You rent by the minute whether you are sending or receiving e-mails. (Just like a telephone.)

My first piece of advice is not to bother travelling with your laptop. Your hotels may have a PC in the lobby or business center with free internet access, and if not, there are internet cafes in virtually all cities in NZ. (Run a search using &quot;cybercafes.com&quot It will really be a pain to lug your laptop around, especially if you are taking trains or other public transportation. While NZ is generally very safe, you also may not want to leave it in your hotel room, which means lugging it around to all the sites, which is a pain plus makes you a bit of a target for theft.<BR><BR>If you nonetheless feel you have to have it, then first, your laptop must be able to work on NZ electricity, which is 220 volts/ 50 Hz. (The US is 110 volts.) Most laptops can automatically switch between voltages (the power pack is also usually a power converter). I live in Europe and have also lived in Asia, and my IMB ThinkPad 600 E works everywhere I have been, including the US. You may also need an adaptor to adapt the plug shape to NZ sockets. (Another reason not to bring your PC.)<BR><BR>You then need to have a local number to dial up for internet access. Ask your service provider for a list of local access numbers for the cities in NZ where you will be travelling.<BR>