Merry Christmas to all, and hope you land safely in NZ! To quote Westpac's slogan, Go for it! XD

Edit: just realised that the emoticons have a christmas cheer to it. >.<

This post has been edited by haya: Dec 24 2007, 04:11 PM

31st march 2009. merry christmas everyone..

same then, merry christmas everyone

i wanna bring a multiple plug to auckland but i duno what kinda pin they're using there.... is it better if i buy it there? i knew someone mentioned about buying it in the 2 dollar shop over there, but this is multiple plug we're talking about.... how about plug converter? that one is available in the 2 dollar store there?

Forword: my knowledge of Auckland is a bit dated, so anyone there who can correct me will be much apperciated. Happy boxing day!

NZ (and Australia) uses the WA-16 plug system. It is similar, but not the same as the Chinese plugs! The Chinese plug pins are a bit longer. They work fine with NZ through. All of us use 240v, 50Hz. It looks like this: http://www.kropla.com/!i.htm

You can pick up one of these cheap adaptors at Lowyat these days. I just bought a few for RM7 each. In Singapore you can pick one up for S$4 at Sim Lim, and if you cross over to Shenzhen, the apperently go for about 1-2 yuan, so just imagine the profit margin. My HK flatmates have got a few dud ones from Shanzhen, through I have 100% success rate thus far.

When I was there, finding a adaptor cost me about $9. I looked at the price, swore and went into Mitre 10, got my self the NZ head, and changed the head myself. Not sure if the $2 shops sell them nowadays (The didn't exist in the shops in my days). The great thing about the NZ system is if you don't have a earth pin you don't have to poke the earth "hole" to plug it in, like here in Malaysia.

I suggest bringing a Malaysian power bank with say 3-4 plugs, and changing the head when you get there, so you still can use your Malaysian appliances (notebook charger, handphone charger etc) without having to change all the heads.


My power bank from Malaysia


And the NZ head (the white wire)

thanks for the wall of helpful text.

http://www.kropla.com/!i.htm <------ so nz is using the same pin as australia. guess i'll grab some from my sis in australia before heading NZ. if the adapters there are cheap, i guess i'll buy one rather than DIY the head.

really appreciate your prompt reply ^ ^

i bought this malaysia - nZ converter at universal travlerr.

what's the diff between

|
\ /

and just

\ /

pin???

i bought both just in case... huhuhh
which one better to be bought???

The former has a earth socket, while the latter does not have. The great thing is unlike the UK plug system (which Malaysia uses) is that you don't need to plug in the earth socket to be able to plug in the plug. Some low powered appliances (table lamps for instance) do not come with a earth pin.

IMO, both are fine, but I'd go for the former with the earth pin. Interestingly through, some of these universal travel adaptors (which you pretty much can use anywhere on earth) don't come with a earth pin.

How much are one of these things at Universal Traveller?

rm15... so.. with earth pin eyh.. coz i'm afraid the wall just hav two holes.. hahha


so..my plan is.. but this adapter.. and bring along malaysia extension... hehee can arr like this?

---

Added on January 4, 2008, 11:32 pmand alo.. anyoen can clarify price for original software there.. like
MS office
Wndows OS.. XP and vista etc.. hehhee
especialyl in canterbury


This post has been edited by fantagero: Jan 4 2008, 11:32 PM

Next time, at least spell check before hitting the summit button. It took me a minute to so to realise you're trying to say "My plan is to bring along the travel adapter and connect a Malaysian plug bank with it". Yes, that is fine. NZ uses the same voltage and frequency as Malaysia.

Prices of most software is fixed, through you might be able to get a slightly cheaper OEM (of mass license) version. XP goes for about $150-190 depending on where you buy and whether its a upgrade or full version.

Don't worry. Bring in your notebook with your pirated XP or Vista. Immigration has more important things to do than check the authenticity of your software.

---

Added on January 5, 2008, 11:52 amEdit: fantagero, what are you studying at Canterbury?

This post has been edited by haya: Jan 5 2008, 11:53 AM

I agree with Haya's method of getting a multi-plug board/power bank in Malaysia - most of your appliances will be from Malaysia anyway. Except that with the readily available $2 adaptors (international to NZ), I won't bother with changing the heads. Not worth the effort and less flexible.

The problem with that method is if and when you buy some NZ appliances (stuff like desk lamps, electric kettles) since you won't be able to plug them into the Msian multi-plug. You'll either have to get an NZ to Msia adaptor or get an NZ multi-plug and plug the M'sian multi-plug AND the NZ appliances into it. Not sure if that makes any sense...

Btw NZ and China 3-pin adaptors are interchangeable. But 2-pin Chinese ones can't be used in NZ since they're a different shape (like M'sia 2-pin) - beats me why.

My gripe with NZ power heads/plugs is their annoying shape. If you notice from Haya's pic, they jut out at 90 degrees from the wall (compared with Msia/UK flat ones). It's a real pain if you're trying to use a plug point behind furniture etc. You can get flat heads with some searching but any new appliances you buy will be in that irritating shape.

This post has been edited by wornbook: Jan 5 2008, 07:34 PM

got something in my head rite now..

my friend have said 2 me that weight limit 20kg jus been applied 2 bagasi that u bring together.. all item that u bring outside the bagasi will not be measured..

could i bring along my desktop in my backpack without measuring its weight???

sorry.. didnt realise my structure error... i was in cyber cafe with all people playing games with loud speaker.. huuhh

are u studying in canterbury??

BSc physics.

according to our senior..
luggage.. 20kg.
hand luggage 5 kg.
laptop bag, tak timbang.. but as long as the item inside connected with the laptop.. mouse, hdd..
i heard like that laa..

It really depends on whether you're talking about domestic or international flights. From my experience, the folks at KLIA really don't care and give quite generous allowance for both check-in and hand luggage. Especially hand luggage. Never been asked to weigh it and they don't regulate the size, no. of pieces etc either unless it's really extreme.

Domestically within NZ though (and international departing from NZ), is another thing. The limit for check-in baggage is 20kg (with an allowance of approx +5). Anything more and you pay. Hand luggage is 7kg (they will weigh it if it looks heavy) and there's a specific size. Technically, you're only allowed ONE piece and laptops count as that one piece. But stuff like jackets and handbags don't count. So I used to carry my laptop as my one piece and a SMALL backpack as my "handbag". Never had any problems. But I saw someone stopped once for trying to bring a huge rucksack on board.

Or, just go out and buy a NZ power bank.

Also, if you look closely at mine, its one of those China made power banks which can accept the different plugs of the world, NZ included.

Yeah, I was there in a era where $2 adaptors didn't quite exist yet.

Pretty much what Wornbook has said is the anwser. However, I have to add something: your laptop bag and cabin luggage counts as 2 pieces. However, you can use a notebook backpack (like a school bag, if you will, but with a dedicated compartment to put your notebook) to get around it. Its considered as a "personal item" like handbags, walking sticks etc. And, assuming its not too big, it also can be used to store even more stuff!

I'm not sure if ANY airline will allow a full blown desktop, casing and all, as cabin luggage with another bag. Methinks that the desktop alone will take up your 1 allowed cabin luggage allowance.

Nope. I had the chance, but I gave it up. I'm still not sure if it was the right decition.

BSc Physics. Sanfa, same as you?

Or, just go out and buy a NZ power bank.

Also, if you look closely at mine, its one of those China made power banks which can accept the different plugs of the world, NZ included.
[/quote]
Those are great. I didn't even know they existed until a couple of months ago when I went to China where pratically every hotel had 'em. Can you get them in M'sia? I don't think they're available over here in NZ... unless the $2 shops stock them. Everything those shops carry are from China anyway.

That's what I said! Oh well, guess I wasn't clear enough.

To all those who've arrived or will be arriving soon, welcome to NZ.

Yes, you can get these in M'sia in these cheap "One Stop Discount" shops. The dud rate is quite high through, I bought 3 of those, and only 1 of them had all 3 sockets working! And you can't test them in the shop!

They are good, in the sense that believe it or not, some parts of China do not use the same plug. Go north to heilongjiang and some of the (older) buildings use the Russian plug (Type F) system! Its even worst in India where every electrical appliance seems to be imported from around the world which do not fit the plug system there.

air nz is damn irritating, after browsing through the site, I noticed that my laptop backpack might be too big to be considered as a personal item, are there any possibilities to bring it in? Even if I pay a small sum of fine?

This post has been edited by lilredridinghood: Jan 8 2008, 12:45 PM

Are you sure your backpack is that big?. The max is 115 cm which is almost the size of a small to medium luggage. If it is really that big, just put fewer things in it, and squeeze it down.

It isn't that big, but apparently, Air New Zealand is very particular when it comes to baggage from what I've heard. Big laptop bags are considered as one piece of hand carry luggage from their site.