may i know what broadband you are using? price, speed, quality, torrenting? u have any recommendation?

ya, o'rouke got a high rating from qualmark. 4 star outta five, but price wise, its a bit high up...
do you mind giving me the contact no. for those IMU seniors? of course, if they agree. ^ ^

sry about the cutting hair stuff. it was 30 nz, typo.... 30nz for cutting hair in the campus.

I've never been to the Grafton Hall, so i cant say. O'rooke has always been part of the uni, unless things have changed. I didn't stay there, but had friends there, and went there often. All I can say is the walls there are made out of paper. Seriously. Hearing the cries and moans of lovemaking sessions aren't that rare. I'm serious.

NZ by and large don't really care what you bring in your HDD/CD/DVD. they're more concerned about your food destroying their livelihood. Still, if I open the paper one day and see a Malaysian arrested for bringing porn into NZ (it has happened here in OZ), at least I know who's that................................

Uni resnet's (residential networks) aren't that great. P2P is all blocked, and to be honest, no matter how bad Screamyx is, IMO it's still better than NZ's BB. their internet infrastructure leaves a bit to be desired, unless you have the dough to pay $200/month for a leased line.Even normal ISP's like xtra and ihug take a dim view of people using p2p. You might like to stock up..........

And whoosh is useless. I used it, and my friends still use it (contract period), and dropouts are frequent. Speeds aren't' that great. But atleast you don't need a phone line to get it. The lag (150-200ms) can make Skype calls unbearable.

Hair cut: i entrusted my friend with a comb and scissors, but I knew of this Asian place at Pakuranga which was cheap ($10, through it might have changed).

Auckland's called the city of sails. To have sails, you need wind. Lots of it. The first thing you learn is something called wind chill factor. The mercury may say its 15C, but with 40km/h winds you feel its more like 10C. Through I swear it was 0C. Doesn't help that streets like Albert St are wind tunnels; I hated walking pass it.

Tui, like L&P, is only available in NZ. Sometimes I wish they would export it. IMO Tui is so much nicer than heineken. And L&P is nothing like anything else in this world.

Don't expect the teleco price wars you're used to in NZ. Vodafone pratically has a monopoly on international students. not that we have much of a choice.

i survived on $250/wk. And last time I heard, it's still possible. Cheers.

My broadband is Xtra. My plan costs $40 /month - 3GB limit and slow uploads. I don't download much, play games etc so it works for me. More info on plans - http://jetstream.xtra.co.nz/chm/0,8763,203086-202321,00.html
If you exceed the limit, they cut the speed.

I'll ask my IMU friends for their permission first. Will PM you their contacts if they say yes.


I think that's pretty standard for all halls. That's the advantage of Grafton. It's mainly a more mature crowd and they tend to put the IMU students together so it's less likely your neighbour will keep you awake with his/her nocturnal activities.


There are plenty of places in the Eastern Suburbs which have $10 haircuts (sometimes less). But once you factor in the $12.80 fare and 2 hours on uncomfortable seats for a round trip, it's not quite so worth it anymore. Unless of course, you have a car.


So true. As a general rule, Asians and other migrants/int'l students use Vodafone and local Kiwis use Telecom.

this is the worst news ever.... i hope by next year they'll introduce some unlimited dl plan with decent price...



hmm, gonna try it...

grafton rent per week already exceeded 250 nz



they only cut the speed? for pro plan they mention surcharge of 2c per mb. does this apply to all the plan as well?



thanks a lot, please do tell them i am from imu as well



good, then i guess i'll go for grafton for the first year. then i'll look for cheaper alternatives...
thx for all the help ^ ^

L&P syok... will buy tui liao

not decent price also dont have.
i curi internet.. teh best

u curi from people who got wireless router but duno how to set password? if u got other way can pm me share share o

maybe its cafe, i dont know.
but whole house, only my room can
torrent torrent yahoo!

wah damn lucky... must find house near starbucks

they did once last year, when xtra introduced "Go large" which was "unlimited" as long as you don't dload more than 700Mb during peak hours. Unfortunately, the average speed on the network became 600BYTES/sec. So they got rid of it. Fact is, NZ's internet infrastructure is expensive. It doesn't help they're literary at the end of the world, and there isn't much economic incentive for them to make another cable (most, if not all's of NZ's internet traffic goes through one cable, across the ditch to australia)

Live, learn and adapt. You may not be able to dload 8GB/day, but there are some other good things to make full use of your limit.


Good god, what is the world coming to??


Most internet plans, once you hit the limit, you are speed reduced to about 64kbits. here's some math for you: 2 cents a MB works out to about $20 per extra GB over your limit. AVOID THAT LIKE A PLAGUE!


Unless fare prices have jumped exponentially since I left, from the city to Pakuranga on concession fares if only $3.50. But yes, time is a problem (it takes almost 1 hr to get there). Or just hitch a ride from your friends........

L&P FTW!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and I love the tui ad's. Like this one. Miss them heaps.

Yes they have... sigh. Prices just went up again. 5 stages (all the way to Pakuranga/Howick) one way now costs $6.40 (or maybe $6.50 can't remember). On a student concession it's $5.40. MADNESS!


I prefer the billboard ones.

i think probably the best mode of transport is scooter
but the wind is freezing

I'm not too sure about this but,

just wanna ask, what are the procedures to obtain a student visa? And I heard that with the offer letter, one can actually get a passport made with half the price which is 150 ringgit.

Are these the only procedures that I need to obtain a student visa?
-10,000nzd in your bank account
-medical checkup
-pay your school fees, accommodation and your insurance

should we pay all the fees in full or pre pay it?

I think you'd be blown off it before you get anywhere


Yeah right.

OMFG doesn't start describing how I feel. I don't want to see how much it costs to get to Botany Downs then!




I can't remember the price (it's been a while), but getting a NZ student visa is through the NZ high commision. I did mine through the Singaporean one. You need a letter of offer before you can do it. this link might help you get started. Note that you have to go through the Singaporean high comm. The Malaysian one is not authorised to do so.

I'm not sure where the "need-NZ$10,000" rule came from. Maybe things have changed, but as a student I don't think you need that. Immigrants maybe. I never had that much dough and they didn't kick me out.....or refuse me entry.

Medical checkup:YES. Go to a certified doctor who is recognised by the AUS/NZ embassys and consulates. Not any doctor (even if they're registered to practise in M'sia) can do the checkup.

You have to pay at least one semester of your fees in advance. Ditto for insurance, through that should cover you for the length of your visa (aka your course).

yes, my friend applied using offer letter to get discount. cost him RM150. student visa just go to the immigration department right? No?

others, i am not sure tho...

No other ways of getting an NZ student visa other than through Spore. I do need to prove that I have at least NZ $10,000 in my bank account in order to be eligible for the visa. One semester of fees and insurance, not accommodation?

thanks dude

You really need to check with the High Comm. Get it straight from the horse's mouth.


Same price. Pakuranga, Howick, Botany Downs and Bucklands Beach are all considered the same sector. It's still ridiculous though.

any of u guys coming, bring ur football boots, there r guys playing at auckland domain

football boots? as in rugby or soccer?

just wanna share something. check out msltravel.com
they offer student price airplane tickets (cheaper, but not a lot cheaper) and other stuff for international student.
in their site, the international student ID cost RM20 but actually if you visit their office in pwtc they actually help you to make it for free.

btw, i probably will take brunei airlines to sydney, backpack in aus before travelling to auckland. brunei airline costs RM1.2 k + (550 BR dollar) for one way flight in jan. so its a bit cheaper...

any cheaper alternative? plz share guys

student visa wont take long to produce if you show them your offer letter. if not, contact your regional leader in your uni and they'll help to sort things out.

grafton residence is almost fully booked. you need your student id to book the room if i am not mistaken. my application status is still being considered >.< for those planning to stay in grafton, please book early

Aren't they the same kind of boots?

well, i don't play rugby btw did you help me ask those imu seniors their contacts?