Before
leaving the US we were told to “unlock our SIM card” in the cell phone. We have no idea what that means but I called
up Verizon and told them to unlock my SIM card and a few minutes later it was
unlocked. We needed cell phones in New
Zealand and so we went to the Vodafone store (Vodafone is the equivalent of
Verizon) and told them Lynne needed a SIM card for her iPhone. They physically took out this tiny little
thing the size of a pinky nail and put in a NZ one. The SIM card came with minutes, data and
messaging. Now my iPhone works in NZ
just as it did in CA with telephone, instant messaging, receiving emails from
all our accounts (except sailmail) and connecting to the internet (like Google
maps). To us this is truly amazing. Of course, the people in the Vodafone store
who set this all up were under 30. Barry
took the opposite approach and bought a $19 cell phone that is just a phone. At the same time we bought a USB “stick”
(mobile broadband) which connects our computer to the internet just like in the
US. We have a secure internet
connection wherever we are in NZ . We have enough gigabytes to listen to Radio
NZ (like NPR) streaming. The news we are
getting here on Radio NZ about the US
election is news, not hysteria. Speaking
of elections we can get our ballots by
email, see the voter pamphlet and pros and cons and everything on-line that the
CA Secretary of State and Kern County sends out and then we can vote and send
in our ballot by email. This is good. The voting process took about 20 hours at
least of our time and required the help of a genius daughter who used to work
for the Sec of State and was willing to call Kern County for us. Hours of help from both Vince and
Sheryl.
The
Friends
When
we left New Zealand in 2008 Barry cried because he thought he would never see
his Kiwi friends again. Our NZ friends
are those kinds of friends. And, so,
when we returned, and the old friends saw us, huge smiles of recognition spread across their
faces, they shouted our names and gave us hugs. This is good for our souls and
good for our health! We have also made
some new friends. When we first bought
our boat in Seattle in 1996, Michael Gray was the president of the Wauquiez
Owners group. Since arriving in Opua Oct
6 he has been here on Destiny right near us in the marina and he has become a true
friend. Ditto Melanie, Puggsy and
Diane.
The
Food
New
Zealand is food heaven for people like us.
The produce is absolutely fresh and abundant. We especially appreciate the selection and
availability after having been cruising for 5 months in areas with no soil or
not enough water or where everything is imported. Fish with fries in expensive French
restaurants and coconuts go just so
far.
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