safe in NZ

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I arrived safely in Auckland this afternoon. I'm at the backpacker hostel and the orientation session is tomorrow morning. I hope to pick up a SIM card for the cell phone I got from one of the Australian volunteers at the kitchen, and then I will have a phone number for emergencies. I also will pick up a calling card, once I figure out which is the best deal for the kind of calling I do to Canada and the US. Calling on a mobile phone is impractical - the cheapest rate I found so far is around 34 cents a minute. And for that rate I can call either a local NZ number or Canada, same price. Weird.