Off to USA. What to take?

[avgas]

CASH!!!
I cant emphasis enough the LACK of card facilities around the world.
I felt poor in NY with only US$100 and my bank cards. I found and ATM quick smart.
Also take some beer - theirs is shit. Even the Japanese and Chinese make better.

[Krusti]

Thanks guys, now a dumb and dumber question. What do I need to run my kiwi appliances?

[awayatc]

Thanks guys, now a dumb and dumber question. What do I need to run my kiwi appliances?

Kiwi appliances?????
What are you taking along? Beerfridge?They have 110 Volt over there........
Second hand stuff over there is dirt cheap, so why bother?

[Krusti]

Kiwi appliances?????
What are you taking along? Beerfridge?They have 110 Volt over there........
Second hand stuff over there is dirt cheap, so why bother?

My laptop.... Sooooooo I take it that the little transformer box the power runs through allows for both voltages?

Second hand....... flying straight into midwest country and hitting road (not too hard I hope)

Cheers

[firefighter]

My laptop.... Sooooooo I take it that the little transformer box the power runs through allows for both voltages?

Second hand....... flying straight into midwest country and hitting road (not too hard I hope)

Cheers

check your chargers, I'm heading over with the mrs soon, and we checked at dick smith and some other places and they said most electronics should work no-worries as they will run 110-240v, have a look you will see it there written on the charger, damn near everything does,ie no special adapter other than a travel plug adapter (obviously) and take minties!

[kerfufflez]

It never hurts to have a few spare passport sized photos on hand. You need them for all sorts of stuff now, maybe for I.D. to check into the motels etc.

Scan your documents (passport, license, etc) into a computer and email a copy to yourself (if you can do it all securely). If you lose the real thing it lessens the hassle of arranging new ones.

I've never been to the US, but one thing I found handy in other countries was a small (no bigger than a postcard) laminated map of NZ on one side, and world on the other. Most people get a kick out of seeing how far you've travelled, and like to see where, on which island, your home is, and it's quick and easy to point it out.
(Note - this is only if they are curious, please don't think I go around boring people to tears with random geography lectures).

Enjoy your trip.

[karla]

check your chargers, I'm heading over with the mrs soon, and we checked at dick smith and some other places and they said most electronics should work no-worries as they will run 110-240v, have a look you will see it there written on the charger, damn near everything does,ie no special adapter other than a travel plug adapter (obviously) and take minties!

Take a spare travel plug adapter! You will have problems getting a backwards (NZ to USA) adapter over there if you lose it or it breaks. I took two which was lucky as one didn't work after the first week. I also took a double adapter as well, which came in really handy (could run laptop and recharge son's psp at the same time). We picked up a converter for about $140 which plugged into the car lighter jack, and used the universal adapter with that when we were travelling. It wasn't enough to run the laptop, but did recharge it overnight for those times we weren't in motels (we mostly stayed in National Park camping grounds).

[avgas]

just buy a power cable for the charger over there. most laptop chargers do 100-250v 50-65Hz AC so its all good. Same with cellphone chargers.

[soundbeltfarm]

hey man who is the other guy you are flying over with?
my cousin is flyin over on the 28th or somthing like that to do the harvest too.

[Krusti]

hey man who is the other guy you are flying over with?
my cousin is flyin over on the 28th or somthing like that to do the harvest too.

Is he 57 years old?

The guy I am going over is, don't know his name yet tho........

[soundbeltfarm]

nah he'd be'mid forties i'd say

[mowgli]

da'ah! Make sure you take your kiwi driver's licence. Hire a harley and go cruising though the mid west during your time off

[Krusti]

nah he'd be'mid forties i'd say

Bloody heaps of guys head over, 1200 just from Sth Africa alone!

[puddytat]

Take your Kiwi ingenuity,& your sexy accent...

[jetboy]

Scan your documents (passport, license, etc) into a computer and email a copy to yourself (if you can do it all securely). If you lose the real thing it lessens the hassle of arranging new ones.

I second this. You have no idea how hard it is to get replacement documents whilst you are overseas! Then again, neither do I - but a mate of mine went over not so long ago and lost his passport. According to him it's harder than the hard place you are stuck in when caught between a rock and a hard place...