[KiwiHopeful]

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and hopefully someone else will weigh in to ...

I don't see a real reason to buy a cell phone before you come here, especially if you're just looking for a basic model. You can buy one here for $99NZ, or even cheaper if you can get one on sale. That way, you'll know 1) it will work and 2) it isn't stolen.

We are using a pre-pay plan which you can load with as little as $10. The rates sound the same as what you list. We use it pretty rarely, too, which is quite a change for us since in the US all we ever used were our cells--we didn't even have a landline! People here seem to text all the time and use their cell phones for calls rarely.

Here are a couple of useful links:

New Zealand Coverage maps - Coverage & Roaming - Vodafone NZ

Visiting New Zealand regularly? - Coverage & Roaming - Vodafone NZ