Trading Hours
These are from 8:30 or 9:00 until 17:00 or 17:30, Monday to Friday and 9:00 to 13:00 on Saturday with late-night shopping on Thursday and/or Friday, when the shops close at 20:00 or 21:00. However, these hours vary somewhat in different centres. Some shops stay open until 16:00 on a Saturday and some are open on Sundays. Major supermarket chains are now tending to open very long hours in more densely populated areas. Corner shops, milk bars, delis and city bookshops also open for extended trading.

These hours do not apply in rural areas where, with the notable exception of corner stores, milk bars and supermarket chains, most businesses adhere quite strictly to the 8:30 or 9:00 until 17:00 or 17:30, Monday to Friday and 9:00 to 13:00 on Saturday with late-night shopping on Thursday and/or Friday, when the shops close at 20:00 or 21:00.

Post Offices are open from 9:00 - 17:00 Monday to Friday. They provide comprehensive postal services as well as lettergram, international telegram facsimile transmission. It is common, particularly in rural areas, for the local public telephones to be located near the Post Office. You may find that overseas postal rates are very high. Some Post Offices located in suburban areas and in the larger shopping malls are open on Saturday.