Thanks for your thoughts. Yes, they seem to be the two motivations (cost and the event of a complete failure) that make the rohloff less appealing.

That said, and I sound now like I'm rather advocating the Rohloff:

1) While you will certainly have a better chance of finding shimano parts in some parts of the world, you still have may have to rely on shipping parts in a lot sections of Asia, Africa, S.America. Although, as you say, a crucial point is that you can just not use a derailleur in an emergency.

2) Thorn in the UK have said that the 32 spoke wheel with a rohloff is as strong, if not stronger, than a 36-spoke with derailleur, because it is dishless (i.e. no need to compensate for the extra cogs)

Enjoy your new bike!