Hitchhike New Zealand

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This is going to freak all of you out. Probably every one of you. But MAN, did I have fun. Because this car situation wasn't happening until May 18th, and I wanted to get to Queenstown beforehand, I decided to save some money and have an adventure at the same time. Hitchhiking! It's totally normal in New Zealand, especially on the South Island. I had planned to leave on Sunday at 9am and had a hostel booked in Queenstown for Monday night. I had a big last night, though, and my sleep schedule was still on night shift, so I woke up at 11:30 on Sunday and was on the road by noon. I had all my stuff and a cardboard sign saying “West Coast” because I heard it was the more scenic route. I planned to stand there for a while before getting a ride, but within about 5 minutes, someone pulled up who was going to Westport.

Driver 1: Ian. Ian was a Kiwi man in his 50s. He lives in Westport where he is a surveyor and was coming back from his son's wedding in Blenheim. He has been divorced for about 9 years but still seems really sad about it. He's a very lethargic man who couldn't understand why his wife kicked him out after 20 years of marriage. Poor guy. He has three grandkids from his daughter who started having them really young, which he wasn't thrilled about. Didn't seem very thrilled about anything. Especially for someone whose son just got married. We listened to Johnny Cash and the Beatles and he did things like explain the plot of Back to the Future to me, despite me saying I've seen it. We pulled over to see Lake Rotoiti, which was unbelievably beautiful. He offered to buy me lunch at another rest stop, but I had snacks with me. We crossed all of New Zealand and then he dropped me off on the side of the road where the road started heading south. I stood there for about 15 minutes thinking that not many cars were coming by. It was also Sunday and Mother's Day (hi, Mom!) so of course people aren't driving south. Towns are about an hour apart here, so no point. Lo and behold, about 10 minutes later, someone pulled over.

Driver 2: Stefan. Stefan was a German man in his 50s who met a Kiwi woman in Germany, married her, and then moved to New Zealand and opened a Bed & Breakfast in Greymouth. He was coming back from a soccer game in Westport. They lost. He had a really thick accent, so we mostly rode along in silence broken by the sound of death metal (ahh, Germans). He asked me if I had seen the pancake rocks in Punakaiki. Then he pulled over so that I could get out and see them and take pictures. We also pulled over during the sunset so that he could look for some rocks, which weren't on the beach, but it allowed me to take some pictures all the same. He knew that his B&B in Greymouth (pronounced like Grey Mouth) was out of my price range ($110/night) so he dropped me off around the corner at a hostel where I got a bed for the night. I met a Mormon, some Dutch, and some Germans. Typical. I ate delicious fish and chips and went to bed early. Despite being exhausted, I couldn't fall asleep because my body was still on night shift. I made it eventually. The next morning I woke up, bought some snacks, and headed out to the road with a new sign reading, “Queenstown.” I got picked up in 10 minutes.

Driver 3: Geoff. Geoff was an Aussie who drove a laundry truck. He was on his route dropping off and picking up laundry from motels and inns. I tagged along and got to see everything from much higher up than the day before. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy, so the views were not as spectacular as they were the day before. Geoff has been doing this route for 11 years 2 or 3 times a week. He has a boy and a girl, and the girl has 4-year-old twins. He and his wife are in their 60s, and his wife just went back to work that day after recovering from a September heart attack. Before he was a laundry truck driver, he ran a motel with his father-in-law that rendered him broke. But he likes what he does. As we stopped off into shops to make deliveries, we'd pop in for a coffee or sandwich. The women in the shops already had drinks and food prepared for him and knew his order exactly. According to them and him, he picks up hitchhikers all the time. When we got to Franz Josef glacier (which I couldn't see), he dropped me at a church on the road heading out of town where I could store my stuff and keep it dry while waiting for a ride. Really nice guy. I waited for 5 minutes for the next ride.

Driver 4: Umm.....I suck and don't remember. This was a short ride. There was a mail courier we had seen on Geoff's route, because there's one road that goes down the west coast of New Zealand. The courier was going to Fox glacier about 25km away before turning around to head back north. He was a younger Kiwi guy with little kids. He's been at this job for about 18 months and loves being on the road. It was a short drive, so I didn't get too much of his story. But he was super nice, as they all were. He dropped me at Fox glacier and pointed out where most hitchhikers get rides. It was now 2 pm, and my chances of making it all the way to Queenstown were bleak. 5 minutes later, a camper van pulled up.

Driver(s) 5: Ramon, Martin, Jonas. Three Dutch guys pulled up in a camper van and said they were going to Wanaka. I asked if they had room because they were all squashed in the front seat. “Oh yeah, no problem. Jonas will sit in the back.” So I threw my stuff in the back, Jonas climbed in, and I squeezed into the front with the other two. They were 25, 25, and 27 (his birthday!) They were traveling around for a month in a camper van. We listened to great music and chatted. They shared their snacks, and I shared mine. We constantly commented on the view which was entirely fog. At one point, we were going along a river and the fog started to clear. We pulled over to take pictures and got annihilated by sand flies. Got some great pictures, though. We continued on and as the fog lifted, we were surrounded by plains and mountains. The guys started blasting Dutch carnival music and pounding on the van and singing along. I laughed so hard. It was spectacular. Night was falling, and we were almost at Wanaka. There was a lookout over Lake Hawea, and there was just enough light to take pictures. It was insanely gorgeous. The boys dropped me in Wanaka where I tried to get a ride for 45 minutes. Unfortunately, it was 6:00 and dark, so no one was going to Queenstown. I walked to a hostel and got myself a room for the night. I walked around town, ate Indian food, and went to bed early. I woke up early in the morning and was on the road by 9 with my sign, waiting for my last ride. It took about 7 minutes.

Driver 6: I seriously suck at names. This was a Kiwi guy with a PUPPY. The puppy was 8 months old and was an American bulldog and something mix that made him look like a white pitbull. SO CUTE AND ADORABLE. The guy was on his way to Queenstown for work as a house painter, but he does his own painting on the side. He has two girls and is recently divorced and living in Lake Hawea. He is trying to start a business for the tradies in Queenstown by doing monthly casino nights to sponsor apprenticeships. He stopped at the lookout on the highest point of the highest road in New Zealand. We drove down the windy mountain road and there we were! I made it!

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Comments

[cabochick]

Best way to travel!
Some of my best trips were by hitchhiking. I never told my mum though. Great blog!

[D MJ Binkley]

Thanks for the memory
We loved the Pancake Rocks