Day 1 - Wanaka to Fox Glacier
I had to wait about 30 minutes for a hitch out of Wanaka, I got picked up by a German girl who was also a keen surfer. We drove to Haast and then decided to drive down to Jackson Bay so she could check it out as a surf spot. 40km down the road, in the middle of nowhere we discovered that the road was closed due to a slip so, we didn't even make it to the bay! She very kindly decided not to leave me in the middle of nowhere and dropped me back on the state highway. I was then picked up by an Israeli couple and got a ride with them from Haast to Fox Glacier. Being roughly in the middle of Wanaka and Westport, plus I knew of a really nice hostel, I decided to call it a day and stay the night there.
Day 2 - Fox Glacier to Westport
Over dinner I got to talking to a retired Australian couple who ended up giving me a hitch to Ross the following morning. They were really nice but quiet which I enjoyed (it gets tiring talking about the same old thing all the time). After they dropped me, I got a hitch from a Kiwi who lived in the UK for most of her childhood. She was a dairy worker and so gave me some insight into the dairy industry and John Key (Prime Minister). She dropped me in Hokitika where I got a ride from a very interesting man who owned a sawmill, specifically dealing with windswept kauri trees (trees that have been blown over by the wind). His company takes aerial photographs of native bush to see how many of these trees have fallen over, then he applies for a permit to remove the trees from the the Department of Conservation. DOC then allows him to remove 50% of the trees whilst the rest is left to decompose and stay as part of the ecosystem. He then airlifts the wood out via helicopter and mills it. This is the kind of sustainable environmental management that I really admire NZ for. He really had a passion and a respect for the environment that allows him to make a living as I have found with lots of people out here. He dropped me just outside of Greymouth where I got a ride from a farmer then a chef. I even had time to have a look at the Pancake Rocks in Punakaki which were pretty cool. My final hitch of the day came from a Scottish electrician. He lived in South Africa for 20 years but had to leave when it got really dangerous. He said if you were going to live there at the time you couldn't do so without a gun and a guard dog. he dropped me in Westport where I was picked up by Brian, a family friend who was staying with one of his friends shortly before a tramping (hiking) trip. I stayed at his friends house where there were also 2 Dutch couchsurfers.
Day 3 -Westport to Picton (Wellington really)
Brian dropped me in Murchison on his way to drop off a car for his tramping trip. I waited for a hitch, ended up getting one to Nelson from a lady and her daughter on their way back from seeing Cirque Du Soleil in Christchurch. She was interested in hearing about energy engineering and I tried to explain nuclear fusion to her. I hope I did a good job! I got a hitch from Nelson to about 10km down the road from a couple who owned a christian retreat. Then I got a ride in a campervan which was exciting because they never give you a ride! I don't have any slack for the drivers of certain campervans as I now know that some have more that 3 seats! No excuses for not giving hitches now. They dropped me in Havelock where I got a ride from a guy in a very sporty Audi who liked to drive fast, very fast. Which I don't mind, however I do mind when you're overtaking 6 cars and a lorry around a corner at 150km/h (speed limit 100km/h). My final hitch of the day came from a farmer on the way to pick his wife up from the ferry terminal at Picton. He was great, I asked him why New Zealand meat is supposedly the best meat in the world. His response was "it's all in the grass". He also asked me if I was part Italian or maybe Turkish because I definitely "don't look like a straight POME" (Prisoner Of Mother England, I've been called it lots out here). He made it his mission to get me to the ferry terminal on time and he did, I managed to buy a ticket for the last ferry of the day about 2 minutes before boarding started. So I managed to get across to Wellington on the North Island and was met at the ferry terminal by Cousin Andy. The big hitch was certainly a success!
Brian dropped me in Murchison on his way to drop off a car for his tramping trip. I waited for a hitch, ended up getting one to Nelson from a lady and her daughter on their way back from seeing Cirque Du Soleil in Christchurch. She was interested in hearing about energy engineering and I tried to explain nuclear fusion to her. I hope I did a good job! I got a hitch from Nelson to about 10km down the road from a couple who owned a christian retreat. Then I got a ride in a campervan which was exciting because they never give you a ride! I don't have any slack for the drivers of certain campervans as I now know that some have more that 3 seats! No excuses for not giving hitches now. They dropped me in Havelock where I got a ride from a guy in a very sporty Audi who liked to drive fast, very fast. Which I don't mind, however I do mind when you're overtaking 6 cars and a lorry around a corner at 150km/h (speed limit 100km/h). My final hitch of the day came from a farmer on the way to pick his wife up from the ferry terminal at Picton. He was great, I asked him why New Zealand meat is supposedly the best meat in the world. His response was "it's all in the grass". He also asked me if I was part Italian or maybe Turkish because I definitely "don't look like a straight POME" (Prisoner Of Mother England, I've been called it lots out here). He made it his mission to get me to the ferry terminal on time and he did, I managed to buy a ticket for the last ferry of the day about 2 minutes before boarding started. So I managed to get across to Wellington on the North Island and was met at the ferry terminal by Cousin Andy. The big hitch was certainly a success!
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