(Crazy) hitch-hiking experiences on the East Coast

The past five days on the south island have passed in a blur, perhaps because they've been some of the most action-packed and adrenalin-ridden of my NZ trip so far. No, I wasn't sky-diving, heli-hiking or shark-diving (uhh, can you believe that last one's even a sport? Not for me!). Believe it or not, I got my heart racing by asking strangers for a lift to my next destination along the East Coast, otherwise known as hitch-hiking. :)

When I first found out that many savvy NZ travelers rely on hitching as their primary means of transit, I was shocked and intrigued. "You mean stand on a highway with your thumb out, get picked up by a slovenly trucker, and wait to get hacked into pieces at the next wooded exit? No thanks!" Actually, NZ is very much like the U.S. in the 60s, and young hitch-hikers rarely wait more than half an hour before getting picked up by a kind-hearted/bored local/fellow traveler. Young solo women have to be more careful, of course, but throughout my journey so far I've met about a dozen who have told me that they've had no problem with it. So since my Magic Bus's itinerary ended in Christchurch, I planned to hitch-hike the straight-shot 1 Highway up to Kaikoura-- sea life watching capital of NZ-- for my last few days here. And of course I decided to call my parents after the fact to let them know how wonderfully it had worked out. :) Easy as mince pie, eh?

So Wednesday February 3rd after I last wrote, 2 days before my big hitch-hike adventure, I decided to "practice" while in the beautiful coastal city of Dunedin. I'd arrived at the Leviathon Hotel at 2pm and found the city was cute and quaint.First settled by Scotland and knick-named the "Edinburgh of the Southern Hemisphere," it's famous for its crazy-ornate train station, the oldest NZ University, and the moderately exciting Cadbury chocolate factory. Despite all this, what I really wanted to see was the Otago Peninsula, 30 km/a 1 hour drive out of town and home to a royal albatross and yellow-eyed penguin colony. The Magic Bus recommended an eco-friendly tour to us, but the $80 was out of my price-range considering how I'd already spent 50% over my NZ budget. So, I asked the woman who worked at our hostel if there was a way I could take a bus and/or run there, and she recommended a bus that went 20k out and then hitching the rest of the way. My pulse quickened just thinking about it-- what a great way to get some experience hitching with tourists for 20 minutes, in preparation for my 2 hour 30 minute hijira in a few days!

I switched to my running clothes and hopped on the bus, excited to finally take public transit since it's normally much more my speed than tour packages. When the driver dropped me off at the last stop of Portobello, he creepily grinned and said that an attractive young woman like me would have no trouble getting picked up... but it gave me confidence nontheless. I set out and ran the coastal road, admiring the sea scape, breathing in the salty air and listening to the chirping birds and buzzing insects. It was so relaxing and comfortable, I powered on for 8k/5 miles, taking an hour for all the photo-stops. Finally I arrived at a cafe 4k from teh Albatross colony, thinking that now would be a good time to stick out my thumb. What would you know, but the cafe owner offered for her son to give me a ride, and point out the best spots to see the Albatross! Gotta love Kiwis.

10 minutes later I was chatting with fellow tourists about the difference between albatross and their almost-look-alikes, common sea gulls. Then I saw them fly and was blown away by the 8-12 foot wing span! It was magnificent! And it was so much sweeter to have worked my way there, as opposed to paying $80 for a guided bus ride. After taking some pictures, the wind picked up, and a good-looking late-20s Israeli guy I happened to be chatting with offered to give me a lift. I almost refused so that I could complete my work-out with some thumb action, but this was close to hitching, and besides I'd never met an Israeli traveler before so it seemed like a win-win. We had a great drive back to Dunedin, talking about his efforts to persuade his local Israeli government to adopt more eco-friendly bike lanes, and how impressed we both were by the New Zealand Department of Conservation's powerful and influential role in sustainable development. He ended up driving me back to the supermarket exactly where I started my journey, and I was so happy with how everything went so smoothly that I skipped and whistled my way back to my hostel! :)

Thursday February 4th I got some much-needed rest after the Magic Bus took us to beautiful Lake Tekapo. While lying on a beach overlooking the icy blue glacier-fed lake water, I somehow got into my fourth "capitalism vs. socialism" debate of my trip with a friendly Canadian brother and sister. Afterwards, a German girl and I went on a 2 hour hike to the top of nearby Mount John for a 360 degree look-out of surrounding snow-capped mountains. Incidentally, she scored a ride to Mount Cook when we met some Aussies on the peak who were going there the following day, so again I felt encouraged to continue with my hitch-the-East-Coast plan. :)

Friday February 5th the weather turned from blue skies to gray fog as we drove into Christchurch, so I finished my book A Land of Two Halves by Joe Bennett. He's a funny author similar to Bill Bryson or Maarten Troost, in which he travels through the North and South islands by-- you guessed it-- hitching. My Dad and I have a running joke about how one can accomplish anything by first reading a book about it, which is how I completed the Los Angeles marathon in 2003; so I laughed to myself when I realized that I had geekily done just that, in other words, found the closest how-to book on hitching in NZ. :) That night I enjoyed some down-time in my Stonehurst Hostel in Christchurch, made dinner and crashed early.

Finally, the morning of Saturday February 6th arrived. It turned out it was Waitangi Day, a somewhat controversial National Holiday in honor of the Treaty of Waitangi signed by the first Europeans and Maoris to make NZ into "one nation." The roads were a bit closed, so my hostel lady recommended that I take a bus out of the city center and suburbs, and hitch from the highway. She even gave me a poster and marker to make a sign! So far my adventure wasn't feeling very adventurous.

But that was soon to change. Half an hour later, after taking the bus and waiting 10 minutes at the side of the road with my "Kaikoura" sign and a weak smile, a small gray two-door car pulled over. The guy in his late 30s introduced himself with a friendly smile and said he was going just 20k down the road, but he'd be happy to drive me part of my way, so I jumped in. Upon learning that I'm from the states, he immediately launched into funny stories about his Aussie friend's travels to the American Southwest, including a story when he woke up in the desert with a rattle snake curled up inside his sleeping bag. When I revealed how my intense snake phobia steered my decision to spend just one week in Australia, he told me about all his friends' near-death experiences there. Somehow this led to him telling me about how he himself had technically been declared dead twice, once on the operating table and once by nearly drowning. This seemed at least somewhat normal to me, but he continued, both with his story and past the destination he'd previously told me he was driving me to. "I'll drive you a bit further-- it's my good deed for the day!" He told me that he was technically disabled, since his mother had been thrown down a flight of stairs while 6 months pregnant with him, and though the doctors were miraculously able to save both of them, he was fried a bit. "So, I'm a recovering schizophrenic-- in remission, really-- you might even say I'm just bipolar." Arrghh... of course the first car I jump into would be with a rebounding crazy!

All joking aside, he was really friendly, I never once felt unsafe, and it was a pleasant ride. That being said, my next ride by 50-something Colleen, a Canadian who had lived in Nelson for 30 years, was a WONDERFUL experience. She was a health professional returning from a meditation retreat in Christchurch, and Nelson's so small that she actually knew both of my former WWOOFING hosts based upon their meditation affinity. We got into a lively discussion about modern day Maori relations and the treaty of Waitangi, the environment, women's rights, quality of life in developed vs. developing countries, white guilt, and individual vs. communal mindsets. She gave me several great progressive tidbits of wisdom, such as an anagram for HOPE-- helping other possibilities emerge-- which we both like because it's more active than passive. She also recommended that I watch Food.Inc, a documentary about the corn industry's impact on migrant U.S. farm workers, and reading a book called the Female Nomad. She also said she's a member of an organization called Servas, which is similar to couchsurfing.org but more established and credible due to an extensive background check for hosts and guests. She dropped me at my hostel in Kaikoura and even offered for me to stay with her the enxt time in Nelson! Did I mention that I seriously love Kiwis? :)

Kaikoura was out of this world, and I'll have to save that for tomorrow's blog. Stay tuned for tomorrow's entry-- the last one I'll make here in New Zealand-- about how amazingly life changing my experience of swimming with dolphins was! :)