Hey hey! Today’s adventure was so much fun! Since I could not take a car I was supposed to relocate from Queenstown to Christchurch (for the ones who don’t know, you can basically get a car for free from car rental companies who need to move cars from one of their branches to the other) and all the buses leave very early in the morning, which was too early since I had to drop off the car I had at 9, I decided to give it a go and try to hitchhike in New Zealand! As a matter of fact, it was literally the first time for me to hitchhike alone! And even I had done it before, I have very little memory of it, so I guess it had happened only a few times (precisely in Turkey and Italy).
Hitchhiking in New Zealand
So I was excited and even a little bit stressed! But it worked out good! I got my first ride from Queenstown to Wanaka from a young super adventurous Swiss.
From Wanaka, I had a nice stop with view on the lake once again and then waited 15 minutes for the second ride from a Dutch lady traveling solo like me, which was going to a place that looked really interesting called Lindis Valley. I got a ride from Wanaka to Tarras, a tiny place with a cafè, a restaurant, and a gas station. At that point, it was around midday I guess and the sun was beautifully shining in a clear blue sky.
This time I only waited few minutes before being picked up by a British couple in their 60s and traveled from Tarras to Omarama, which I had expected to be a little bit of a town but it was really again a gas station, couples of restaurants, a hotel and a camping site. At this point, I was getting hungry and even a little bit stressed. I had no clear plan in mind but ideally, I would have liked to reach a place with a hostel or somewhere where I could afford to sleep. Within minutes, I was picked up by my fourth ride: a Dutch woman who was also solo traveling and really into hiking (most Dutch people sound like being very much into hiking). And there I was finally able on the track for a real destination: Lake Tekapo! And on the way there…oh my god the landscapes! And the colors of Lake Pukaki! Again, New Zealand surprised me leaving me out of breath once more! Kika, the girl who picked me up, was a very interesting person, that works with event organization and sustainability. I thought it was a very nice mix!
And here I am I Lake Tekapo! One of the best spots to look at the stars in the Southern Hemisphere and…guess what? The sky is now covered in clouds! 🙁
I didn’t take many pictures today, as excited as I was and how busy as I was talking to all the wonderful people who gave me a ride! BUT I took a picture of the place where I am staying! A glamping tent, which is a glam(orous) tent! I will upload more pictures of Lake Tekapo, right now internet connection is down here!
