We woke up to a little bit of rain on the roof of the Merryvale Hut. We were planning to hitchhike out today, but we would have to wait until around 10 for a weather window to walk out to the road and flag a ride!
The first 30 minutes of trying, we didn’t have any luck. Then another big weather front rolled in and we ran back to the covered porch of the hut to wait it out. Nobody wants to pick up a wet hitchhiker!
10 minutes later and the sun was out again. A few cars passed with not much more than a lifted finger saying “I see you” or “good luck.”
Then, a man with a trailer stopped in front of us, and agreed to take us as far as Tuatapere! We gladly agreed. That would get us 30km closer to our destination, and that town has a supermarket and a campground, in case we can’t get a second hitch the 90km north to Te Anau.
The guy that picked us up was a hiker himself, having just done some climbs at Mt. Everest with his daughter, who was 25, same age as I am. He was heading into town having just bought an old police station. His plan was to build out the jail cells and turn it into an AirBnB for tourists! Awesome!
He let us out and we said our thanks and goodbyes. We walked to the edge of town where the highway to Te Anau begins and started looking for a second hitch to get us to our desired hiker hub. Many people passed us by making gestures that meant “I just live right down the road,” “what are you doing,” “hello,” and a few blank stares.
Finally, after an hour and a half, an old couple stopped and said they could take us halfway, about 40 minutes down the road. We happily agreed, as any progress is much welcome when you’re trying to hitchhike. We threw our bags in the back and hopped in. They turned out to be farmers who owned a plot of land about 30km down the road. That’s a full days walking distance, but being in a car, we knocked it out in about 20 minutes.
Upon arriving at their house in the middle of nowhere, they said this was as far as they could take us. They assured us we would have a better chance of finding someone going all the way to Te Anau from here. That made sense, as there was really nowhere else you could go from out here. Again, we said thanks and goodbye.
We walked a hundred meters to a nice stretch of road where we could be visible, and also that had a nice area to pull off in should someone decide to stop for us. An hour passed with not very much action, just a few farmers and commercial trucks.
Finally, after a long empty silent period of 15 minutes, a red van came barreling down the highways, creaking as if it were held together by duct tape.
They passed us and we assumed hope was lost, but then they slowly came to a stop halfway off the highway ahead of us. This was it! Glorious salvation!
A young couple greeted us–this was their camper van that they lived out of, as the guy worked a lot off shore on fishing boats and such with New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries.
He cleared some junk out of the back bed of the van and beckoned us in. It was a tight fit, but we were glad to be on our third and final hitch to our destination, the hiking capital of Southland, the Gateway to the Fiordlands, the town of Te Anau.
They said they were only going to Manapouri, 20km south of Te Anau. After a little while, though, they agreed to take us all the way, as they needed to stock up on supplies at the main supermarket.
70 more kilometers down, and a few stops at scenic areas to snap pictures and enjoy the fresh air. I could hardly believe we had made it when we stepped out onto the main street at Te Anau (pronounced tay-ah-new).
“You guys are legends,” I said to them, and I made a vow to pay their kindness forward one day soon. Maybe when I go help out some PCT hikers in next year’s U.S. hiking season.
Loic and I immediately found the best ranchhouse burgers in town, ordered some pints, and laughed at how extraordinary of a day this was. Three hitch hikes! I’d never done more than one in a day. “I told you we’d be eating burgers in Te Anau by 6pm,” I said to my friend. It was 5:20pm and we were stuffing our faces.
Loic had so many doubts when we started hitchhiking that morning in the pouring rain, and I gotta say that I wasn’t sure we’d make it either, but I wasn’t gonna tell him that, haha! You gotta stay positive and have faith when you’re hitchhiking, and just trust that there are good people out there who will help you for no other reason than to meet and help total strangers in need, and keep the karmic spirit of hitching alive.
Finally, we found a nice hostel just on the lakeside and pitched our tents for about $15usd. This also included showers, lockers, laundry, and access to the common kitchen and living space/electricity, so it was worth every penny.
I ran to the supermarket and grabbed some beers to celebrate our victory. We finally passed out around 9, exhausted from receiving so much kindness from strangers. What a day.
Goodnight!
