 Thumbing In NZ
 In 1973 fellow Peace Corps guy Mike G used us as a base as he headed out hitch. He had come to “hitch” up with a girl but she turned him down.
 In 1974 Alfred, from Switzerland, hitched, but didn’t get far. He ended up working on a farm near Hamilton for a month. He eventually made it to the South Island where he did high dives at Christchurch’s QEII pool complex. A lady gave him a ride to the glaciers. The Southern Alps reminded him of home.
 In 1998 Peter M, from Brazil, also used us as a base camp. His biggest adventure was being picked up by an insane pharmacist (chemist) near Napier. Peter's daughter, Veronica, had lived with us for a few months in 1997.
In 2015 we had a reverse hitch. Our friend, Clayton, from England, picked up Davin, from the Czech Republic, who was on holiday in NZ. Clayton put him up for the night and brought him along to our weekly Formula D race day. He played and with all of us helping he managed to be the winner. I was able to share my Czech items with him.
 At the pump:
$NZ 2.67/litre
$NZ10.15/gal ($US6.53) |
1. Hawaii Again.
We went into Hilo for a celebration party with Primary Teachers-To-Be at a Japanese park. Hoffsis, Tom and I played pinochle until chow time. About 11PM we filled in a form and then were officially sworn in. When it degenerated into singing Tom and I decided to hitch a ride back. Luckily, we ran into one of our trucks sneaking out, so we jumped in the back. One of the coldest rides in the drizzle I ever experienced, but let's face it how many rides do you think one would get hitching after midnight? I caught a cold!!! We flew to Honolulu the next morning. Three days there and I spent the whole time in a room without a view.
Another time Ernest’s mother drove us to Papauilo to attend a dance. That was an interesting experience. When we left we hitched and were picked up by two girls.
2. The Best
Here is the one from Ian that I think is the best hitching story ever:
“1962. I had gone through London and got as far as Kent and was planning to visit Canterbury cathedral. My thumbing signs were mainly directed at trucks. The truck I signalled didn't stop, but the fancy Rover car behind him did. It turned out that the driver was a 50-year-old colonel in the British Army, based in Paris. Paris was my final destination. As we approached the coast, he said he was flying across the English Channel by plane, with his car, and would be in Paris by evening. If I paid my fare I could come with him. I had left home with 25 pounds and had spent five. The air ticket cost fifteen. After some thought I accepted. The plane was a Bristol Superfreighter which could carry three cars and twenty passengers. I expected to be dropped off in Paris, but he took me to his home in St Germain-en-Laye, about 15km from Paris. I ended up staying there for two weeks. Colonel Dryden's wife cooked splendid meals and his 14 year-old daughter followed me giggling around the garden (I was 20). Most mornings he drove me past the saluting guards at SHAEF HQ, and then I took their free bus into Paris. They drove me down to Versailles to visit some friends while I toured the Palace of the Sun King. And when I left, they drove me all the way to Abbeville. Wonderful family”.
3. Others
Chris and Ang got picked up by a Priest in Belgium.
Tom hitchhiked In Ghana regularly. He also hitchhiked in the Bronx going back and forth between campuses. As a teenager in Rhode Island he would hitchhike to the beach or town. His brother hitchhiked from New Jersey to Seattle to go to college in the 60's, and several times back and forth.
Gail was driving young David to a hospital in 1979 when the car suddenly stopped on the motorway. They ended up hitching and made it in time for the operation.
Mike hitched all over the place back in the day. He even hitched all the way to California and back (to Minnesota) in 1966 with a pal.
Kjell was in the Norwegian army, doing his military service. Everyone took pity on a lowly soldier in his leave uniform, standing by the roadside looking brave and, at the same time, helpless.
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