What I learnt about hitching..
Trip Start
Jul 11, 2008
1
24
37
Trip End
Nov 24, 2008
Picton, South Island, New Zealand
Sunday, October 26, 2008
So, the Inter Island boat was a very rough ride lasting about 3 times as long as it normally does. While seated for most of it I was chatting the odd time to a guy next to me (for the life of me I cant remember his name right now!) Anyway, we were chatting about what I was doing, where I was going etc etc. I found out he was from Wanaka on the South Island. He had been up to Auckland to see his cousin and then he hired a rental car,drove down to Wellington to get the ferry and was renting a car at Picton to drive to Christchurch (all in 1 day!!) So he seemed fine, pretty ok guy.
When we got off the ferry at Picton it was dark and around 8pm or so. I knew I had missed the free chocolate cake which the hostel dishes out after dinner time (damn it!) But this guy was getting his rental car from Avis and offered me a lift to the hostel. Not exactly hitch hiking you say but it's as close as I'll ever get to it again! So I weighed up the option of walking into town alone, in the dark with my backpack or taking a lift off a guy who I didn't know, but seemed ok from my internal 'freak monitor'.. I took the lift.
I did however play it slightly safer by spotting 2 other female backpackers loitering about looking at a map for their hostel. So I wandered over and introduced myself and told them that this guy was offering me a lift to town and did they want to join? They said yes.. only their hostel turned out to be literally across the street!! So that was a very short ride for them! My hostel was further into Picton. So just me and my non-freak friend...
Anyway, we got to the hostel and I thanked him and joked about him not driving off into the night and digging a mass grave for me and the others when he suddenly decided he was also coming into the hostel. "Ok" I thought, it has been a long journey.. So we rock into reception and the girl behind the desk informs me that they've been worried I hadn't turned up by 6pm checkin but I hadn't missed the chocolate cake (sweet!) Then the guy I took the lift from asks if there are any double rooms left. I thought nothing of this as I just thought he was going to stay the night and continue his drive the next day..
He turned to me and said "Double room ok?" From what I remember I think I stood alittle shell shocked for a couple of seconds before explaining to him that I had already put a deposit down on a dorm room before arrival. I thought I'd got out of this tricky situation when the girl behind the counter said "that's ok, you can use the deposit against the double room if you want." Not wanting to seem like a prude, but also clearly not wanting to be physical in any way with this complete stranger I stood with my eyes SCREAMING at the receptionist whom I hoped would pick up on my widened eyes.
Something must have twigged as she then said that I was in the girls only dorm. Thank goodness for that! So as my little car fiend took off for his double room alone I recalled the events of the last 5 excruciatingly painful minutes with the receptionist! Something was familiar about her which I couldn't place.. something I hadn't heard for several weeks.. she dropped the 'neutral' tone of her accent and suddenly there it was - a Northern Irish accent! From Larne she had moved to NZ 2 years before and lost alot of her accent until I turned up!
We laughed about 'that freaky guy' for a while and she had honestly thought we knew eachother and there was nothing dodgy going on until my eyes screamed silently at her! Ha ha, still makes me laugh thinking about it.. but I don't think I'll hitch hike again in any shape or form.
Comments
Whoahy!
That's a pretty pushy guy...I wonder what he was thinking, really... it's not like you are a lady of the night! Not even close!
Louise