Auckland
Auckland is New Zealand's biggest city. It is illegal to even walk on any of the motorways, including the on-ramps ($200 instant fine).
Contents
Hitching Out
From the airport
It's easy to hitch a ride to the city center (instead of paying 15 NZD$ for the bus). Just walk out of the airport, go right and find the Shell station and ask around.
South towards Hamilton, Taupo, Tauranga, Wellington
In Auckland, you can either try to get a ride from in the city or try to get further south on the train to Papakura from Britomart ($8 without a HOP card). It'll probably take a couple of rides for you to get out of the city. If you get someone who can drop you in Bombay Hills, you'll be sweet! Buses are now pretty expensive to get to Bombay, so it may not be worth it unless you get lucky with your tickets.
From Papakura
There's a service station, but it is not as easy to get to as once before (the hole in the fence is gone). Your best bet is to go start hitchhiking and walking down great south road, and someone will likely stop for you within 20 minutes.
Train to Papakura and then caught the bus to Drury which is a few minutes down the road. There's plenty of space for cars to pull over before the go onto the motorway from here. There isn't a heap of traffic going onto the motorway but there's so much space. Waited ~5 mins and got a ride to Rotorua.
From Center
I actually now think this is the best option, as it saves you a few bucks and you have to sit on a train for an hour otherwise anyway. You'll likely be dropped in Papakura.
- Walk to the end of Hobson Street, where it crosses Pitt Street. Cross the road to where there is a left only turning lane onto the motorway. Stand on the pavement about 3-4 meters away from the lights. The cars almost always have to stop here before going onto the motorway. I've used this spot twice and it only took 20 minutes each time.
At the on-ramp at the top of Symonds Street, close to the CBD. Walk down the on ramp and there is a big footpath you can stand on and plenty of space for people to stop.
More notes
There are some BAD SPOTS to get rides from in Auckland. So you may wish to avoid the following;
- Pukekohe - though it is close to the motorway, it's hard for people to stop
- Hobson Street - although it looks like a good spot, it's better to walk to the intersection with Pitt Street as above. I think there's too much traffic for people to safely stop. I actually spoke to some guys who waited 6 hours here without getting a lift.
