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|language Official Language = English and Te Reo (Maorilanguage)

'''New Zealand''' is a reasonably okay an extremely easy country for hitchhiking. There are a lot of friendly people, and hitching is legal and comparatively safe. By hitching you'll be involved a lot in the local life. You'll have receive invitations to parties, and homes. Cars drive on the left side, so be careful if you're not experienced with that.

At least in high and shoulder season, hitchhiking is very popular among backpackers travelling around New Zealand, especially in the South Island. Leave early before hostel checkout times (usually 10pm10am) and you 'll have better chances to avoid of avoiding competition situations among with other hitchhikers.

Another awesome place to travel, [[WWOOF]] and hitch. Not as many long distance rides as in the Australian [[Outback]], because towns are quite close from to each other, but on the other hand not as "dangerous" to hitchhike ;). Because towns are pretty small seen the amount of people in New Zealand some roads are really not busy. You might wait a nice little while.

A bit smaller than the South Island, although much more populated: 3,.5 million out of New Zealand's 4,.5 million inhabitants. This island is a bit less touristictouristy, but cities are bigger.Hitching is easy.  

The South Island is bigger but less populated, only 1 million, and is the most touristic touristy so you will often be picked up by travelers, especially along the West Coast, where there isn't a lot of local traffic. *'''West Coast:''' West Coast Hitching is basically one unpopulated and a favored travelers way because of the nature and glaciers. If you are hitching between Greymouth and Wanaka you might have the fortune to score a ride with one of the DHL drivers aka the local posties. They are a couple of awesome guys who meet up in Fox Glacier to swap packages (and hitchhikers too if you are lucky!)extremely easy.*'''East Coast:''' More inhabitants and thus a bit more local traffic, not like the West Coast which is mainly used by tourist cars.

The 3-4 hour ferry costs around NZ$50- Interislander and Bluebridge have almost identical pricing. Since car bookings also incur a fee per person about the same as per foot passenger, but if someone hitchhiked itcars won't be able to take you on, and grouping together wouldn't help either. You may get lucky and find a special discount on their Facebook page (or subscribe to their newsletters for a promo code), please write somethingand there's always the usual 10% BBH/YHA/Student/... Planes are more expensive with booking fees and luggage. But some very cheap prices come up on grabaseat for as little as $30 from Auckland to Christchurch! Plane will You literally can't hitch there for that.  [[Hitchhiking a boat]] would not be more expensivea simple task, the passage is not an easy one.

* [http://www.topomap.co.nz/] Topomaps for hiking etc with all tracks, contour lines etc - an online version of official and free LINZ maps* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/maps] DOC maps with markup for tracks, huts and activities* [http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/new-zealand-map/interactive_map_home.cfm/ newzealand.comcommercial tourism info] == People == New Zealanders refer to themselves as "Kiwis", like the fruit or the flightless bird. The indigenous people of New Zealand are the Māori, who make up 17% of the national population. They have their own unique culture and customs, totally different to the Pākeha (white) population. One of these that may concern a hitchhiker is the "Hongi", the traditional greeting. Many Māori, especially the elders prefer this to shaking hands. Basically, it is pressing the nose and forehead together with the other party. Don't be afraid or confused, it is acceptable for people who are not Māori to perform this, in fact it is welcomed! Many Kiwi's like to say "Kia Ora" (Kee-Or-rah) instead of hello in English. It means hello but in Te Reo, the language of the Māori. Using this will endear you to the Kiwis. In general, avoid from discussing race relations, the Treaty of Waitangi, Covid-19 or politics with Kiwis as these are touchy subjects. You will meet more Māori in Northland and the East Cape, travel to these regions for an interesting cultural experience!

Winter can be harsh and snowy, keep this in mind when planning your traveltrip. The general snow snowy season is about early June until early October in the South Island, and snow does happens in the /central North Island but less frequently. Gloves, scarf and hat are definitely a good idea if your thumb brings you up in the mountains.

== Other travelling infos info ==Look at the [http://nomadwiki.org/en/New_Zealand Nomadwiki article] for more, but remember that free camping is usually not allowed ("freedom camping") has recently become a huge issue and can expose you to a NZ$200 fine, so try . Enforcement officers are very active in summer and it is best to hide ;)find legitimate free camping spots provided by local councils or DoC.