New Zealand
New Zealand is a reasonably okay country for hitchhiking. There are a lot of friendly people. By hitching you´ll be involved a lot in the local life. You´ll have invitations to parties, homes.
Cars drive on the left side, so be careful if you're not experienced with that.
There are only motorways around the big cities, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin
South Island
On the South Island you will often be picked up by travelers, especially along the West Coast, where there isn't a lot of traffic.
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 hitch hikers too if you are lucky!).
An easy way to catch your lift is using the website of backpackerscarpooling.com in New Zealand Here you'll find travellers sharing their transport. A great way to meet like-minded travellers going the same way as you.
Maps
- newzealand.com
- smaps.co.nz - searchable database and fast loading maps
When?
Summers start in October/November but being a maritime climate the weather can be changeable. The weather in January - March is a little more settled.
North Island
- Auckland, biggest city
- Hamilton (New Zealand)
- New Plymouth
- Wellington, the capital city
