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There is a way to take the ferry for free: one can hitch a ride with people going over the ferry, but it takes a bit of luck and a slightly daring driver. You just need to hide in the car beneath some baggage or something. Then, once the car is in its place in the boat, get out and go straight up the stairs and onto the upstairs part of the ship where the people go. Don't hang around the car, because ferry employees may notice you. If you ask around a bit on the ferry it will be easy to get a ride to [[Nelson]] or other places in South Island. Beware not to accept a ride to Bleheim which is commonly known as "Hitchhikers Hell", I once spent 48 hours waiting there enroute to Christchurch :o
== Hitching out ==
=== North up SH1 towards Bulls/Taupo/Taranaki/Hamilton/Auckland=== 24/05/2020: It seems that the 3rd point from the list below is not valid anymore as Paraparaumu is not on the highway anymore. It's better to catch the train to Paekakariki (Kapiti line), walk out of the station towards the direction the train arrived from. Turn left onto the highway, there is a good spot with a bus stop bay just 20m further.
I was hitchhiking out of Wellington recently and unfortunately a couple of the old spots have become less useful, so here's some modifications - correct as of 18/04/15.
# A common approach to getting out of Wellington on Route SH1 to the north is from Paraparaumu. "Paraparam" is far enough out that one can avoid all the short trip cars going to work from Wellington. To get here take the train from Wellington Station ($10, note that ticket inspectors are always on the train), a journey of 55 minutes. At Paraparaumu station, exit the train and turn right to walk north to the end of the platform. Continue this direction to the road and turn left. Turn right at the lights and you are now on route SH1. You can hitch here but it is very busy, so continue about 800 m further north along the road, around the curve till you come to the nice big [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=paraparaumu,nz&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=0.015547,0.040169&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=-40.910618,175.016858&spn=0.003681,0.013561&t=h&iwloc=addr lay-by]. This is a perfect hitching spot, located opposite a service station and a place called Boat City. Taking the train may seem time-consuming,but in reality you have shaved this time off your total trip since it takes almost an hour to get here by car from Wellington, especially if the traffic is bad.
=== North up SH2 towards Masterton /Hastings/Napier/Gisborne ===
Take the train to Upper Hutt then the number 110 bus to "Maoribank, Mangaroa road near SH2". Hop off the bus and cross SH2, there is a great spot where the traffic lights force the traffic to stop and there is a pull in area- on google maps it is 1183 River Road Clouston Park, Upper Hutt. We got picked up in 5 mins.
=== Ferry to South Island, [[Picton]] ===
You pay (normally around $45-55) per person. And it's better to book in advance although be aware of deals around the start and end of the university year, when specials sometimes crop up.
{{IsIn|New Zealand}}
