Out on the Road

It was a fine and sunny day in the pretty touristy town of Te Anau, New Zealand and I decided to hitchhike to the majestic Milford Sound, a two-hour drive from Te Anau.

I've been told that New Zealand is one of the safest, if not the only safest country in the world to hitchhike. So with that encouraging reason, and greeted fondly by the sun’s smile, I found myself stood on the side of the road with my thumb out.

It was nearly two and a half hours of waiting when suddenly a purple campervan stopped in front of me. "Hi, I'm Mike. Where’re you off to?" asked the friendly gentleman. While he was only able to drop me at a site that was halfway to Milford Sound, such a distance is still considered a hitcher’s blessing.

“You’re going to experience a lot of rain tonight, mate! Where you’re going is one of the wettest areas in the South. It can get up to 200 millimetres here.” said Mike with a big grin. The words oh no crossed my mind immediately, hitching in the rain with 15 kilograms of weight attached on my back? It was going to be an intense journey.

I parted ways with Mike and walked along the narrow and winding road with my thumb stuck out. After some moments of silence, suddenly what I feared of came true, a torrential downpour. With my thumb out in the air, cosy cars and deliciously snug looking campervans warmly passed me by. While somewhat disheartening, the view of the mountains, mist and rivers were deeply enchanting and mystical.

Finally, a small car with two young German travellers came to my rescue and by that time the rain was so heavy that the river nearby was nearly flooding.

I arrived at the Milford Sound Ferry Terminal still under a heavy shower but the view from the harbour was already breathtaking. The fiords, the hills, the waterfalls were all hidden behind thick layers of grey fog which appeared to be moving very slowly as if only to allow me a few sneak peeks of what sat behind it, not letting me see more than an eyeful. I stepped aboard the first boat available for a cruise and off I went.

I was surrounded by the click-clack noises of SLR cameras and people moving here and there trying to pose in front of certain sceneries. I sat back forgetting all the struggles it took me to get here and enjoyed what Milford Sound wished to offer. And after a short while on the cruise, the sun slowly peered out amongst the thick fog until it finally rested upon my face. It was as if the sun was greeting me again, this time congratulating my hard efforts.