Hitching

1st April
So today was my first experiment with hitch hiking.
I got dropped by some people I met in the hostel to the junction outside of town.
After waiting only about 2 minuites I got a lift to the next junction village called Paeroa. This guy advised me that Tauranga by the coast was nice so I decide to include this on my route.
The second lift brought me through a beutiful gourge to the village of Waihi.
This town had an open cast mine which was basicly an enourmous whole in the groud. Apparently a few houses fell into it recently, the mines info signs didn't mention this. Then I got a third lift to Tauranga and had a few pints with this guy who was a fisherman on the way to a 70th birthday party. It turned out that the beach area was a bit away at Mt Maunganui so I got a local bus out there to a hostel for the night.
I borrowed a bike from the hostel and cycled down to the beach which was impresively pituresque. There were little rocking islands and headland and I walked out to the end of one of them and laughed to think that to get there took 4 car rides a bus a bike and a walk.
I turns out that hitching is one of the most practical, conveniant and of course the lowest cost form of transport in New Zealand.