Jesse Rivest's Blog
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Saturday, December 16, 2006
Hitchhiking and the Taliband
I needed to break free from the wind of Wellington for a bit, so I hopped a ferry south. I left the north island and arrived at a point, on the south island, that is more north than Wellington. It's possible, I admit.
I had a little nap on the ferry, and woke up noticing sunshine on the deck, and people appearing to be warm. I joined them and confirmed that it was warm, and the scenery was beautiful for the next hour into Picton.
Hitchhiking out of Picton, I was passed, seemingly endlessly, by many empty vehicles. I was starting to feel that the rumours of New Zealand being an easy place to hitch around in were false... but then a very full van pulled over for me. On top of being completely full, it was towing a trailer. This wildly painted van was the tour bus of Dunedin's The Taliband, a band that has been "liberating women on the dance floor since 2004."
No sooner had I hopped into the van than a beer was passed to me, and the road into Nelson was beautiful! We stopped for a quick jam next to a stream and it was decided that I would support their gig at Hot Mama's in Motueka the following night. They dropped me at the visitor's center in Nelson where I was hoping to meet my friends.
My friends had already left so I was stuck in Nelson at 8:00 pm. I thought I'd try to hitch to Motueka, where my friends were, but I couldn't get far enough out of town to summon more than chuckles from passing drivers. As I was walking back to find a hostel, The Taliband found me and invited me to crash with them. We set up camp in someone's side yard over the bay and had a barbeque and played some music.
Ultimately I found my friends in Motueka and had a good time. It was nice to wear shorts and feel the heat of summer! I barefooted my way through a 3 hour hike in Abel Tasman, which was incredibly beautiful! I didn't bring my camera, sorry. It was beautiful. It reminded me of Krabi in Thailand with it's lush hills and golden beaches, only much cooler, cleaner, and less tropical.
Back in Wellington, I am wearing pants, jacket, and trying to pretend that the wind is normal.
-- Back to http://www.jesserivest.com/
I had a little nap on the ferry, and woke up noticing sunshine on the deck, and people appearing to be warm. I joined them and confirmed that it was warm, and the scenery was beautiful for the next hour into Picton.
Hitchhiking out of Picton, I was passed, seemingly endlessly, by many empty vehicles. I was starting to feel that the rumours of New Zealand being an easy place to hitch around in were false... but then a very full van pulled over for me. On top of being completely full, it was towing a trailer. This wildly painted van was the tour bus of Dunedin's The Taliband, a band that has been "liberating women on the dance floor since 2004."
No sooner had I hopped into the van than a beer was passed to me, and the road into Nelson was beautiful! We stopped for a quick jam next to a stream and it was decided that I would support their gig at Hot Mama's in Motueka the following night. They dropped me at the visitor's center in Nelson where I was hoping to meet my friends.
My friends had already left so I was stuck in Nelson at 8:00 pm. I thought I'd try to hitch to Motueka, where my friends were, but I couldn't get far enough out of town to summon more than chuckles from passing drivers. As I was walking back to find a hostel, The Taliband found me and invited me to crash with them. We set up camp in someone's side yard over the bay and had a barbeque and played some music.
Ultimately I found my friends in Motueka and had a good time. It was nice to wear shorts and feel the heat of summer! I barefooted my way through a 3 hour hike in Abel Tasman, which was incredibly beautiful! I didn't bring my camera, sorry. It was beautiful. It reminded me of Krabi in Thailand with it's lush hills and golden beaches, only much cooler, cleaner, and less tropical.
Back in Wellington, I am wearing pants, jacket, and trying to pretend that the wind is normal.
-- Back to http://www.jesserivest.com/
