I’ve been hitchhiking for a couple of years now. Since 2017 it has been my primary means of transport whilst on the road. I have gained a heap of experience on how to hitch successfully and a real appreciation as well as a great deal of enjoyment from it.
This is the first post in a series on hitchhiking. It’s become an important part of how I travel and I’d like to share and encourage you to try it. Keep an open mind, forget the serial killer stereotypes and imagine being picked up by a wonderful family who wants to share lunch with you, hear your story and tell you theirs.
Sometimes you find yourself in unusual and unpredictable situations; you have no idea who you’ll meet. I was once picked up by a driver in Ukraine who helped design the guidance system for the Soviet Space program in Kazakhstan.
My first hitchhiking experience was also a little unusual, so what better place to start than my maiden voyage back in May 2016?
The Gold Coast - from a distance, it's stunning
After living in Melbourne, I headed north along the east coast, on my first big, solo adventure.
Before reaching Surfers Paradise, on the Gold Coast, a wise man told me, “If you were to give Australia an enema, the Gold Coast is where you’d put the tube”; I can’t say I agree with this statement, but it wasn’t my kind of city, so much so that I left within 24 hours.
The welcome party
I wanted to reach the Sunshine Coast and with no bus ticket or flight booked, I thought I’d try by thumb.
I walked north to the edge of the strip and parked up outside of a hotel complex. It wasn’t the greatest spot, but I was still learning.
Poised with my left arm outstretched and thumb raised, I looked each driver in the eye and smiled. I waited approximately an hour under the shade of a stop sign which was just big enough to relieve my face from the burning UV.
30 minutes later I moved further up the road to a turn-off where the traffic was heavier.
Clearly the change in scenery worked. Almost immediately I struck gold as a medical student, Chris, pulled over and enthusiastically welcomed me aboard. He wasn’t driving to Brisbane but offered to drop me outside of the city at a shopping centre on the highway.
We parted ways at Westfield, Helensvale and I figured this was the perfect opportunity to fuel up and make a hitchhiking sign. I bought a Sharpie and asked a confused-looking shop assistant if I could have the packing cardboard they were recycling. I scribbled on the cardboard in my best bubble writing: ‘BRIS M1’.
At the M1 turn-off to the Gold Coast Highway, I dropped my backpack, swiftly moved it away from the river of Bull Ants (avoid them at ALL COSTS!), and perched on the hard shoulder.
Projecting my sign like the Bat-signal, I hoped someone would stop. After 15 minutes I added smiley faces and stars to the sign thinking it may increase my chances.
A ute (pickup truck to anyone outside of Australia and New Zealand) stopped. A pair of tradies on their way home, in their words, “took pity on me” and offered me a ride.
I climbed in.
They were incredibly friendly and on asking for recommendations in Brisbane they suggested a gentlemen’s club for “$5 lappies”; this wasn’t quite what I had in mind as I was more in the market for a good Negroni.
Bombing down the highway at well over the legal limit, it was time for their cigarette break. I was on the left most side of the three seater cabin and without looking, the man in the middle reached over to ash his fag out of the window and stubbed it out on my arm by mistake. I couldn’t complain, it was a free ride.
I asked the guys to drop me somewhere near Springwood so I could catch another ride, bypass the city, and continue on for the Sunshine Coast.
I waited four hours. Four long hours under the sun.
I was optimistic to make it the 230km to Noosa in a day.
Drivers peered at me as if looking at a museum exhibit - present, pointing, analysing but no real interaction.
After a few hours, something strange began to happen. From trying to make eye contact with the drivers, travelling at 100km/hr, my mind began to play tricks on me.
The first thing I noticed was a car had stopped 100m down the road and I thought perhaps they were offering to take me; as I approached I began to feel disorientated and it appeared as though they were reversing away from me and back down the highway! I was so confused. I was exhausted from the heat and thought they were playing some kind of a prank.
It was absurd, who would do such a thing?
When I focused on graffiti by the roadside, it stretched and began retreating. I was having some kind of psychedelic episode as objects were distorting and warping. From staring at vehicles moving towards me at high speed for hours, my perception of stationary objects had been altered and I was hallucinating.
It was very bizarre and thankfully, very temporary.
As the sun was getting lower, I thought I should go direct to Brisbane. I changed my sign back to “BRIS” and edited the “M1” into a very blocky “M3”.
In the time I had waited, I could have walked the remaining 25km to the city.
Eventually someone did stop and took me to a bus station.
I arrived tired, hungry and disappointed that I hadn’t reached the Sunshine Coast. I made several mistakes and adjusted my expectations for future trials; thankfully I wasn’t too discouraged and tried again.
Not Australia
I have to say, this isn’t representative of my average hitchhiking experience. All things considered, this one is a little crazy. Thankfully, my ‘trip’ was a one-off incident.
Usually I wait for between 15 minutes to an hour, before someone stops. Often the driver and I have great conversations, they’ve always been incredibly friendly and some even offered to give me a place to stay for the night.
So what did I do wrong?
- My starting point in the city was terrible.
Starting at Surfers Paradise, inside the city, there wasn’t much traffic and only a fraction was going to the highway; it is best to take local transport to the edge of a city and reach a highway exit.
Gas stations are great as you can speak to drivers and when they realise you’re not going to murder them, they can be quite receptive. Also, it is often illegal to walk on the highway in many countries, so gas stations are great places to wait.
- Waiting in areas that are difficult for drivers to stop.
In Surfers Paradise, I started too close to the city and outside of Brisbane, I was on a high speed section of the highway. Pick a place that’s safe for everyone. Again, gas stations are great, highway exits work - just make sure you’re not on the highway. You can even wait at bus stops/stations.
- Trying to reach far away destinations without breaking up the trip.
If you are trying to cover a lot of distance, it is a good idea to split the journey into sections. Picking small cities or towns along a route will drastically increase your chances; it’s unlikely someone is driving the full distance. Try and stay out of cities once you’re on the road as it’s harder to get a ride within the metropolitan area.
If I had taken a bus to the edge of the city, aimed to reach the highway leading to Brisbane, taken the bypass around the city and been dropped on the other side, it is likely I could have made the whole trip in a day. I thought one car could take me the whole distance, when in fact, typically I need one or two cars per 100km (depending on the country I’m in).
A t-shirt can offer wonderful neck and ear protection
Other tips include:
- keep your valuables on your person, just in case someone drives off with your bag - it's NEVER happened to me or anyone I know.
- always write a sign in the local language/alphabet for you destination.
- show you are a traveller with props like a backpack, people are usually more receptive to travellers, students and internationals in general.
- don’t wear sunglasses, so drivers can see your eyes (it makes you more approachable and generally humanises you).
- don’t smoke, many people will drive right past as they don’t want the smell in their car.
- take plenty of water - you could be waiting a while.
- wear appropriate clothes, whether it’s scorching sun or freezing cold, you need to be prepared.
- carry a sleeping bag, just in case you don’t find a ride and have to sleep at a gas station.
While my record is 300km in 3 hours, with six cars, across 3 countries, I’ve met people who have hitchhiked 500km, 700km, 1000km and more in a day. It is possible to cover great distances in short periods of time and generally I find it quicker than catching a bus. In fact, I once gave away a train ticket as it was quicker to hitchhike in Romania.
From August 2017, I hitchhiked 4,500km across Eastern Europe and the Balkans - it was wonderful. I’ve been a passenger in over 100 different vehicles and even managed to hitchhike on several buses, trucks, an ambulance and a taxi. I haven’t attempted by sea or by plane, but I’m sure I will soon enough.
What’s wrong with this picture?
This post is to give you an insight into hitchhiking and importantly, the mistakes I made. Keep an eye out for further posts revealing, what’s been for me, a revolutionary way to travel.
If you enjoyed this, you may also like: Inside Mostar's Abandoned Sniper Tower & Abandoned Relics of War: Exploring a deserted Yugoslavian Aircraft Hangar.