Pounding the pavement the Irish way

Hitchhiking in New Zealand was once a national institution, but recently safety concerns highlighted by some serious attacks has seen this way of travel become viewed as dangerous and foolhardy.

But is it really?

In “Bluffing it : Discovering New Zealand by Thumb” , (Triangle Television, Ch. 41 Auckland, in two parts on August 6 and 13 at 9pm) Director Kristian O’Neill hitchhikes the length of New Zealand  - from Cape Reinga to Bluff.  The 2000km journey takes nine days, 12 rides and uncovers a host of remarkable characters often with unique outlooks on life.

Having migrated to New Zealand from Ireland, O’Neill wanted to learn more about the people and cultures of his new homeland and hitchhiking seemed to be the best way to tap into the people of the country’s heartland.

The documentary also explores the nature of hitchhiking itself.  Why do it? Is it purely to save money on travel, or do people enjoy the experience?  Is it dangerous? What kinds of people offer lifts and what kinds of people will drivers give lifts to? Is it better to hitch alone, or in pairs?

Along the way O’Neill discovers the answers to these questions from driver-hosts and other hitchers he’s met along the way.

Throughout the journey we meet a cross section of New Zealanders, from drivers to other hitchhikers, truckers, woodcutters, journalists and monks.  These people openly talk about their lives, their jobs and aspirations, hitchhiking and what it means to them to be a New Zealander.

The casual interviews include Richard Coulter, an 82-year-old Kaitaia farmer, who still works the same land as he’s done since the early 1940’s.

After having hitched a lift up to Cape Reinga and back with a forestry worker who’s broken his saw, O’Neill and his travelling companion return to the old farmstead again only to read a report about another hitchhiker, who has been attacked. This is too much for his companion who decides the experience is just too risky.

O’Neill however decides to continue and completes the journey alone.

“Bluffing it : Discovering New Zealand by Thumb” could be described as an anthropological road movie during which we learn about a different side to our own country, its customs and peoples and the joys and tribulations of hitchhiking.

“Bluffing it : Discovering New Zealand by Thumb” screens in two parts on Auckland’s Triangle Television on Monday August  6 and 13 at 9pm.