I was on my way to tend to my green babies that Im transplanted recently when I had my first hitch hiker experience. Watch the transplanting video here. I didn’t have much space to do that in my backyard so, I transplanted them to a friend’s garden all the way in Fielding, 26 km away from me.
This post was first written on December 15, 2022. I just didn’t get to publishing it. Any time reference will be relative to that date.
My car was low on fuel thus, I stopped over at Waitomo fuel on Railway road, close the Palmerston North airport to fill up my tank before heading off to Fielding.
Less than 5 minute into my trip, I spotted a hitch hiker. Normally, I just ignore them and pass. Not because I’m not a kind person but because,
1: they always stand at the most inconvenient place for people to stop e.g., motorway
2: So, I’m most likely at high speed before I notice them
3: I’ve heard too many horror stories and watch similar movies that make me wary of them.
But, yesterday was different.
I spotted a hitch hiker in front of me, I just felt the need to stop. The weather was gloomy, dark clouds were beginning to form and rain was drizzling. So, I slowed down on approach and pulled over to the side of the road, wind down the glass and conversation began.
I could tell he was male from the distance and getting closer I confirmed he looked like unieh idung.
Hitchhiker: thank you so much
Me: Where are you heading? I’m heading to Fielding.
Hitchhiker: Yeah, that’s fine (proceeds to enter the car)
Me: (quickly removes things from my passenger seat to the back seat so he can seat. A lot of seats!! lol)
Hitchhiker: Thank you so much. I’ve been there for 2 hours. My bike broke down so I left it in the creek
Me: *not paying him and his talk any attention*. Also me, quickly realising “oh!! hope I didn’t just buy trouble”
He had a backpack, the kind that has seen better years. Had a hoodie jacket with a zip in the front that opens it up completely when you zip down.
So I asked him “where are you going?” He said “Bunnythorpe just before Fielding”. Surely that was right. The only issue here was, the route I took was a new one for me. I’ve only ever taken it twice and at both times, I wasn’t really paying attention to the road.
I was like “ok” then kept driving. I had no plans to engage him in any conversation. He explained his location in more details while I was driving and listening to him.
My car was smelling of the chicken and sheep pellets I bought, on my way to fielding, to fertilise my garden. So, when he wound up the window (recall it was drizzling), I told him not to cos I got sheep pellets and you may choke. That was just one reason, the other reason was that I had started panicking due to his behaviour after he got into the car.
I wasn’t worried until I noticed something he was doing that immediately activated by fight or flight mood. He had put down his backpack but kept his hand in his jacket front pocket. I could hear him jiggling something that sounded metallic and the whole time he was very uneasy like someone who is using.
My mind quickly thought “Could he have a pen knife in his pocket?’ OMG!!! Is he about to rob me!!”
The road was a country road but there were cars in front and behind me. I thought to myself “if he tries something different, we both will have an accident cos I WILL CRASH the car”
I kept hearing the jiggling and observing his restlessness so I decided, I’ll drop him off in the next town which was in view. Funny thing, that next town was Bunnythorpe. My anxiety reduced a bit but the way he was staring at my phone (used it for navigation hence, it was on the air vent in between myself and him).
I asked him again ” Where in Bunnythorpe are you dropping?” (did this while moving my phone from between us to my side like I wanted to input the address in the map)
Hitchhiker: you know where the rails are. Are you going to cross the rail line?
Me: Okay. In Fielding?
Hitchhiker: “yeah just by the rail line. (he said something in that direction)
At this time, he had stopped jiggling the object in his pocket
Anyway, we were about to pass the town and my plan was I will drop him off before entering the country side part of the road again. Then, I spotted a rail line, I was like “hmmm, this guy was prolly not lying after all”
In that same moment, he asked that I drop him off before we cross the rail line. Phew!! GLADLY. He thanked me and left.
I guess I panicked for nothing. These are my deductions anyway. Maybe
1 he did that to deter me, in case I also had evil plans for him
2 he just felt awkward and didn’t know his restlessness was building panick
3 he really wanted to rob me but changed his mind
4 he was actually using and that helps him calm down
What ever the reason, my heartrate had increased and survival mode was activated. I mentioned it to my friend and he warned me never to do that again.
Have you picked up a hitch-hiker or been a hitch-hiker before? Share your experience.
