Brit twitchhikes length of New Zealand
31 Mar 2009
As the world’s first ‘twitchhiker’ Paul Smith neared his goal of travelling around the world in 30 days relying solely on the hospitality of the Twitter community, we tracked his movements south through New Zealand.
Kiwi hosts
Paul Smith’s New Zealand journey begins in Los Angeles as he boards a flight for the trip to Auckland. Air New Zealand, the first Kiwi hosts to pick up on his Twitter journey, offered business class travel for the flight across the Pacific, and it’s a good start to the New Zealand leg.
Tired from a whirlwind trip that has already taken him from his home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne into Europe and across the US, with constant tweeting and organisation of each step forward, he is happy to experience a service he describes as "nothing short of spectacular".
23 March, 2009
The Auckland stopover includes a trip to the beach at Piha on Auckland’s west coast - the first of a series of highlights recorded on the Twitchhiker blog: "We were plunged into the richest, most spectacular landscapes of my trip so far. For the people of Auckland, this is their backyard where they spend their weekends; for me, it was paradise found."
Having stayed at the SkyCity Grand "a sumptuous hotel in the heart of Auckland", the Twitchhiker met up with local media and fellow tweeps in what he described as "the grandest tweet-up to date" on the private patio of a local wine store, the Wine Vault.
He also dined 190 metres above ground in SkyCity’s revolving Orbit restaurant, before flying to Wellington for some capital city hospitality, and heading to the South Island.
24 March, 2009
The Twitchhiker crosses Cook Strait - the stretch of water that divides New Zealand's North and South islands - by InterIslander ferry and meets up with Kiwi Experience driver-guide @SmileyKiwi (Nathan Sims). 'Smiley' will chauffeur the Twitchhiker in a Maui campervan south towards Invercargill - the hoped-for launch pad to his ultimate destination, Campbell Island.
"The voyage ... was breathtaking ... trust me when I say the sight of dolphins jumping across the path of your ferry while travelling through the forested magnificence of the Marlborough Sounds will cause your jaw to loosen and your lungs to be gently squeezed empty of air."
From the port town of Picton, in the Marlborough Sounds, the day’s destination is Kaikoura on the east coast - a dramatic seaside settlement overlooked by the majestic Southern Alps to one side, and the rugged Pacific coastline on the other. This rugged landscape where marine mammals and seabirds flourish is New Zealand’s premium whale watching region, and a great place to absorb local culture, Māori history, and dine on fresh seafood.
Twitchhiker blogged: "This country is the world in high-definition - an infinite wash of shapes and colours, a cascading stream of contours and textures that overwhelms the senses, too much for the eye to comprehend or the brain to process. That is in no way a criticism, but rather a celebration of New Zealand."
25 March, 2009
Twitchhiker’s campervan route with his guide @SmileyKiwi - someone he’d "trust his life to" - is taking them down the east coast of the South Island to Christchurch in Canterbury, inland to Queenstown in Central Otago, then south to Invercargill in Southland.
He has been "overwhelmed by the scenery ... this place is like nowhere else. It’s so wonderous I could cry."
"... all roads on South Island are lonely; a land mass the size of the UK with only one million inhabitants means you’re unlikely to suffer road rage. As the sun set over the rolling foothills of the Southern Alps, ash-blue mists swirled in over the charcoal grey beaches. The occasional surfer tried their luck in the twilight, but otherwise we were alone on our travels."
On the way to Queenstown, the home of adventure tourism, he blogged: " ... smack in the heart of New Zealand and a journey that took us through the broken land of the Southern Alps. The sight of dolphins in the Marlborough Sounds had brought tears to my eyes; the distant Mount Cook seen from the shore of Lake Tepako caused them to roll down my face."
26 March, 2009
Twitchhiker heads to Invercargill at the southern-most point of New Zealand’s South Island, and a boat to Oban on Stewart Island: "a fleck of savage rock and fauna 20 miles off the tip of New Zealand ... with a single pub serving the 400 inhabitants called the South Seas Hotel, one of the most friendly, drunkard locals you could ever care to topple into."
Stewart Island is "an experience; no mobile phone, next-to-no internet. Isolation is quite comforting sometimes."
Time is running out. Twitchhiker doesn’t want to give up on his ultimate goal of reaching Campbell Island - a remote sub-Antarctic island 700 kms south of the South Island that's a UNESCO World Heritage site - but getting there might be more difficult than originally envisaged.
27 March, 2009
Still feeling the effects of the last sea crossing - "born 10 miles from Captain Cook, but with none of his sea-faring attributes" - Twitchhiker returns to Invercargill on the mainland.
The original destination of Campbell Island now seems out of the question: "[I] can't get to Campbell Island now. A boat takes three days and there are no landing strips, so I'm out of time."
"In recent days I’ve been frustrated that my quest might stop short of its destination, but now I’ve come this far, my view is more pragmatic. The aim was always to travel as far as I can from my home; wherever I manage to reach will invariably satisfy that aim."
30 March, 2009
Paul Smith aka Twitchhiker is heading back to Auckland, and there's a note of jubilation in his Twitter messages:
"You've done it. £5,075. Charity: water will be thrilled. Thank you so much everyone x ... the Twitchhiker project has ended 11,720 miles from home ... 11,000 followers, 1,000s of tweets, 100s of donations and over 40 tweeps with the goodwill to make it happen ... I travelled from Newcastle to Stewart Island relying on the goodwill of Twitter. Thank you everyone, I'm so very grateful #twitchhiker"
"Not sure twitchhiking can be done again, but there's maybe a way for Twitter to help everyone travel …"
PS: "… tempted to come back to NZ in Summer when scheduled trips to Campbell Island begin. Be good to finally reach it … Thanks to Ricki at @ExploreMoreNZ, @MauiRentals, @KiwiExperience and @SmileyKiwi for their help on the South Island - hugely appreciated!"
More information:
Twitchhiker gives Kiwi hospitality ultimate test
Twitchhiker has New Zealand in sight
Twitchhiker on Twitter
Twitchhiker blog
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