hitch-hiking stories

shedcoupe · 02-05-2011, 09:25 AM

I have a few of my own but here's some other tales .....

Driving south from Townsville in I picked up an American guy from Pittsburgh - would've been in his late 20's and was in thongs, shorts, and a t-shirt.
He was carrying just a small Adidas bag in which he had a few shirts and a pair of jeans, socks, jocks, and hankies, and some boots.
With such a little load I assumed that he wasn't going far, as typical (read 'inexperienced') travellers carried enormous backpacks, but no, he'd been on the road around the world for about 7 years, living cheap and working when necessary, and, get this, still managing to send money back to his old widowed mother.
He was a nice bloke, a born-again Christian but not a wowser - he liked a drink and a smoke and enjoyed the company of loose women.
He was a very positive guy without being annoying, and told me some stories which I don't recall, but which indicated that he was one of those guys who usually get the best out of any situation without being selfish.
I was boarding with a lovely family and night was coming, so he stayed with us and I put him out on the highway the next morning.
Six months later I ran into him in Darwin, and asked what he'd been up to and what had sort of ride he'd got after I dropped him off.
Turned out that a car stopped about 5 minutes after I dropped him off, and a gorgeous young woman said 'jump in'.
She was driving from Cairns back to Sydney and had just had a massive fight with her dork boyfriend, and had chuckd him out an hour before.
So they travelled down to Sydney where she basically tied him to her bed and used him mercilessly for a week or two, the poor bloke.
Then he wound up in Shepparton looking for fruit-picking work where a farmer gave him a house to himself rent-free and a heap of work. Dunno if he was forced to sleep with the farmer's daughter ......

Another tale - a girl I knew in Darwin was delivering a Kombi to Perth - a mate of a mate had left it there, had flown to Perth urgently, and wanted it back.
She asked me to come for the ride - I was supposed to go to Sydney to appear in court, but had a girlfriend in Perth and Kombi-girl was cute, so I thought 'why not ?'.
Somewhere between Kunnunura and Hall's Creek (ie. the middle of nowhere) was a skinny little bloke about 50 with his thumb out, and yes, thongs, shorts, t-shirt and a little Adidas bag. Looked like he didn't have a cent to his name, but it was hot and he looked needy so we stopped.
Turned out that he'd had a blue with the family in Melbourne 30 years before, jumped in the HR and just kept driving until he reached Wave Hill station where he'd been ever since as a contract fencer.
Every year he went to Perth (where he owned a heap of houses) around that time to stay with his sister for a holiday. That year he'd driven out of Wave Hill, over a crest, and straight into a giant scrub bull which caused the old HR to burst into flames, destroying all his property including his wallet.
So after a day in the dust someone found him and he wound up in Wyndham hospital where the matron gave him a bag of op-shop clothes and a packet of sandwiches and sent him on his way.
He had no money or ID, and it was a Sunday, so we fed him, bought him some smokes, gave him some money, and dropped him off in Broome.
The next day we left Broome late, and saw him hitching again. The poor bloke couldn't get any money from his bank in Broome despite having squillions in his account, and was told to go to Port Hedland instead ! So we took him there. Appearances can be deceptive it seems.

So, anyone got some good stories to share ?

trippytaka · 02-05-2011, 09:44 AM

I thought this was going to end up like Penthouse forums...

Iggypoppin' · 02-05-2011, 10:50 AM

Two christmas' ago I was visiting a mate who's brother had been killed several years prior, and his birthday was Christmas day. I go up every year around 8.30 to have breakfast and take the families mind off things.
As I was driving home on flagstaff road, I saw a guy in what appeared to be a very expensive suit standing on the side of the road with his thumb up, looked about 35, seemed harmless enough, so it being Christmas morning I pulled over to see if I could help. I put the window down and asked him where to.
"just down near cross roads mate, if it's no trouble."
"no problem buddy, it's a bit out of my way but I can make an exception on Christmas day."
so he jumps in and straight away I can tell he's been on the booze all night. I made a quip about it and he explains he was partying with some friends at a house party, partied too hard and woke up on the side of the road near the happy valley reservoir. No wallet, no phone, no keys. Turns out the guy is actually quite a rich bloke, ran a company that manufactured fittings or something and invested wisely elsewhere and was now reaping the benefits. I loaned him my phone to cancel his credit cards and when I got to his destination(brothers house) he told me to wait for a minute. He ran in and came out moments later with two $50 bills, said thankyou and merry Christmas and said I was a total champ!!
I couldn't believe it, all I'd done was help a bloke out. It was a very nice Christmas present nonetheless and I wouldn't mind meeting him again actually.

**buggerlugs** · 02-05-2011, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trippytaka

I thought this was going to end up like Penthouse forums...

It still might...........

Cam · 02-05-2011, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trippytaka

I thought this was going to end up like Penthouse forums...

I once picked up a Russian hitch hiker in Airlie Beach, her name was "Naila"..

Always wished I did....

Jim Goose · 02-05-2011, 11:49 AM

I onced passed a hitch hiker.....

hiper · 02-05-2011, 01:35 PM

not really a hitchhiking story.. more of a camping story. (no, not band camp)
this happened about 12-14 years ago i think.. i was a little kid at the time

the family was camping down at Point Hicks (south east vic.).
we saw a guy come into the camp ground on a nice, dusty road bike.
he didnt have much gear. looked like mostly clothes and bizarrely, canadian flag pins and other canadian stuff.

he was on his way to melbourne from sydney and was taking the scenic route.
some kind local had suggested he go and see the point hicks light house... "its just a little ways down that road".
a little way (couple of hours i think) down a corrugated dirt road... and he was on a nice road bike that was getting shaken to bits.

anyways. we invited him to share dinner as it didnt look like he had any food and swapped stories around the camp fire.

he did end up going to see the lighthouse the next day and continued on his way

he sent us a few post cards as he was going the rest of the way around australia and a couple more once he had got home to canada.

**Elks** · 02-05-2011, 02:20 PM

Don't see many hitch-hikers any more...Damn you Ivan Milat.

V8 6I · 02-05-2011, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trippytaka

I thought this was going to end up like Penthouse forums...

Do they talk about penthouses on the Penthouse forums?Like we talk about cars?

dylancox · 02-05-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shedcoupe

Turned out that a car stopped about 5 minutes after I dropped him off, and a gorgeous young woman said 'jump in'....

So they travelled down to Sydney where she basically tied him to her bed and used him mercilessly for a week or two, the poor bloke.

She was a gorgeous young woman, and she tied him to her bed and used him mercilessly (is this some idiom that I've never heard or was it literally??). You call him a poor bloke

Quote:

Originally Posted by shedcoupe

That year he'd driven out of Wave Hill, over a crest, and straight into a giant scrub bull which caused the old HR to burst into flames, destroying all his property including his wallet.
So after a day in the dust someone found him and he wound up in Wyndham hospital where the matron gave him a bag of op-shop clothes and a packet of sandwiches and sent him on his way.
He had no money or ID, and it was a Sunday, so we fed him, bought him some smokes, gave him some money, and dropped him off in Broome.
The next day we left Broome late, and saw him hitching again. The poor bloke couldn't get any money from his bank in Broome despite having squillions in his account, and was told to go to Port Hedland instead ! So we took him there. Appearances can be deceptive it seems.

Hmm, how does getting into a car accident in an old HR cause someone to lose "all his property", unless that HR was his only house and he lived in it. I thought he owned many properties in Perth.

Ben73 · 02-05-2011, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dylancox

Hmm, how does getting into a car accident in an old HR cause someone to lose "all his property", unless that HR was his only house and he lived in it. I thought he owned many properties in Perth.

His car got burnt out.
He lost all the property that was in his car, so he was wandering in the desert with 'nothing'

wicksy · 02-05-2011, 08:15 PM

picked up some random hobo looking person reeked of pot and grog, shouted him tickets to bathurst and left him there

GreenMachine · 02-05-2011, 08:28 PM

Last time I picked up a hitchhiker was in Northen NSW, 11pm on the night of my birthday five or so years ago. Pretty sure it ended in a murder investigation. True story, there's a thread on it here somewhere!

Edit - Thread must be on the old forums. But some members here might remember the story. I'm not really a psycho (promise!)

shedcoupe · 02-05-2011, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elks

Don't see many hitch-hikers any more...Damn you Ivan Milat.

Okay, here's one of mine -

Hitching up Silly Street (the Hume Highway) from Melbourne to Sydney around 1985 I was picked up by a guy in a Pajero.
Usually when beginning a ride there's an ice-breaking suss-you-out conversation, and then it goes on from there and usually all good.
I'd had plenty of good-to-excellent rides before but this guy was different.
I'd had very very friendly guys suggesting 'a swim' or 'you can bunk with me tonight' and a simple 'no thanks mate' would be accepted gracefully with no hard feelings either way.
One guy (old, but big) had even said "I don't want any trouble" and then pulled a Croc Dundee-sized bowie knife out from under the seat to reinforce the idea. I realised that he was anxious and reassured him that all I wanted was transport and wasn't planning to cause trouble, so he relaxed and it was all good from there on. No worries at all.
But Mr Pajero was different. Didn't talk and seemed remote somehow.
After a while I started to get creeped out and started to feel frightened which was a bit of a shock as I generally don't do 'scared'.
I decided to get out ASAP which is a bit difficult at 100 km/h.
The (silent) atmosphere just got electric and more electric, to the point that my leg hairs would've lifted me off the seat.
The Gundagai servo was approaching, and about a millisecond before I was about to say that I needed the toilet badly (nearly true) and "can we please stop here", he said "stopping for fuel" and pulled in. I got out fast. Don't recall if he said anything more but I was freaking a bit. Kept hitching of course.

Years later after all the Milat stuff had been and gone I remembered that ride and wondered about it. Similar vehicle and area, same era, and the guy looked like him too.
Maybe I was extremely lucky.
But I had a lot of good rides in those 4 lost-in-space years too, and some were enjoyably crazy.

FTe342 · 02-05-2011, 08:41 PM

When AFF member T3man sees a hitch-hiker he pulls up and puts his helmut on, asking "do you need a lift?"

buggo · 02-05-2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FTe342

When AFF member T3man sees a hitch-hiker he pulls up and puts his helmut on, asking "do you need a lift?"

lol, Once there was a hitchiker, we pulled up and said need a lift?, he said yeah so we chucked him a can of Lift and drove off. I thought it was funny but then i felt like a drink later. Dumb smart **** kid

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggypoppin'

Two christmas' ago I was visiting a mate who's brother had been killed several years prior, and his birthday was Christmas day. I go up every year around 8.30 to have breakfast and take the families mind off things.
As I was driving home on flagstaff road, I saw a guy in what appeared to be a very expensive suit standing on the side of the road with his thumb up, looked about 35, seemed harmless enough, so it being Christmas morning I pulled over to see if I could help. I put the window down and asked him where to...

I was freaking out then, I thought you were going to say it was your mates Brother.

There is a road near my way, and the story is (I've heard many first hand accounts so I'm fairly confident it's true) that as your driving on this road, (old long country road) and come around this one long sweeping bend, you'll see a hitch hiker. And as you do you pull over.
The hitch hiker is a girl in her late teens. Just an average girl. And she hops in (but only if there's only one person in the car and no other cars around)
Anyway she strikes up a conversation about the song on the radio etc, just small talk, then she'll say 'I remember the last time I was hear', and she says how she was with a bloke and that she was killed. So you start freaking out, and when you glance away for a bit, she'll be gone.

No joke I'm dead set. I wanna try it but I know I'll poo myslef.

Riksta · 03-05-2011, 12:05 AM

I had two drunk chics bail me up at the Bay when I was chucking Baynies one night. Wanted a ride to town. No problems, jump in.

Then they wanted to go home.

Which was an hour in the opposite direction to what I was going. Then an hour and a half home.

Being the nice guy I am, they made it home safely.

shedcoupe · 03-05-2011, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riksta

IBeing the nice guy I am, they made it home safely.

Recently I saw a girl hitching from the middle of town. I figured that she wasn't an experienced hitcher and wasn't planning on going out of town, but stopped and offered to take her to the outskirts. She wanted to stay where she was, and told me that she was despo to get to Bunbury to catch the train to Perth to get a flight to Cairns to meet her family flying in from France, who she hadn't seen for months.
Nearly an hour later she was still there, and as she had an African appearance thought that she might find it a bit difficult to get a lift (yes, bs, but go figure), so I took her to the railway station just in time to get to Cairns.
But didn't win lotto that night for being good.

Also gave a German girl a lift through Bunbury - she'd been in Margaret River and was heading to Perth. Said 'let's put your pack in the back' but she didn't want to - I wondered why but then realised that she was probably afraid of being pushed out of the car without her pack by a thief.

A few days ago I gave a French kid a lift. Just out of school and had a massive backpack like all beginner-travellers. His English was not much better than my French, so didn't talk much. He had a sign written in biro saying 'Albany', so when I dropped him off I wrote on the corner of it in small letters 'Albany = bon' , 'Albany please = tres bon' (ie. add 'please' for better results) and 'google these pigs - Alain Mafart and Dominique Prieur'. (They did time in NZ for the Rainbow Warrior stunt.)
Just my little bit of terrorism for the day. But I did give him a black marker pen so he could do decent signs.