A French hitchhiker who it seems spent four days trying to get a lift out of Punakaiki without success ended up getting a lift from police, in handcuffs, after allegedly venting his fury on local roads signs e police after the man apparently took his frustration out on road signs, throwing one of them into the Punakaiki River.
Japanese hitchiker, Mamo Takaishi, who had all his belongings taken by someone who gave him a lift. Photo: supplied
Hitch-hiking has declined around the world. "There is no 'safe' place to hitchhike anywhere in the world" anymore, says Tom Mercer of Let's Go Publications, but evidently in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and China people still do it.
One Japanese man, Mamo Takaishi was hitch-hiking in Kawakawa, when the person who had picked him up, drove off with all his stuff while he was having a toilet break.
