A Hitchhiker’s Guide To Australia

While Ivan Milat and Wolf Creek have given hitchhiking a bad name, I’ve only ever had positive experiences with it. There’s something special about getting picked up off the side of the road by a total stranger and finding that they’re actually a lovely person who will drive you somewhere for free. It’s an unpredictable and interesting mode of travel.

Growing up on the North Coast of NSW, where public transport is severely lacking and there’s an abundance of people who are more than happy to share their vehicles, hitchhiking became a regular part of my life.

I often hitched to the beach, to friends’ places, and if I missed the bus, I’d hitch to school. I learned a lot from the great teachers of the highway, and the best thing about it is it’s free, and an adventure accessible to anyone.

Here are some tips and tales of thumbing around the sunburnt country.

The good times

The best ride I ever got was from Melbourne to Lorne, which is a three-hour trip down the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. My friends and I got picked up by a couple in their late 20s who were going to work at the Falls Music and Arts Festival.

They fed us cheese, olives and crackers, as well as red wine straight from the bottle, while they drove us down one of the most picturesque roads in the world.

When we got there, they snuck us into the festival for free. We spent New Years Eve watching The Kooks play to 10,000 people and it was freaking awesome.

Dude, isn’t that illegal?

In most states, hitching is essentially legal, as long as you’re not obstructing traffic and there is a safe space for cars to stop. Generally, this means that if you want a ride down the highway, you need to hitch from the entry point or a footpath, rather than on the motorway itself.

This is a much safer and more sensible option, and because the cars are going slower, it makes it easier for them to stop and pick you up.

In Western Australia though, it’s actually illegal to hitchhike, though according to hitch wiki, this is rarely enforced.

Safety first

Obviously soliciting rides from strangers requires a degree of common sense. Here are some other things to remember:

• Just because somebody pulls over and offers you a ride doesn’t mean you have to take it. If you get a sketchy vibe from the driver, or the car looks like one of the wheels might fall off, or there’s no seatbelt, you can always wait for the next one.
• Hitching works best between country towns, rather than in or out of cities. If you need to hitch out of a city, it’s best to take public transport to fringes and go from there.
• I’ve found hitchhiking works well in pairs, preferably with one male and one female. Female friends have told me they don’t feel safe hitching alone, which is totally understandable (though it’s bit sad that gender equality is still lacking in some aspects of life). Either way boys and girls, hitching with a partner is probably safer than going alone. 
• As the scouts say, be prepared. Pack some water, snacks and if you’re going a long distance, maybe even a sleeping bag.

All in all, hitching is a damn good time. You get to have authentic experiences with local people, get their perspectives on life and you get to travel for free. You also get an opportunity to travel to beautiful and unexpected places you probably never expected to see.

by Nat Kassel