TWO NURSES ON HITCH-HIKE TOUR FIND KINDNESS ABOUNDING IN N.Z.

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22818, 13 December 1948, Page 4

TWO NURSES ON HITCH-HIKE TOUR FIND KINDNESS ABOUNDING IN N.Z.

“Riding high” in a grader, covering the miles in a milk v agon, sailing into "Wellington in a “super do luxe Hudson,” sitting on a roll of netting, sharing the back of a truck with four sheep clogs, and riding on a multitude of other vehicles, two Auckland muses have covered most of the North Island on a hitch-hiking tom and arrived in Gisborne at the week-end.

They left, again this morning, kind friends having taken them out. to the coast road and deposited them somewhere near Pouawa. With supreme confidence, born of kindness already received from strangers, they carry no sleeping bags or sleeping gear of any sort, and are blithely convinced that this evening they will be sleeping comfortably somewhere. Their chief preoccupation when they left Gisborne was to see the pohutakawa trees in bloom along the coast. Their route has taken them, so far from Auckland through the King Country to New Plymouth, to Wellington, Napier and Gisborne. This evening. if they are lucky, they may be at Opotiki or at least, they hope, Te Araroa. They carry quite small packs and wear stout shoes, not tramping boots. Cooking gear like billies and tea is also carried, apparently in preference to any sort of sleeping gear. So far. their faith in the kindness of their fellow countrymen lias been more than justified, and their “On the Road” books, which each carries, are full ot the signatures of people who have given them lifts or who have “hostessed” them in any way. In common with most other hitchhikers. they find that men drivers are more willing than women to give lifts. On Friday they were bound for Gis-

borne and had got only as far as the Devil’s Elbow when they decided to sit down and wait for a lift rather than continue walking. While there, they whiled away the time by expressing" their opinion of women drivers who never gave hitch-hikers a lift, an amusing occupation which was hastily concluded when a car driven by a woman came to a stop. She enquired whore the travellers were bound for and obligingly brought them right through to Gisborne. Their views on women drivers underwent a slight change! Odd incidents such as these have made their tour —(so far it has lasted. just over two weeks)—a most entertaining one. The prize for kindness so far received, though, has been given to the custodian of the rest room in a small, southern Hawkes Bay town. The girls had nowhere to sleep and finding couches in the rest room, asked the custodian if they could use them. They were given permission, provided they came back later, because the rooms were open to the public until finite late. The hitch-hikers cheerfully went to the pictures and when they returned, found the couches provided with sheets and blankets, ready madeup. Tliis act of kindness was only overshadowed next morning when their new friend presented them with breakfast in bed —in the rest room!