After a very unfortunate event on the farm (into which I shall not delve for it would take me a long time to explain) I was suddenly plonked in the middle of the tiny town of La Trobe at 10 am on Easter Monday with a barely charged phone, a bag of food and no accommodation. However, thanks to the wonders of phone hotspot and 3G, I was able to book a bus to the next city; Devonport. In Devonport I then proceeded to find a cafe, order a delicious turmeric latte, call my mother and, of course, cry my eyes out. Lets just say it had been a very rough day. The owner of the cafe passed by and gave me a slice of fudge with a little note saying to feel better; faith in humanity restored. After a very therapeutic call to my mom and having booked into a hostel I settled in for the night. The next morning, bright and early I set off on the road with one goal in mind; get to Hobart where other girls from my university were currently traveling and said I could tag along with them until they left on Thursday. So I parked myself on the side of the road and popped my thumb up for the first time in my life. Also side note; I have the actual “hitchhikers thumb” (it bends back more than normal). After only around 15 minutes I was picked up by a wonderful Thai woman named Bo. She took me down to a town called Perth, saying that people going to Hobart always passed through it so I would have no problem finding a ride. The next lift I got was from another woman named JC who drove me until
I only waited a few minutes before I heard someone calling from behind, I turned around to see that a car had stopped and the driver was trying to get my attention! It was Simon, a local who drives from Launceston (said Lonnie) to Hobart every week because he studied in Lonnie but goes home to his mom in Hobart when he doesn’t have class. He dropped me off in Richmond where I would meet the other girls and offered his house if we ever needed it. Obviously we took him up on that offer. After a delicious chicken burger dinner, we settled into the luxury of real beds for a good nights sleep.
I must say as my first day hitchhiking, I could not have been more optimistic about it and about the kindness of Tasmanians.
No mud, no lotus 