Clubbing in Nelson

I hitchhike from Golden Bay back to Nelson. It’s much better on the South Island. I need a good four hours for 160 kilometres and nice drivers from Jena, Israel and Holland. I arrive in Nelson exactly five minutes before Georg and Arnulf. I still know Georg from Fiji and we’ll be touring the South Island together for the next few days.

We take another hostel right on the beach, there are far fewer children here. Georg and Arnulf are both 26, which is old for world travellers and a real blessing for me – as much as I like travelling with younger people. We hang out on the beach and play poker. Then they also go to Abel Tasman National Park for a day. Meanwhile, I wander around Nelson.

In the evening, we want to celebrate our last night in a real city. Nelson is just right for this. Numerous bars and clubs, all in one street. A drag queen chained to the back of a lorry is driven through the city. The pill shops are still supplying the party crowd due to slow legislation. A Japanese woman practises a handstand on the pavement in her mini. She only makes it halfway, but that’s okay. Afterwards she smooches about 20 men.

We go to a club where the music is all over the place. Sometimes rock, then techno, then hip hop. The mix is right, the crowd goes wild, the bouncer is a gorilla and the Brits are, as always, booze chokes.

I watch the Kiwi courtship rituals, compare them with British and other nations. Watch people crashing and breaking up. We stand there until the end. Then I realise that I have no more money for a taxi. On the 5 kilometres over to Tahunanui, of course, no car stops after three in the rain.

The next day I continue southwards. On the 350 kilometres to the west coast, we take in the longest suspension bridge in New Zealand at 160 metres in Buller Gorge. The Kiwi word for it is “swing bridge”. The vibrations are not good for my skull and stomach, which were badly damaged the night before. My condition doesn’t improve until I arrive in Hokitika in the evening. I fall into bed at five and sleep for 14 hours straight.