A 27-year-old French tourist allegedly went crazy in the small New Zealand fishing town of Punakaiki last week, after he tried unsuccessfully for four days to get a lift.
The traveler is accused of wrecking road signs and hurling abuse at passing drivers, reports the Guardian.
According to police, he had been hitchhiking his way around the country for sometime before he was left without a ride for four straight days in Punakaiki — a town that is home to just 70 year-round residents.
Neil Mouat, a local who called the police, told Guardian reporters the man “threw an absolute hissy fit” before trading barbs with an elderly fisherman.
“He was a spoilt millennial, and he created a hell of a din,” Mouat added. “But all that time he was standing in the wrong place to hitchhike – a corner with poor visibility and nowhere for cars to easily pull over.”
The Guardian reports that the tourist is currently on bail, having been charged with willful damage and had his passport confiscated. There is no word yet on whether he will try to hitchhike to his court hearing.
[Guardian]
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