At this point in time, I still didn't know that it would be important to book hostels in advance....... Quickly learned that trick. Anyway -- all I knew was that I wanted to get down the West Coast and be in Queenstown somewhere in the last week of February because I wanted to Bungy Jump the original bridge - Kawarau Bridge, 43m.
So... I stuck out my thumb, and got picked up by two girls from Israel. They were heading South along the coast and so I pitched in with gas and made some new friends. They gave me a lift to a little town called Greymouth, where I treated myself to a single bed room (typically if I'm in hostels I am with 5-6 other people in bunkbed rooms.) I had a bath, ate a hamburger, did some laundry (still didn't get the stink out of my clothes...) I even watched T.V...... For a whole 15 minutes till the noise was just too much to take. I slept so, so good that night.
The next morning they were kind enough to give me another lift down the coast to a town called Franz Josef. I had no idea how long I wanted to stay there, but found this FANTASTIC hostel called the "Chateau Franz" through Sir Cedrics Backpackers. I camped at the hostel the first night, then scored a room for 2 or 3 nights after. I fell in love with Franz Josef. The entire town is probably 2 streets by 2. It is fantastic. They do free soup in the evenings, free breakfast (toast and coffee) in the mornings, and... FREE WIFI! They know how to lure starving, broke backpackers in.
Each town here teaches me something different. Each has their own distinct vibe, purpose, and I keep seeing reasons for why I am in each town at whatever point I'm in... It is beautiful.