Hitchhiking in New Zealand: Kashmiri family in Auckland

Hitchhiking in New Zealand: Kashmiri family in Auckland

21st of July, 2025.

My plan is simple: to get a lift to either the airport or somewhere nearby from where I can hitchhike again. Two women stop their cars and offer me a lift, but they are not going to Auckland. After sometime, Raheemin stop his truck. I was not expecting what was about to come.

I can see in Raheemin’s eyes that he’s a very kind man. His whole energy is also very good and I can tell that he likes to help. He tells me he can drop me off at the airport, but I ask him about what time he thinks we can make it there (that’s because in many countries the trucks must drive slower than regular cars, which delay any trip a lot), and he asks me what time is my flight. When I tell him that it’s only tomorrow, and that I’m only sleeping at the airport tonight, he says that we can make to the airport before 16.00 hours for sure. That’s fine by me! One thing I learned about hitchhiking in New Zealand is that you must take any lifts which are going more than one hour on your way.

As we start taking, I tell Raheemin that I can speak a bit of Hindi. Oh, he’s from Kashmir, living and working here for the past two years, with his family. He works for a truck company, and lives very near to the airport, with his wife, his baby girl of five years old, and two friends from Kashmir.

Soon enough after I tell him all about my journey, he invites me to come and spend the night in his house with his family. I tell him that I must be very early at the airport, meaning I would have to leave his house soon before 6 a.m., he immediately agrees and says he can drop me off at the airport that time. I have no reasons to deny then, and I accept.

We stop by his working place, to unload the truck and put my backpacks in his car. I thought we would just get out of the truck and go to his car, but instead, we will first drive the truck to a mechanic shop, because there are some repairs to be done. I feel really bad for not having my backpack with me. After last year, when my backpack was stolen, I should keep it all the time with me. I know Raheemin is a good and honest man, but other people might not be. I should be more careful.

When we are on the way to his house, Raheemin gives me some money. My first instinct is to refuse, and I do, but as he keeps insisting, and says I’m his little sister, and that’s their culture in Kashmir, the brothers help the little sister, I finally decide to accept. Plus, I’ve promised Karina I would accept everything that the universe gives to me.

We pick up his daughter, Raima, from school and his wife, Shabnam, from work. At their home, I have a delicious chai with biscuits, while Raheemin prepares dinner. I play with Raima, who is 5 years old, and I meet his other two friends living with him. Everybody is very nice.

The food is absolutely delicious, and it tastes like yogurt, which is amazing. And we have it with rice and yogurt. I’m hungry and I eat a lot. I’m stuffed!

I tell Raheemin that I just want to cut my hair before going to sleep, and then he calls a friend, Abdul, who also work at the same company as him, but is a barber from time to time. They talk for maybe one minute only, and his friend says he will come. Wow!

So after dinner, Abdul arrives and he’s a bit shy. I think he has never cut a foreigner’s hair, even more a lady’s hair, because he seems a bit nervous. But he does a great job and I really like it.

We all go to sleep quite late. I stay in one of the bedrooms by myself, while one of the guys who was sleeping in here stay downstairs.

I get up around 5 a.m. and have a shower. Then I finish packing my things. Middle time, Raheemin prepares a wonderful fried egg sandwich for me, as I would testify later at the airport. It’s so yummy! With the sandwich and everything else packed, we leave the house quarter to six. We reach the airport around 6 o’clock and I say goodbye to this amazing human being who the universe put on my way.