30 mins from Palmerston North is a quiet beach with a stretch of sand dunes. It was a cold but very calm day. Overall, a pleasant walk along the beach with the water gently lapping on the shores. On the way back, we picked up our first hitchhiker! A young lad stood at the junction of Himatangi Beach Road and SH1 carrying his backpack with this thumb out. It was an all too familiar sight and we knew we had to stop. 24 years old French backpackers was heading to Napier but we could only drop him off at Palmerston North. He talked about how much he enjoyed his WH, where he had been and the jobs he did. Although it was just a short ride and we couldn't take him to his final destination, he was still grateful and shook our hands. He reminded us of ourselves and being able to give others a ride now feels awesome.