Frenchman’s epic tantrum after New Zealand hitchhike fail

Cedric Claude Rene Rault-Verpre admitted destroying road signs out of frustration at being stranded in the South Island tourist destination of Punakaiki for so long.

A French hitchhiker attacked road signs in the South Island because he was angry with his ex-lover, not because New Zealanders wouldn’t give him a lift, locals say.

‘I’ve been to 80 countries, ‘ he added. “The worst part of the USA – the worst American is not an asshole like a New Zealander”.

A court source told the Herald that Rault-Verpre indicated that he would hitchhike across the Southern Alps to Christchurch.

However, local man Neil Mouat, who alerted police to the man, said he didn’t believe Rault-Verpre was a genuine hitch-hiker and believed there was more to the story as he was acting “strangely”.

The traveler is accused of wrecking road signs and hurling abuse at passing drivers, reports the Guardian.

He told judges at the Greymouth District Court on Tuesday that nobody bothered to offer him water during his long wait.

They said he took one out of the ground and threw it in the nearby Punakaiki River and hurled large rocks at another.

Fulton Hogan, the company that owns the signs, is seeking NZ$3,000 (US$2,194) in reparations.

Yesterday, Senior Sergeant Paul Watson said: “He could have started walking, he would have been in Franz Josef by now”.

A staff member from the Punakaiki Visitor Centre said the tourist had been seen carrying around a big plastic bag and sleeping on Punakaiki Beach.

She first saw him on Saturday afternoon when driving home from work.

He also disputed the value of the signs he damaged, saying: “It isn’t even worth NZ$100”.

Hitchhiking can be an exhilarating experience for the brazen, but a frustrated Frenchman travelling in New Zealand has found it to be quite the ordeal.

“If you do decide to hitchhike, police strongly advise you not to travel alone”, the spokeswoman said.