An Australian comedian and content creator has commended Department of Conservation staff who reunited him with his wallet, 100km north of where he left it.
Christian Hull was a finalist for the Best Digital Content award at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts in 2021 and has amassed millions of followers across his social media channels.
He is journeying through Aotearoa in a custom-fit van, named Patsy, and sharing footage of his experiences and anecdotes.
In a recent video, Hull recounted the disappearance of his wallet on the day he drove 100km from Haast to Franz Josef.
“It was like 27 degrees, the sun was out, it was beautiful, it was just the most stunning day,” he told followers.
“I was stopping at every conceivable point to look and film and appreciate.”
Australian comedian and content creator Christian Hull lost his wallet during a day of filming at several stops between Haast and Franz Josef on the West Coast.
During the drive, Hull said he visited Ship Creek, Knights Point Lookout and Lake Paringa, then “high-tailed it” to Franz Josef ahead of a jade-carving class.
“I get to Ship Creek and I’ve got the tripod, I’m doing all the s***, my wallet comes off the back of my phone.
“I don’t know how and why, but it had fallen out of the door and on to the car park, and then I drove away.”
Hull said he initially thought the wallet had been swallowed under things in his van, but realised it was missing after searching the next day.
Speaking to the Herald, Hull said he was shocked he was able to get it back.
“My initial thought was, ‘f*** I’ve dropped it somewhere’,” he said.
He said he was panicking as it contained a business credit card with no limit and his driver’s licence.
“I didn’t want to cancel my cards because I don’t have any other way to pay while I’m on holiday.”
However, he admitted he was mostly upset about losing the actual wallet as it helps him take “really good selfies”.
“The wallet was the thing that I really wanted back the most,” he said.
“It was bound to happen because I’m pretty useless and I’m a bit of a disaster ... I knew this would happen and I didn’t think I’d get it back.”
Robin Manera, a DoC ranger in Haast, told the Herald he was working at Ship Creek with his offsider Haley, “cutting the grass and tidying up the grounds and all the rest of it”, when Hull took off in his van.
“Another one pulled up, and they picked up a wallet and brought it across the carpark and gave it to us.
“It had some ID in it ... Hayley recognised him as being somebody who was on social media, so we had a look at that and saw he’d been in Haast overnight.”
The DoC duo attempted to track Hull down, driving to the top of their run at Lake Paringa, but they just missed him.
The pair phoned holiday parks and tracked Hull down at a Franz Josef facility.
Manera left his contact details and, subsequently, the pair made plans over the phone to get the wallet back to its rightful owner.
“I sent the wallet up with my wife the next day,” Manera said.
“She works for DoC as well, she was going to the Franz office to work for the day and he went in and picked it up.
“He was pretty happy, but to be fair, it’s a pretty common sort of thing down here ... things get handed into us all the time and then get returned.”
While not previously aware of the influencer, Manera said Hull has been “doing a bloody good job of promoting the West Coast and, well, all of New Zealand” to his online audience.
Hull said he gave Manera and the team “a huge thank you” for returning the wallet, gifting them a bottle of Bluff-distilled gin for their efforts.
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