Thief takes all tourist’s possessions
A German tourist had her passport, valuables and other possessions stolen when the car she was travelling in was broken into outside the Pelorus Bridge Cafe.
Katja Bruenner and Nelson friend Albie Sharples parked outside the cafe about 7pm on Thursday to walk to a nearby waterfall.
Mr Sharples said it was only a 15-minute walk, so they were gone for about 30 minutes.
When they returned, the driver’s window of his car had been smashed and Ms Bruenner’s three bags had been stolen. The car’s subwoofer speaker was also taken.
‘‘Everything has gone – my passport, my personal clothes, my laptop, my bankcards and my tickets home,’’ Ms Bruenner said.
She said she was in New Zealand for a month-long holiday and did not have travel insurance.
She was not worried about recovering most of her personal pos- sessions, but really wanted to get her black Lenovo laptop and the photos it contained back.
Yesterday, she was going to sort out the situation with her German bank and buy some new clothes.
The theft has been reported to police.
Ms Bruenner said the situation ‘‘sucked’’, but it had not put her off New Zealand.
Pelorus Bridge Cafe owner Craig Neal said the last time a car was broken into outside the cafe was several years ago.
The cafe was closed at the time of the theft.
There was a public toilet near where the car was parked, and it was likely that someone passing through the area had taken the bags in an opportunistic theft, Mr Neal said.
He said tourists should keep their bags out of sight in vehicles, and take their valuables with them.