French EV tour finds charging help

Two French students on a seven-month electric vehicle tour of New Zealand have found Kiwis helpful in areas where charging has proved difficult.

Heloise de Bokay and Solene Trinquet contacted EVtalk from Christchurch where they are having their Jucy prototype electric camper prepared for the winter.

“We struggled a lot (with charging) in the north of the South Island, mostly from Blenheim to Christchurch,” Trinquet says.

They went to Golden Bay and even to the most northerly point, Cape Farewell, having to plug in at a camping site for a few hours.

“It was even more difficult because Takaka Hill was only open a few hours in the morning (from 6am to 8am) so we had to plan everything very precisely to be able to make it.”

Trinquet says travelling from Blenheim to Kaikoura was tricky. “We had to plug in at a restaurant in the middle (The Store) but it was a slow charge, and we plugged for four hours but we didn’t have enough to go to Kaikoura.”

She says they ended up “in the middle of nowhere with 4%”.

They stopped at a house and stayed the night while their camper was charging, even leaving with home-grown fruit and vegetables.

“We even wonder why not run out of power more often because it ends up being great moments,” Trinquet says.

The road was closed from Kaikoura to Christchurch, so the EV travellers crossed Canterbury via alternative routes.

“One thing is sure; we can go everywhere,” Trinquet says.” But it’s only possible because we are very organised and plan everything, and also thanks to the help of many people who made this trip possible.”

Highlights included joining the Leading the Charge EV tour in Richmond, Nelson, visiting Marlborough Girls College in Blenheim, checking out the Yealands sustainable winery and meeting a Kiwi family on a sustainable house bus adventure known as The Loop Crew.