Taking our new electric car on a long holiday

 Opo’s trip to Mount Pisa, Central Otago

It was the week before Christmas. We were packed and ready for our month in Central Otago helping out on the all electric cherry farm.  https://www.forestlodge.nz/ 

Our one-month old BYD Dolphin called Opo (named after the famous 1950’s dolphin at Opononi Beach) made its way onto the Cook Strait ferry.

“Please turn your engine off and also your car alarm” said the assistant in the high vis jacket.

We looked at each other rather perplexed - no idea how to turn off the alarm.  We didn't admit to the high vis jacket we hadn't followed his instructions and climbed the steps for our three-hour boat trip.

Fully charged (Opo's range is about 450 kilometres), but new to holidaying with an EV, we had decided to stop when a charging station and our need for food coincided ie quite often. ChargeNet by the Beach was occupied so we took out our thermos knowing the wait would not be long. 

And then we joined the “Charge my EV” club – an exclusive club where members admire each other’s cars, share experiences and destinations while patiently waiting for the charging cable.

Before we left home, we had loaded the ChargeNet app onto both our phones.

“Are you sure?” said my phone when I pushed activate. “The charging station is 3 km away”.

We heard later that aged smart phones can have wayward GPS signals. Pressing “yes” in answer to the question, would have resulted in activating the charge. However, at the time we didn’t know this, and for the second time in a day we were rather perplexed.

“Should have got that fob” we said.

We tried Harry's phone (same make and model as mine). No problems. Off we wandered, checking on Opo’s progress every few minutes and not long after we were handing over the cable to the driver in waiting.

In Christchurch we met up with a friend.  

“There is a charger round the corner from my place” said our friend who lives locally. 6 stations, 6 cars, but we had timed it right and with a wave a driver pulled out.

It wasn’t a ChargeNet but ready for dinner we decided not to be fussy.

“Uh oh.  We need a cable” we said.

We hopped back into Opo with that “Should have gone to ChargeNet” look and used the app to find the closest ChargeNet station (which incidentally was across the road from a pub).

After fish and chips and before dessert Opo was full. Harry dashed out to move the car to the pub car park while I sat chatting.

It was a smooth trip to Tekapo the town with the most sunshine hours in 2023. The town was living up to its name and we strategically placed ourselves under an umbrella at the nearby café. Eating toasties seemed an appropriate way to watch the charging progress as we waited our turn.  A smooth trip from there to Mt Pisa, a month of grandparent duties, picking cherries, forklift driving and preparing food to look forward to.

Opo is happy. There are three chargers here, one right beside New Zealand's first electric tractor.

The next day we discovered one of our credit cards had been scammed.  It was Christmas Eve and we called the bank help line. They immediately closed the credit card.

“Sorry it’s Christmas and we can’t guarantee another card before you go home” said the helpful person at the end of the line.

Thankfully, we had another credit card and it was easy to change the charge net details online.

We are out and about most days. On non-cherry picking days we have visited: Wanaka (playground, lake and the Toy Museum); Alexandra (more playgrounds, the river and Butchers Dam), Cromwell (grocery shopping, old town and swimming in Lake Dunstan) and Luggate (river walk).

“Remember your car is a tool not a jewel” said my son. During the trip up to Timaru Creek,we realised that he was giving us a vague warning. It was a gravel road that led to the Sunday stroll that involved bush bashing and a number of river crossings.

As we bumped along, I reflected on his statement and I disagreed. Opo is a tool, but also a jewel. He gets us from A to B, in a quiet, safe and an environmentally friendly way, provides many opportunities to meet like-minded strangers and helps us to enjoy the journey so we arrive relaxed at our destination.