"LEAFLET" - Li'l Blue's Buddy

"Leaflet" - (Li'l Blue's Buddy)

Specifications:

Purchase Date:	24 July 2016
Make and Model:	Nissan Leaf Gen 2, Model S 2015 (All-electric, no fossil fuel at all!)
Batteries:	Lithium Ion 24kWH battery pack
Range:	We don't know for sure. (Yet) Approximately 120km with some to spare

Chapter 1 - News article: Adventures in a Nissan Leaf

Chapter 2 - July 2016: Trip from Auckland to Golden Bay

Chapter 3 - September 2016: Top half of the South Island

Chapter 4 - March 2017: Circumnavigation of the South Island

To see our most recent postings about Leaflet, go to the bottom of this article

Chapter 2: July 2016

Trip to Auckland to fetch our new (2nd-hand) Nissan Leaf

(And to drive it all the way home to Golden Bay)

Why? Because we're NUTS, that's why.
And because it's much more fun driving our money around than watching it sit in the bank going nowhere...

July 2016: - First major trip. AUCKLAND TO TAKAKA
But first we had to get to Auckland...
We took a little plane from Takaka to Wellington then caught a train to Featherston and a bus to Martinborough, where we stayed with friends Mark and Susan on their vineyard. They think we're nuts too.
Then we went by bus to Palmerston North where we were enthusiastically met by a flock of grandchildren. (Well - only two, really, but it felt like a flock!) We stayed with them (and Ian and Katie too, of course) and had a wonderful few days being grandparents.
An aside - we went to the Friday Market in Feilding, where we came across a stall run by the Labour Party, with lots of red balloons. So Liam and I went and bought a bag of GREEN balloons and presented them to the lady there. We then had a symbolic blowing up of each others' balloons to symbolise the new memorandum of understanding between the Labour and Green parties. Everyone took it in good spirit.

We continued our journey to Auckland by plane, and got picked up by Brett (Autolink Cars), in our new Leaf!
After a test drive through Auckland traffic to the car-yard, we signed some papers, handed over $26,000, and drove our new Leaflet away!

24 July 2016: Auckland to Cambridge (126km)
Starting at Mount Eden, we drove along the motorway to Cafe Roma in Drury, where there is a "Quick-Charge" station. We found the cafe, which was closed. We also found the charge point, which was locked. Not a very auspicious start to our journey! So we went to the pub. Seriously. There's an Irish pub called Murphy's Law (I'm not joking), where they said we could plug in to one of their caravan park power points for free. So we plugged in and had lunch at the pub. After 2 or 3 hours, we had enough juice to get to Te Rapa (81km), so we hit the road.
An Aside: I have to point out that the confusion about the charge point at Cafe Roma was all our fault! We didn't read the website properly, where they gave a code to use to unlock the charge point. Silly us!
Unfortunately, Murphy's Law wasn't finished with us yet. Our Satellite Navigation system couldn't find the charge point at Te Rapa, so we had to ask at a BP garage (Oh NO!) for directions. The guy looked suspiciously at our "Zero Emissions" badge, but he was kind enough to tell us where to go....
Thirty minutes of Quick Charge later, we were 80% charged, and ready to drive the 35km to Cambridge.
We stayed overnight in a comfy cabin at the Cambridge Motor Park, and our kind hosts Murray and Hugh allowed us to plug in to a caravan point for a 100% charge overnight.

25 July 2016: Cambridge to Taupo (132km)
We drove to Tokoroa (64km), plugged in at the caravan park ($10 for 3 hours) and walked into the town for lunch and coffee. When we got back to the car, there was enough juice to get us to the Spa hotel just North of Taupo. We stayed in a nice unit, and had a hot spa in the big hotel spa pool, with three big, tattooed men. It was fun! We topped up there for free too.

26 July 2016: Taupo to Havelock North (168km)
Off to Tarawera for lunch, and a 3-hour charge at a caravan point. Then to Eskdale Caravan Park, where the owner was very excited to see (and drive!) his first electric car. He definitely wants one! We charged for 2 hours and drove to Hastings for a free Quick Charge courtesy of the Hastings District Council - Good on them!
We had our first (and only) negative comment from a passer-by in Hastings, who was upset that we were getting our fuel for free, and he was having to pay for it in his rates! We should have said: "Thank You!", but he went on too quickly for us to gather our wits. He has a point, though - because we can afford an electric car, we benefit from the incentive. On the other hand, it does raise awareness about electric cars and reducing our fossil fuel use. You can never please everyone.

27 July 2016: Havelock North to Feilding (167km)
We left at 9am, stopped at Waipukurau for a Quick Charge (another free one!), then on to the Dannevirke Camp Ground. The folk there had advertised their caravan plugin sockets for $2 per hour, "...or Chocolate"! So we paid in Chocolate.
Perhaps I should pause here and tell you about a website called "PlugShare", where anyone who has a spare electric power point can list it on the website for passing electric vehicles to come and plug in. We arranged our trip so that we stopped at PlugShare places almost exclusively. So people weren't too surprised when we phoned them and asked if we could plug in. It's a win-win situation for both the e-car owner and the caravan park or motel or whatever, because of the free advertising they get, and the extra traffic coming to their door. (Many of whom will stay the night as well) The PlugShare hosts can state on the website how much they charge for a charge (usually around $2 per hour, "or chocolate"....) Some hosts are very happy for us to use their facilities for free, even if we aren't staying the night, others ask for a donation or specify a charge, and some don't allow use of any camp facilities if you're just charging up. Fair enough. I think a small donation would not go amiss in any case.
The Dannevirke camp ground is well worth a visit. It has deer, guinea fowl, ducks, etc. and kids would absolutely love it.
We spent the night in Feilding, to show off our new Leaf to our family. They were pretty impressed.

28 July 2016: Feilding to Martinborough (169km)
Today we had our longest leg, Feilding to Masterton, 115km, and we still had 17% charge left when we got there. We also grew 5 trees on the dashboard, (which only Leaf owners will understand...)
We were welcomed in Martinborough by Mark and Susan at Haythornthwaite Wines, where we topped up (with electricity and fine wine!) They aren't on Plugshare yet, but I'm sure that you'd get a good reception if you went there for a tasting!

29 July 2016: Martinborough to Wellington (87km)
We were a little frightened of this leg, because of the Rimutaka hill-climb. It's 600m, with a maximum gradient of 9.2%, over a distance of about 20km. We needn't have worried, because Leaflet handled it with aplomb! The regeneration down the other side made up for almost all the extra energy we lost because of the climb. In fact, we were astounded to watch the "Battery Percent Remaining" guage going UP instead of down....
We filled up at a Z energy petrol station (yes, that's right - Z energy are getting into the act quickly, and offering e-car charging at some of their petrol stations. Good on you, Z!) We met another Leaf at this charge point, and we compared notes. Of course, they are super-thilled with their Leaf as well. They arrived just as our charge was finishing, so neither of us had to wait for long.
We stayed for the night and a chat with our Wellington co-grandparents (we share the same grandchildren with them, if you can work that out..)

30 July 2016: A day in Wellington (33km)
We went to the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa. We found it very powerful, very moving, and rather harrowing. I saw an old woman crying, and being comforted by her daughter. I overheard a little boy asking: "Why, Daddy?...", and I almost burst into tears too. At the exit, there were paper poppies for us to write on, and lay down at the feet of a soldier wading knee-deep in poppies. What a bloody waste! And yet we haven't learned. Why do we keep on doing this to each other?

30 July 2016: Wellington to Picton on the ferry
After lunch, we said good bye to our Welllington family and drove onto the InterIsland ferry to Picton, where we stayed for the night and a top-up at the Parklands Marina caravan park.

31 July 2016: Picton to Ruby Bay (130km)
Before we left Picton, we gave Bob and Helen (caretakers at the park) a ride. They were totally taken with Leaflet! I think we have a couple of converts!
Stopped for lunch and a top-up at Pelorus Bridge, then on to Richmond to get a quick charge at the charge station behind the library.... only to find that it was broken! A quick re-calculation.

We worked out that we had enough charge to get us to Ruby Bay where we could stay overnight with our family there. So that's what we did.

1 August 2016: Ruby Bay to Golden Bay (75km)
Our last leg, over the Takaka Hill (ho-hum, no problems!)

And we parked up in the garage and gave each other a huge hug! We made it! And so did Leaflet.....

A few thoughts....

It took us 8 days to drive 1200km from Auckland to Golden Bay, so that's about 150km per day. We could have done it quite a lot more quickly if we'd stopped less often, but at the cost of a fair amount of range anxiety and stress.
Little Leaflet is a joy to drive, very smooth, exceptionally quiet, and very responsive. It holds the road very well (because of the low centre of gravity, I guess), and the seats are very comfortable.
Because we had to stop every 70 km or so and arrange for plugging in, we interacted with people much more than we would have done if we'd had a petrol car, where you can just fill up, pay up, and move on. We, on the other hand, had to find the right person to speak to, get permission to plug in, have a discussion (usually) about electric cars, carbon footprints, politics, the state of the economy,... then say thank you before humming away with a toot and a wave. All pretty healthy stuff, really....

How much did it cost us to drive all that way?

How long is a piece of string?
It depends on the cost of a unit of electricity, (which varies from 20c to 30c), and it also depends on whether we want to measure what the people actually charged us, (in many cases, nothing...), or a fair value for the electricity we actually used.
Using an average value for the electricity (25c per unit), and assuming that we paid for all the electricity we used on the trip, it works out like this:
Total distance: 1200km
Efficiency: 6.1km per kWh
Cost of electricity: 25c per kWh
Total cost of trip = $50.00 (4c per km) - almost unbelievably cheap!

But of course, we can't expect to pay the same rate for other peoples' electricity as we pay at home, so what did we actually find?

Most people charged us either $2.00 per hour or up to $10.00 per session ($5.00 was quite common)
Working on $2.00 per hour, cost of trip = $120.00 (10c per km)
Working on $10.00 per session, cost of trip = $120.00 (10c per km)

Interesting that these two calculations give the same result!

And, if we were to charge at Quick Charge stations all the way, (we can't, because there aren't quick charge stations all the way....yet!) then...
They cost 25c per minute, PLUS 25c per kWh, and it takes 30 minutes for an 80% charge
Cost of trip = $160.00 (14c per km)

Because the trip took us much longer than if we'd driven an ICE (internal combustion engine) car, I suppose we should also factor in the extra cost of accommodation for the 3 or 4 extra days we were on the road...

But none of this is relevant.

We didn't buy our little Leaflet to save us money. We bought her in order to reduce our Carbon footprint on the earth. We aim to NEVER use another drop of fossil fuel for our own personal transport again. Except when we want to drive Leaflet to the North Island, because then we'll have to take her across on a ferry. Or maybe clip a couple of big tanks on the sides and turn her into an amphibious Leaflet. (Or a submarine, more likely!)
And it's actually very satisfying having discussions with all sorts of people about the relevance of electric vehicles. This is especially so in New Zealand, where we generate almost all our electricity renewably, and where there is sufficient spare capacity in our generation network to significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuel for transport. But only if we convert our transport fleet to electric! C'mon folks, we can do it!

Chapter 3: September 2016

Trip around the top of the South Island

This trip started off innocently enough. We wanted to go to a workshop on trapping stoats in Picton. (The workshop was in Picton, not the stoats!) Anyhow, we worked out, using Plugshare, that we could probably make it from Takaka to Picton in one day, if we could stop at Richmond for a quick-charge, then at Pelorus Bridge for a 3-hour top-up, then all the way to Picton from there in one go.

Then one of us said: "Let's drive back home from Picton via the 'scenic shortcut'", and the other one said (suspiciously): "Which scenic shortcut?..." and thus was our second epic trip in the Leaf born.

Stage 1: Takaka to Picton
With a (nearly) 100% charge, we easily made it to Richmond, where the quick charge station was waiting for us. Then 20 minutes later we were on our way to Pelorus Bridge, where we plugged in to a caravan socket courtesy of the Department of Conservation. And they didn't even charge us because they found out we were on DoC business (sort of...) And also because we bribed them with a packet of "solar electric biscuits" (more about which later)

Having a drink in the shade at Pelorus Bridge

After about 3 hours' charge at Pelorus Bridge (including a yummy lunch at the cafe), we drove on to the Parklands Marina Holiday Park in Picton, where we stayed the night and had a full charge. We gave the owners a ride, and they were thrilled. They let us charge up overnight for free, seeing we were staying in one of their cabins.

The next day, we visited a dear friend in Blenheim, who put us up for the night, and let us charge from a power point in her garage.

Stage 2: Picton to Christchurch (via Kaikoura)
The drive down the East Coast was pretty tame, considering the huge upheavals that were to happen a few weeks' hence! We made it through with no earthquake slips to contend with.

East Coast before the earthquake Check out that huge crayfish!

We stopped for a charge and a chat at the Waipapa Bay Cafe, then continued along the road to Cheviot, stopping for the night in a motel where they allowed us to charge up for free.

Then on to Christchurch, where we stayed with our nephew Ants and his lovely family for a couple of nights.

Every plug-in can do with some assistance Washing the pony (and vice-versa)

The inspiring Re:START project in Christchurch city

Stage 3: Christchurch to Bealey Hotel (Arthur's Pass)
On the day we were to leave, Porter's Pass was closed due to snow. So we stayed another night with Ants. (Good excuse...) :) and we bought a pair of snow chains, just in case!
As it turned out, we didn't need the chains - we made it to the top easily!

Having a drink at dusk in the carpark at the Bealey One of the resident Moa looking out over the pass

Stage 4: Arthur's Pass to Harihari
We had a beautiful, scenic drive to Jackson's Retreat, where we went for a lovely bush walk to a waterfall, while Leaflet had a topup.

The waterfall at Jackson's retreat

We whizzed down the Otira side of the pass to Hokitika, where we plugged in at the Beachside Motels on Reville Street. (Reville Street is famous for having 41 hotels and a brothel during the gold rush)

After another pleasant drive, we stopped at Harihari for the night in the Teapot Cottage. Very quaint!

Stage 5: Harihari to Pine Grove
We had an uneventful drive south along the Coast Highway past Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, stopping for lunch at a caravan park in Franz, where the receptionist was very friendly and wouldn't accept payment: "Fill yer gumboots!" she said. So we did.

Stage 6: Welcome Flat Hot Pools
We parked up at the carpark a little way off the main road at the start of the track, saddled up, and set off on one of our favourite tramps. After an 8-hour slog up the valley, we arrived at the 40-bunk Welcome Flat Hut, dropped our packs, and made straight for the pools where we flopped into the water, opened a bottle of wine, and relaxed for a couple of hours....

Copland River Avalanche down Scott Creek

Welcome Swallows Crikey! That's BIG!

Hard at work in the hut Hot pool - Yum!

Stage 7: Back North to Franz Joseph
We scampered down the valley again, hopped in our Leaf, and drove back up the road to Franz Josef Glacier, where we went to the Rainforest Retreat for the night. They were the folks who told us to "Fill your gumboots" on our way down, remember?.... Well, now we found that our cabin had been upgraded (for no extra charge) to a studio unit with a king size bed and a spa pool right next door. "...so that you can drive Leaflet right up to the window and keep an eye on her while she charges up...". Sweet!

The spa is through the wooden gate What a great little spot!

Stage 8: Franz Joseph to Greymouth
This part of the drive contains some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. I'll just let the pictures do the talking...

Step just a bit more to the right..... ! There are lakes like this all the way up the Coast

reflections

Time to reflect........ .... With a sausage and a glass of wine

Stage 9: Greymouth to Murchison
We did this stage in the rain, which fell steadily all the way.
Stopped for a 3-hour lunch and charge at the Reefton Domain Caravan Park

We didn't line the mops up - they were just like that! Lonely Leaflet in the rain....

When we arrived in Murchison, it was still raining, and when we plugged in for a charge at the River View Campground, we blew a fuse! Luckily the resident electrician was on hand to reset the circuit breaker in the men's toilet!

Stage 10: Murchison to Home sweet Home!
Easy as...... We reached the Richmond Quick Charge station with 25% remaining, filled up in 20 minutes, then buzzed back over the Hill to Takaka and a hot shower.

What fun! We must do this again.....

Chapter 4: March 2017

Circumnavigation of the South Island

We hadn't been down South for a while, so we sat idly one night looking at our very old NZ Road Atlas, thinking that we might try and plan a route all the way around the coast of the South Island, just for fun.

Unfortunately, the Kaikoura earthquake came along and smashed up the road, cutting Kaikoura off from the rest of the world, and putting a huge road block in the path of our preferred route. This meant that we'd have to drive over the Lewis Pass, a route which we'd previously decided not to attempt because of the lack of charging points along that way. Despite this, we found the following route, which seemed possible:

Takaka - Richmond - Murchison - Maruia Springs - Lewis Pass - Culverden - Christchurch - Ashburton - Timaru - Oamaru - Moeraki - Dunedin - Clarks Junction - Middlemarch - Balclutha and the Catlins - Curio Bay - Invercargill - Bluff - Invercargill(again) - Lumsden - Te Anau - Kingston - Frankton - Makarora - Haast Pass - Haast - Paringa - Franz Josef - Hari Hari - Greymouth - Punakaiki - Berlins - Lyell - Murchison - Richmond - Takaka.

All in all, about 3000km. Gulp! And there were very few fast charge stations in the South Island, which made things a little more complicated.

The PlugShare app told us that we could do the whole trip with hops of no more than 100km between charging points along the way, with only a few exceptions. It was the exceptions which bothered us, though...

Catch you later,
Albie.

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