On the 15th of March 2016 Dutch electric car adventurer Wiebe Wakker left Amsterdam with a mission to showcase the advantages of sustainable mobility. Today after 1051 days and a thrilling road trip through Europe, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and Australia, he arrived in Adelaide.
Purpose-driven adventure
Mr. Wakker travels without money and is relying on the helpfulness of people around the world to bring him to Sydney, his ultimate goal. Wakker’s website plugmeinproject.comoffers people to support him with a meal, place to sleep or electricity to charge his electric car, dubbed the Blue Bandit.
So far 1,700 people from 45 countries reached out to help. All these offers determine the route and this made Wakker zigzag around the world, crossing 33 countries and driving 89,000 kilometres without visiting a single petrol station on his way.
Mr. Wakker’s aim with his project ‘Plug Me In’ is to educate, inspire and accelerate the transition to a zero carbon future.
“Electric vehicles are a significant part of the solution to the global environmental problem we all share, sadly the uptake of electric cars is going slow mainly because there are a lot of prejudices, people believe they are not reliable or not fit to cover long distances. By driving from Holland to literally the other side of the world I hope to change peoples mind.” Wakker says from Adelaide.
Electric pioneer
Wakker was the first person to cross Turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia in a fully electric vehicle. Never before has someone travelled through this many countries in a battery powered car. The current world-record ‘longest distance covered in an electric vehicle (non-solar)’ of 22,000 km has been far surpassed by him. Wakker has driven over 89,000 km so far and many will be added once he has reached Sydney.
Engaging with sustainable practices
With the “Blue Bandit”, Wakker engages with sustainable companies and initiatives to highlight the environmental challenges in each respective country and promote key solutions.
Full reports can be seen on the website plugmeinproject.com
The route of Wakker’s journey. 33 countries, 1051 days and 89,000 kilometres
