PLUG ME IN

IT’S ALL ABOUT ENERGY,
IT’S ABOUT THE ENERGY OF A GOOD STORY.
CHARGE IT!

Wiebe Wakker standing next to his Blue Bandit electric car, in front of Uluru, Australia.
Wiebe Wakker in a workshop in Indonesia with a group of mechanics who helped repair his car.

WHAT IS THE ‘PLUG ME IN’ PROJECT?

My challenge was to drive, without money from the Netherlands to Australia, in a borrowed electric car dubbed the Blue Bandit.

To get there I asked people to “Plug Me In.” On this page people could select their location and offer me a meal, place to sleep or electricity for the car.

All these offers formed a network, setting the route of my journey, so when I started I had no idea how or even if I would reach Down Under. The route was determined by you.

HOW IT WORKED

This map was the soul of my website and project.

Here people could drop a pin to select their location and offer energy.

  • Click ‘Add Location’ on top right corner of the map.

  • Select what you can offer: food, place to sleep or electricity for the car

  • Now I can visit you and you help me reach my destination

+Add location

MAP

This map was the soul of my website and project.

Here people could drop a pin to select their location and offer energy.

+Add location

THE BLUE BANDIT

A car with more personality then horsepower

  • 160 KM/h

  • 13,8 SEC

  • 200 KM

  • 37 KW/h

Blue Bandit Battery Charging
Wiebe Wakker in a beekeeping outfit with a beekeeper in front of his car.

MY GOAL

By driving to the other side of the world in an electric car, I wanted to prove the viability of sustainable mobility.

I used my journey as an exploration, to discover what sustainability is about. But honestly, my goals were also a tool to escape the ordinary 9 to 5 life.

You can read and see the dozens of sustainable initiatives I visited on the blog.

ADVENTURE

My route went criss cross around the globe. Up and down around Europe, through the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia.

Everywhere I came I was received with open arms by friendly locals. And of course, I faced many challenges that would drive most people nuts. Find some highlights in this section.

Received unexpected help from kind strangers in Malaysia

Got invited by sheikhs in Dubai

Huge issues with my car in India

Adventure in Indonesia: sweet people, great food and big challenges

Explored the Ozzie Outback

Got stuck on the Nullarbor

Prefer to read? I wrote dozens of blogs about my journey.
Wiebe Wakker viert de aankomst van zijn reis in Sydney op een podium voor het Opera House

FINISH

On the 7th of April 2019, I finally reached Sydney and achieved my goal. It took 1,119 days, 33 countries and 95,000km to get there and it became the longest journey in an Electric Vehicle, ever.

The finish became global news and was featured on TV channels in over 40 countries.

Over 350 people hosted me and I got help from many other people, companies and organizations.

After the Sydney finish, I was asked to come to New Zealand and on the 19th of July, I finished in Bluff, the most southern tip of NZ.

AFTERMOVIE

One Man. One Car. One Mission. Zero Emissions. 1222 days. 34 countries. 100,450km and 437 ways to pronounce my name.

I captured my whole journey on video and you can relive it all on my YouTube channel.

THE COMPLETE ROUTE

STATISTICS

FROM AMSTERDAM TO SYDNEY

Countries visited

33

Kilometres

95,000

Days

1,119

Plug Me In’s

1,779

From countries

75

And continents

5

Beds offered

1,362

Meals

1,550

Plugs

1,489

STATISTICS

FROM AMSTERDAM TO SYDNEY

Countries visited

33

Kilometres

95,000

Days

1,119

Plug Me In’s

1,779

From countries

75

And continents

5

Beds offered

1,362

Meals

1,550

Plugs

1,489