New Plymouth day 2

Despite weather predictions for the first meet-up for the LTC 2020 Roadtour we had a blast in the carpark of a cafe in New Plymouth!

Day 1 of the 2020 Roadtour required several of the participants to drive from Auckland to New Plymouth to meet up with other trippers who lived slightly closer! Taking a route that took good advantage of the new Huntly bypass, but avoided Hamilton, the first obvious charging stop for a couple of the old Tesla hands was Pirongia - not least because the Persimmon Tree Cafe is a mere 100m walk away! That was lunch sorted!

However, one Tesla had only just plugged in when a tooting i3 streaked by, driven by Margaret Baker and co-pilot Sheri! Once we had eaten and filled up, we drove onto Te Kuiti and called in at the New World charger knowing that we would find the i3 taking a fill! Then the electric Mini pulled up with Bailey and Sam! 

Travelling south of TK was interrupted by 3 sets of stop-go lights as remedial work was carried out towards the Awakino Gorge.  Once we hit the coast at Mokau we looked south to see the mighty Mt Taranaki  - no dice, it was completely shrouded in cloud. 

The motel in NP was reached by 5:30pm and a great Indian meal at a place called "Arranged Marriage' was consumed, although parking in downtown NP was not easy - the place was buzzing on a Saturday night!

Steve Hobo-Tuck was in charge of a meetup for Sunday morning and swapped an outside venue for a cafe as the weather forecast was dire! However most of the rain was overnight and had stopped before the meeting at Locals Cafe! Chosen for its good food and ample parking, we ended up standing outside in sunshine in the carpark with a great line up of EVs to admire! All the trippers met each other, caps and fobs were handed out and everyone is set for day 3 to Upper Hutt tomorrow!

Photo Credit : All photos by Sam Lynch