When my partner and I split up a year and a half ago, I left Lyttelton and fled straight back into Wānaka’s familiar arms. My home for years and years, it made sense to return to my old home. A place I knew well and conveniently five hours away from Lyttelton, here I could hide, heal, and hopefully become whole again. 

Itinerant for nine months, I bopped around from houses to Airbnb’s to apartments to my parent’s home to my car until my foggy mind started to become sharp again. Looking back now, I don’t even remember a lot of it. It was so painful. Half alive by winter, I realized I needed to get my shit together and figure out where I would live. Half-heartedly looking for rentals in Wānaka, scoffing loudly at how expensive they’ve gotten, on a whim, I went to look at a newly built little one-bedroom flat out in Hāwea, a lakeside village 20 minutes from Wānaka. It was perfect. 

So many of my friends moved out here over the years as it was more affordable than Wānaka. That being said, you’d be hard-pressed these days to find a house under a cool million. Sigh. I need to write more books. 

And just like like that, it’s been nearly a year since I’ve called Hāwea home. And I’m loving every minute of it. I remember seeing posties delivering the mail on an unusual-looking bike in New Zealand.

When I came across UBCO online, I made the connection. I sold my little red scooter a year before; while I’m not quite ready to have an electric car, a hardy adventure bike is perfect for me.

I’ve been exploring my new backyard all year from the back of my new UBCO electric motorbike. There are so many epic tramps and stunning trails that I never checked out when I lived in Wānaka. Isn’t it funny how that happens? Nearly ten years here, and I barely scratched the surface. 

Around here, many of the tracks and cool spots are down dusty dirt roads, perfect for exploring from the back of tough UBCO motorbike in New Zealand, made for off-roading. And it feels even better knowing that it’s fully electric and I’m leaving no footprints, only light tire tracks.  

It’s a bit of a long and convoluted story, but after my split, I ended up with both of our cars: my trusty old 1996 Nissan Terrano and a flashy little red Alfa Romeo Giulietta. It wasn’t a good thing. I tried to sell the Alfa but couldn’t get enough to pay off the car loan, so I ended up selling the truck that I had for years and years. It was heartbreaking! I loved Ron! (he was burgundy colored, get it?) But he was getting old, and he was diesel, and it probably was time to upgrade. 

What’s wild is that these tough and unbreakable trucks are in hot demand. I had it for nearly eight years, put over 100,000 kilometers on it, and sold it for more than I paid for it. Go figure.

That left me with my zippy red European car, which costs me around $175 to fill up the fuel tank, and I can’t take it on most of the mountain roads I love. FML. So I don’t want to hear any complaints from my fellow Americans about gas prices. 

For a while, I was planning for my next car to be electric, though how my flat works, I’m not sure how I could install a charger for it. But UBCO turns out to be the perfect solution – I can charge it in a normal wall plug. Transport emissions are the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand and account for 20% of all the emissions we produce. In fact, nearly 70% of all transport CO2 emissions are from cars, SUVs, utes, vans, and light trucks. That’s a lot.

As the years tick by, I can’t help but become more and more invested in focusing on stories of changemakers, people, and businesses doing good. Homegrown on high country farms, UBCO was founded in New Zealand on the premise of a rugged all-wheel-drive electric utility bike. Their sustainability initiatives and goals align with mine. 

No fuel, no noise, no clutch, no gears, and no emissions. And it gets 120km per charge. I mean, come on, how great is that?

Now operating between the US and NZ, UBCO is just like me. Sustainability has become important to me. I’m slowly shifting towards only working with people with a vested interest in conservation and sustainability. While I’m not perfect, I am aware of my footprint and make steps towards living lighter.

It’s easy to look at the bigger picture of climate change and feel overwhelmed. To think, hmm, we’re screwed, and whatever I do won’t make a difference. But it does! I’m a big believer in that any steps help; you don’t have to flip your life upside down. And the more people that take these little steps, the more businesses and policymakers will have to change to meet the demand. Just my two cents. 

New Zealand, especially the South Island, is relatively sparsely populated. It’s hard to walk to places you visit every day. Things are spread out. But Hāwea has become its own little village, perfect for getting around on a UBCO motorbike in New Zealand. Even to Wānaka.