Arrived at Fully Charged Live Sydney

A wait at the Davistown waterfront

I stopped at the Davistown waterfront while waiting for a my appointment with Emma Gilbert Massage Therapy. Beautiful spot.

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A balcony Airbnb on the Central Coast

We’ve been staying the week at this beautiful Airbnb flat, tucked under the hosts' house. It includes a huge balcony that overlooks the trees and is visited each day by a wide variety of birds. https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/54021165 We asked the hosts, when booking, about plugging in an EV. Although they have not had that request before, they were very happy to try to assist, offering for us to drive down their driveway to plug in. Unfortunately, the top of the driveway has a tall peak, which is apparently worse than it looks, because the Tesla made an awful scraping sound when we tried to cross it. We reversed, and of course it made the same sound. So, we aborted the attempt and instead just parked across the road. Under the car, I could see plenty of scrape marks (from this and other lesser scrapes) but I couldn’t spot anything loose. It’s sad and ironic that we managed to travel nearly top to bottom of Australia, along some really dodgy roads, but met our undoing in a semi…

A banana smoothie on Terrigal Beach

Scones, lunch and an NRMA charger in the Hunter Valley

Lunch out with Mum and sister. Good times. More lessons on the right way to top scones (cream first). Good old reliable 50kW fast charger from The NRMA at Hunter Valley Gardens. Having two chargers makes it so much more practical. While we were charging, there was at least one other Tesla and a Polestar using the other charger.

Two states' worth of dust, gone at Snap Car Wash

Before and after. The staff at Snap Car Wash in Erina Fair did another terrific job of removing two states worth of dust and bugs from the Tesla. Shiny!

A weird charger find at Terrigal

This is another technical charging story, for those interested. Sometimes I go out of my way to find some weird charger to try it out. You wouldn’t normally bother with this. On PlugShare, I noticed a charger in the car park of Terrigal Hotel. I found it easily enough and parked. It requires you to bring your own type 2 cable (which I now happen to have). I plugged it in okay, but bringing, uncoiling and connecting your own cable is a pain, compared to other chargers with a cable provided, which you simply plug into your car. For this charger, I had to download a new app, "UpCharge", and set up an account. The app is pretty bad, not native iOS, not great UI. Nothing seemed to be happening. It took a few minutes to figure out that the hardware wasn’t providing any power. I managed to find the circuit breaker switches at the bottom of the unit, and turn them on. The the app eventually showed a `Start` button. It’s supposed to charge $0.30 per kWh. But the app seems to indicate a $2 flat…

Erina Fair Thai, like old times

We visited what used to be our major shopping centre (when we lived in the Central Coast until December). Delicious veg yellow curry and pineapple fried rice for dinner at Thai Thyme Erina Fair Restaurant. Previously, when we lived nearby, we typically just charged at home overnight, without thinking about it. But now that we are visitors, I realise that there aren’t many public chargers in the area. There are two free Tesla destination chargers at Erina Fair. They are positioned right at the car park entrance, which makes it a bit tricky to reverse park while holding up the entering traffic. When we arrived, there was a Tesla Model 3, with a cool blue wrap (I guess it’s a wrap), checked into PlugShare. There was also a nice black Model X with personalised plates. But it was parked without plugging in to charge and with no check in to PlugShare. We waited a while and fortunately the owner returned and left the spot, so we could charge.

First paid charge in NSW, on the Central Coast

Back on the Central Coast. We hadn’t charged since Bathurst, so time for a top up. I think this is the first time we’ve actually had to pay for it since entering NSW (because all The NRMA chargers are still free). There don’t seem to be any The NRMA chargers around here, so we had to resort to a BP Pulse charger, which we haven’t used before. It’s weird to charge in a petrol station, but it does prompt some questions from onlookers, especially when I’m paying a fraction of what they’re paying for petrol. The guy in front with his bonnet open, topping up some fluids, was there longer than us. The BP Pulse app seems to be a duplicate of the Evie Networks app. Even the confirmation SMS comes from the same number 🤔 There is bank of Tesla superchargers in Tuggerah, but that’s a fair way out from Avoca (where we’re staying) and most other places. The most popular chargers seem to be the two Tesla destination chargers at Erina Fair, but they’re not fast. It seems that Tesla will install…

40 minutes of YouTube while a train blocks the road

We headed off the main road to Rydal, between Bathurst and Lithgow. The Indian Pacific Train was stuck over the rail crossing, for some reason. We waited for 40 minutes and watched YouTube on the Tesla screen in air conditioned comfort, without needing to run an engine ☺️. We stayed the night in Rydal at Springmead Stud farm, B&B,. Lovely place. Thanks to our hosts Greg & Marjory for the hospitality and home made goodies for breakfast. Thanks to Sammy for the pats 🐈‍⬛. Greg said that they have had many EV drivers stay. If asked, they charge $10 for an overnight charge, using just the standard 10A supply. I think it's BYO extension cord. We didn't need to charge.

Restrained laps of Mount Panorama

After some more kilometres along windy dirt roads (from Orange, through Gowan), we topped up the car’s charge while looking for a place to stay between here and Lithgow. I think this is the first time we have come across the Tesla chargers that are now open to all EVs (ie not just Teslas). Since the NRMA charger is still free, we picked that one, and left a note in the PlugShare app that we’d be happy to move if anyone needed it. I figured the etiquette was fine, since other EVs can now also use the Tesla chargers. I wonder how this arrangement will pan out: one free/cheaper charger and a bunch of paid chargers. Will it just be that the first to arrive gets to charge for free? But even the paid ones are far cheaper than petrol. Bottom line, however, is that this is great to see. A bunch of available reliable chargers (at least the Tesla ones). No dramas. Fast charge. The gutter is a little too high. We hit the front lip of the car when pulling in forwards. Can you fix this Bathurst…

A 4WD-ish dirt road from Orange to Bathurst

We took a side road from Orange to Bathurst, through Gowan. It turned out to be mostly unsealed (dirt) roads and almost 4WD in places, which the map doesn’t indicate. Very glad to have rear wheel drive (ie not a front wheel drive car) when pulling two tonnes up a loose surface hill. Some snippets of beautiful views and the odd stray cow. I found a way to create a DIY personalised licence plate for Fran 😉.

Millthorpe Boutique Motel, with a charger

We stayed overnight at the Millthorpe Boutique Motel. Pleasantly surprised to find a charger (type 2, built in cable) on site for guests. It was a flat $20 per charge. We didn’t end up using it, since we could only take the equivalent of $3 (off peak rates) and it’s free in our next stop of Orange. But, good to know that there’s an option here. Beautiful little town. Mostly closed during the week, it seems.

Up close to the Blayney Wind Farm

Off the beaten track around Carcoar Dam to get a closer look at the Blayney Wind Farm. Zero emissions from this electron mining operation!

A free NRMA charge and sandwiches in Cowra

We stopped for a charge (free from The NRMA) and some sandwiches for lunch in Cowra. When we arrived at the charger, a blue Tesla Model 3 was already there. Fortunately, he had checked in with PlugShare, so we were able to see that he would be back in 20 minutes, and we could check in as "waiting" to let him know. When he checked out, the app told me, so I could go back and plug in. We visited Australia's World Peace Bell and drove through the POW breakout camp/memorial.

A loo stop, and silo art, in Grenfell

We stopped briefly in Grenfell for the Grenfell Silo Art and the loo. We would have stayed longer, but there are no EV chargers anywhere nearby (not that we needed one). Time to catch up, Weddin Shire Council.

Back to Barmedman, where I started school

We drove through the tiny town of Barmedman, in western NSW. I (Tom) started school here many decades ago. Today I chatted with one of the school teachers, to explain why some stranger was taking photos out the front. She said that it happens often! I said I came to the school in kindergarten and that I think I got the cane while there. She said she wasn’t surprised. I said I thought that was a bit judgey, since she’d just meet me. She said she meant that several people had told her that they had received the cane. Population: 200 Number of students in the school: 10 My old house doesn’t seem to have changed much, except for the solar panels.

Royal Hotel West Wyalong, with a free NRMA charge

We stayed the night at The Royal Hotel West Wyalong. Great country pub, food and accommodation. Fast charger, still free from The NRMA, within sight of the hotel. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are quite a few fast chargers in western NSW. Great way to explore more of the country. Thanks NRMA ☺️.

Our first windscreen chip

We got our first chip in the windscreen, late yesterday, on the long road between Jerilderie, New South Wales and West Wyalong, New South Wales. It’s about 2.8cm x 2cm. A windscreen repairer (O’Briens) has since told me that they only fix them (by filling the crack) if smaller than 2.5cm. Actually, they said it had to be smaller than a one dollar coin, but couldn’t tell me how big that is in cm. I had to measure a coin to discover that it’s 2.5cm. Time to contact NRMA Insurance. Glad we got the extra windscreen cover. I tried to claim through the NRMA app, but it seems to not facilitate claiming for a business policy, or any policy number with the prefix “MOT” 😞. Same limitation for the website. I tried emailing, but eventually only got a reply to say that I would need to call. I tried to call, listened to the hold music with interjected recorded spoken suggestions that I lodge a claim through the website. After over an hour of being told by a recording to do what the website won’t…

An EV charger turns up in Jerilderie

Jerilderie, New South Wales has an EV charger! Free, thanks to The NRMA. So, we stopped for a while in town, to grab some lunch and walk around the local sites. Excellent way for a small town to get people to stop to spend some time and money.

Crossing the Murray to Deniliquin

We left Echuca, Victoria, crossed the at Murray River, Moama Nsw, and stopped for a while in Deniliquin, New South Wales. Francis had camped here many times as a kid, and remembers 40°C days and general camping misery. Most of the area seems very dry. But there are pockets of green by the river and around the town parks. A few interesting pockets. No EV chargers to be found (which we expected).

Looking back to Echuca from Moama Beach

Looking across from Moama Beach NSW back to Echuca, Victoria, over the Murray River.

A late-kitchen welcome at Johnny & Lyle's, Echuca

Cool drinks and a delicious lunch at Johnny & Lyle’s cafe, in Echuca, Victoria. Very thankful to the staff who cooked up lunch for us, even though the kitchen was due to close ten minutes earlier. We picked this place mainly because it is directly across the road from where our Tesla was charging. Good spot, Evie Networks!

Charging from a garden shed at Quince Cottage

We’re staying a couple of nights at Quince Cottage in Daylesford, in country Victoria. Beautiful, cosy place. Our host, Jennifer, was happy for us to charge up the car from the power point in the garden shed (thank you). I’m glad I brought a long extension cord.

A 'NO TANK' Tesla at the Daylesford Chargefox

We tried out the Chargefox charger in the main street of Daylesford. Very popular, with several EVs charging while we were there, including a white Tesla Model 3 (performance model) with a “NO TANK” license plate. Positives: Prominent and easy to find. It’s a DC charger (although it’s slow, it’s still twice the speed of the fastest AC charge we can get). Close to all the shops and cafes. The usual positives: No fumes. A fraction of the cost of petrol per km. Park and fill up while you go to a shop or cafe. Negatives: Only 22kW (typically 50+kW for a DC charger). Only one CCS2 charging cable (the other one is Chademo, which is less commonly used). The cables fall onto the street, so get run over. The best parking for a Tesla to charge is in the front spot, which blocks the rear Chademo charger for anyone else.

Blue Heaven milkshake at The Conservatory Cafe

Feeling a bit fancy at The Conservatory Cafe at Wyreena, with finger sandwiches and my introduction to a blue heaven milkshake (it seems to be a Victorian thing). It would be a great place to have an EV destination charger, but none there currently.

Planning the drive north from Melbourne

Tomorrow, we're heading north from Melbourne, through Victoria, taking about a week to get to the NSW Central Coast. We're planning on spending the first few nights in the Trentham and Daylesford area, then maybe staying west of the Hume as we meander north to NSW. Any suggested sites to visit or places to stay along the way?

Home charging in Melbourne, vs the public chargers

Today is our last day in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. We mostly charged from rooftop solar and off peak night rates from the standard power point from our hosts. Super easy. But I also checked out the interesting landscape of public chargers here. PlugShare shows many fast chargers (50kW+) as "coming soon", mainly by JOLT. I found one fast charger by Evie Networks conveniently located at Stud Park Shopping Centre. There are a few type 2 AC chargers (7 - 11kW for our Tesla) by Chargefox, but they were all in use when we checked. We haven't been able to try our new type 2 cable, yet.

Sarah Millican, then Marios in Melbourne

Night out in Melbourne to see Sarah Millican on stage. Hilarious, heartwarming, ridiculously gynaecological. Delicious Italian dinner at Marios, as the trams dinged by. Parked at Wilson Parking Eureka Tower, since they had EV destination chargers. But, there were only two chargers in a car park with hundreds of spots. Already occupied when we got there. I had trouble figuring out whether to park between the black lines or white lines, much to the amusement of other drivers 🙄. We grabbed a quick photo on the way out. They need a lot more chargers.

First Tesla service call, after 17,700 km

Our first service call for the Tesla. We have traveled over 17,700km in the 5.5 months we’ve had the car, most of that during our east coast road tripping since December 1. We are supposed to schedule a tyre rotation at about 10,000km, but we have been travelling too much to be in one place long enough to book it. Since we’re in east Melbourne for a couple of weeks, we booked a mobile service through the Tesla app. It’s so easy and impressive. No form to fill out with identity and payment, since they already have those details. I just chose my preferred day/time and location (since we’re staying with friends and currently have no home). Luke arrived in his Tesla Model S, with the back seat converted to a mobile service vehicle with drawers, tools etc. He jacked up our car, popped the wheel covers, swapped the front and rear wheels, put it all back together with torque wrench etc. Rotating (swapping) the tyres evens up the wear, since rear wheels suffer more from hard acceleration. He…

Staying with Krissy, Tim and Pikelette

We’ve been staying a few days with our dear friends, Krissy, Tim and Pikelette. Glorious food, east charging (courtesy of an extension cord) and cuteness overload. We subjected them, and our friends Ron and Sue, to a couple of hours of road tripping slide show, but we only got half way through the trip.

From 35 °C in Queensland to 13 °C in Melbourne

Melbourne: Food, family, coffee, parks and random weather. We went from 35°C in Queensland to 13° in Melbourne suburbs. It’s supposed to hit 30° next week! All the seasons at once! Fortunately there’s a cute dog to warm my bare feet. Cooler weather does make it easier to do a bit of gardening. The sun is still shining enough on the solar panels to charge our car and the battery for the lawn mower. It’s so much nicer to mow without the fumes and extra noise. And no running to the servo to get more fuel. Review of the charging facilities: Top notch. Simple power point in the garage. We used the car’s mobile charger to plug in over night, or when the solar was shining. So, the cost was about $9 or free to charge enough for 430km. Thank you, Helen ♥️ The gardening may have wiped us out, but that was fixed by coffee and a wander in the park, past some ducks.

Hair, coffee and home charging in Melbourne

Now in Melbourne suburbs for the essentials: hair makeover at A'blaze Hair Artistry, coffee from Choco Bean Cafe, fine food and home charging courtesy of Fran’s sister, Helen. Our previous charging stop was 15 minutes at Moe Tesla superchargers. Just enough time for the toilet and to buy snacks (Twisties and a peach), from the adjacent Coles supermarket.

Arriving at Marlo Hotel, after a long range stretch

Arrived at Marlo Hotel, along the south edge of Victoria. Excellent food, staff and locals. Beautiful spot. Charging story: Today’s drive from Sussex Inlet (6.5+ hours) was one of the longer single day trips we’ve done. There were no fast chargers (50kW+) between Bega and Sale (400km+), so we booked in at the Marlo Hotel, since we knew it has a couple of Tesla destination chargers (11kW). Fully charged in four hours, while we slept, for free. Nice. The day after we passed through, I think, Tesla switched on the newly built superchargers at Cann River, which nicely bridges the gap between Bega and Sale. We may have been the last ones to do the trip the hard way.

An EV-style 'fuel up' in Eden

We stopped at a service station in Eden, so we could fully prep the car for the rest of today's road trip to Marlo. Tyre pressure? Check (on screen: all good) Washer fluid? Tesla screen warned us that it needs filling. Done. Engine oil? N/A Oil filter? N/A Fan belt? N/A Radiator fluid? N/A 2000 other moving parts and fluids? N/A Easy ☺️

A long-range plan in Bega, before the 400 km stretch

Warning: This is just a boring charging story, for those who are interested. We stopped in Bega to charge, since it was the last fast charger (50kW DC, free from The NRMA) before the 400km stretch to the next one in Sale. We needed to fill up to get through Gippsland. When we arrived, a blue MG was already charging and another Tesla was parking in the next spot. I checked into PlugShare as "Waiting". But the MG had not checked in, and the owner was nowhere to be seen. So, I didn't know how long they would be or how to contact them. The other Tesla driver, Sue, kindly offered to forgo her spot, since she could charge when home in Tathra. She told a story of previously waiting elsewhere for EVs to move, long after being charged and said "no one wants to be that guy". After a while, when the MG was at 94%, the owner showed up. He said he doesn’t use PlugShare because "I don’t want people knowing where I am". He said he plans to charge to near 100%, even though he knows it's very slow…

Carters Beach and Mill Bay Boardwalk

Veggie pasties in Bodalla

Stopped at Bodalla for a lunch of veggie pasties. Realised as we left that there is a destination charger on site that we could have used. But it’s only 4kW (typically 7 or 11kW), so probably not worth bothering for a short stop.

Arriving in Batemans Bay on 5 %

We arrived in Batemans Bay with 5% remaining charge, which was exactly what the Tesla’s navigation had predicted. Because The NRMA chargers there are not known to the Tesla’s navigation, the car started to warn us on the way that there were no chargers nearby. But, we knew from the PlugShare app that there were two separate fast charger sites (2 x 75kW and 1 x 50kW) in Batemans Bay, so we just laughed at the warnings. It would be great if the Tesla navigation knew about other chargers. We plugged in, visited the toilets and had a short wander along the waterfront, before heading off again. The local shopping centre is also getting a bank of Tesla chargers soon. Road tripping is getting easier all the time.

Coffee and muffins at Sandon Point

Coffee and muffins from Blackbird Thirroul, at Sandon Point Beach.

Bald Hill in Stanwell Park

No hang gliders today, but there was the usual great view of the coast, Sea Cliff Bridge, and Grand Pacific Drive. Flying High cafe and Bald Hill and The Ice Cream Van serve all the coffee and snacks you could want. The bins clearly explain what goes where. Nice job, Woolongong council. Francis went to the toilet. A few minutes later I heard her laughing. Curious, I tried the adjacent toilet. You press a button to get in, another to close the door. The toilet cubicle then talks to you, warning that you have ten minutes until the doors will open! It plays lift music while you do your business. You press a button to get two sheets of toilet paper at a time. It flushes the toilet when you wash your hands. Quite an experience!

Audley Weir, then the Sea Cliff Bridge

Driving over the Audley Weir in Sydney’s Royal National Park and the Sea Cliff Bridge.

Hurstville Travelodge, with an EV charger

We drove through the evening from Murray’s Beach to Hurstville, to at least make it south of Sydney CBD before the next morning peak traffic. We checked Booking.com for accommodation in the area with an EV charger, and checked in to Travel Lodge in Hurstville. When we arrived, we couldn’t figure out where to park. Not clearly marked for Travel Lodge. With pillows tucked under arms, bags in each hand, we emerged through the lifts at… the club up the road, much to the amusement of the club staff. We then walked down the road to Travel Lodge, checked in, and moved the car. I grabbed some pizza for dinner, down the road, but spent ten minutes trying to find my way out of Westfield.

House-hunting at Murrays Beach

We were planning on heading south this morning, from the NSW Central Coast. But last night we found Murrays Beach, on-line, as a possible place to buy a home. So, we spent most of the day there, exploring the area, looking through some houses, sampling the food and coffee at “Murray’s” cafe. The owner very kindly let us in, past the “closed” sign. We loved the fact that the estate has been built while retaining a lot of the original trees. I am not a fan of new estates that wipe out all the nature, build houses, then plant saplings that take decades to provide shade. This is a beautiful town. Trees everywhere. It’s right on Lake Macquarie, just across the peninsula from Caves Beach and up the highway from Swansea,. But, in the end, we decided no. The trees and see-through fences make it feel open, but it’s still a bit squished. The streets are pretty narrow for the growing population. We were passed by a ute and 4WD hurtling along, just before a couple of young kids appeared on bikes.…

Eight weeks of dust, finally off the car

After eight weeks on the road, through Queensland and NSW, it's time to clean the dust and bugs off the Tesla. We had to first empty the car into our hotel room, via many trips in the lift and curious looks from the Ibis staff.

Back at our old Central Coast home, briefly

January 27-30: We stopped by our old (eight weeks ago) home of The Central Coast. We swapped a few things between the Tesla boot and our Storage King shed. In Saratoga, Tom squeezed in a haircut at Zalanis Hair and a massage from Emma Gilbert Massage Therapy. Francis grabbed a coffee from Shelly's Cafe while visiting The Beauty Spot at Saratoga. And the Tesla also got a full clean and polish from Snap Car Wash at Erina Fair. They did a great job removing 10,000 km of bugs and dirt (from all of us). We had dinner with some of our (adult) kids, lunch with Tom’s sister, Mel, checked out some local real estate, and did a few walks around Long Jetty, and Shelley Beach,. Beautiful place. We stayed at ibis Styles The Entrance. It has a Tesla destination charger in the covered parking, which gave us free “fuel” for three days. Great amenity for accommodation to include (and attract EV owners like us). One other Tesla kept parking there long after they were charged. It needs a sign to tell EV…

Hot-air balloons over the Hunter Valley

In the usually quiet Hunter Valley, we were woken this morning by the sounds of hot air balloons landing nearby. The sound is from the giant flame thrower in the middle of the wicker basket of people. It also caught the attention of the local kangaroos.

Hunter Valley laundry stop, with a free NRMA charge

January 25-27: Free charging thanks to The NRMA at Hunter Valley Gardens Shopping Village, so we used the money we saved on petrol to buy breakfast at Oscars,!

A diversion through Gloucester

We diverted through Gloucester, NSW on our way from Port Macquarie to The Hunter Valley.