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Solar-panel install day, with Lightning Energy
Hooray! The sun is shining today. So, the installers were able to climb up on our roof to install our new solar panel array. These people mix electrical engineering and solar engineering with mountaineering! The team at Lightning Energy has been great. Thanks to Andrew for providing a detailed quote and updating it along the way to match my requests and questions. Thanks to the installation team for their professionalism and attention to detail. They were also kind enough to lend me some muscle here and there to help move a couple of things into the house from the garage. Special thanks to Caitlin for staying behind and coming back later to sort out a technical hitch with the power output being unnecessarily capped. We had a funny chat on the Enphase Energy tech support line with a self described “dumb blonde from Ohio” who flicked some magic software switches to make it all work. Not so dumb after all 😉. Geeky details: 11.88 kW = 27 x 440W Jinko Solar Tiger Neo solar panels 27…
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Carpet installed: white walls, dark floors
December 19 & 20: Carpet installed 😀! Just added more to the mortgage redraw 😣. Now we have the house matching the Tesla, with white walls and dark floors 😉. Thanks to Choices Flooring (in Narre Warren) for the carpet, Choices Flooring Erina for the detailed advice and to Mick for the quick and thorough installation. We can finally start to move our belongings from the garage into our home and move in. One year and nearly three weeks since we moved out of our last house, in Saratoga NSW. One small issue, most of the does can’t open and close over the carpet. But we have someone coming in the new year to fix that.
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Tesla battery and wall charger installation
The team from Lightning Energy installed the undercover pieces today, while it’s raining, and deferring to tomorrow the installation on the roof of the solar panels, if the sun comes out. We had originally scheduled this installation for December 11 and 12, but rain on December 11 saw it canceled. We had this Tesla wall charger at our last house in Saratoga NSW, a year ago. The new owners there didn’t have an EV, so we modified the contract for us to remove the EV charger. It has sat in storage until the removalists delivered our belongings here a few days ago. It wasn’t really practical for us to bring the Tesla “Powerwall” battery with us from the old house, so we bought a new one for this house. It costs about $15k, which is a lot. There are cheaper battery options, but we know the Powerwall has a large capacity compared to cheaper batteries, and works well with the app, scheduling, blackouts, etc. We have heard from a few people in Emerald and the Yarra Ranges in general that…
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Painting (and caulking) of the new house, done
The painting (and caulking) of the inside of our new home is finished! We decided to have it painted while it was empty of furniture. We are so glad that we did because: 1. It would have cost double to paint it with furniture in it; 2. We didn’t realise how worn the walls were until the house was bare. The house looks so much fresher now with new white paint, compared to the old cream walls. Huge thanks to locals Bob Hardman (Mountain Ash Painting Services) for the two weeks of painting and to Adam (Spectrum Windows & Glazing) for the caulking. Beautiful job and attention to detail. Now that the walls are fresh, the carpet looks even older and in need of replacement. Fortunately, we have already arranged for that too, while the house is empty, in a few days on December 19 and 20, after the paint sets. Our furniture arrived on December 11, now crammed into the garage, waiting until we can finally move in.
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A Euroa Supercharger stop
A few weeks ago: In Euroa, parked at the Tesla superchargers while we walked across the road to the park and toilets. Beautiful spot.
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A year on the road, looking back from Emerald
One year and one week ago, we set off on our road trip in our Tesla, all over eastern Australia. We put our belongings into storage, with Storage King, on the NSW Central Coast. We didn’t realise then that it would be a year until we would find a new home. One year later, we have a house (in progress), in Emerald Victoria. So, we arranged for No Limits Removalists to transport our belongings from the NSW Central Coast to Emerald. They rang today, in transit, to say that they could deliver tonight (at 11pm) or 7am tomorrow. I was surprised to even learn that there is a seven in the morning, so I opted for the late night tonight and drove up (30 minutes) to meet them. Once they arrived, they worked fast to unload it all into the garage, while I tried to position it all for best access. The furniture, tubs and boxes will stay in the garage for a week until the painting is done and the carpet is laid. Then we’ll gradually move it into the house.
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Knoxfield coffee, while we wait for the keys
We’ve spent a couple more weeks in Knoxfield (thank you Helen 🥰), while waiting for our house in Emerald to be ready. We explored some of the local coffee and shopping options. Choco Bean Cafe - Wantirna South (and sometimes Choco Bean Rowville Lakes) have been the regular preferred morning coffee supplier (hi Jenny 👋). At Knox Civic Center we saw a range of other EVs charging, including this beautiful blue wrapped Tesla Model 3.
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First delivery to the new home
Our first delivery to our new house – a congrats savoury box from The Hamper Emporium from Mortgage Choice in Tumbi Umbi. Thank you John and Amanda. What a nice surprise 😋 . John sorted out the loan for our previous house in Saratoga NSW, and now this one in Emerald Victoria. It’s been a long road, figuratively and literally. We packed up and left our old home on December 1 last year. We’ve been road tripping most of the time since then, and hope to finally move into our new home in a couple of weeks. We didn’t intend to take that long to find a new house. Our “pre approved” home loan with ING turned out to require additional financial info, which was difficult to do while we were on the road. I recall voicing our frustrations over the phone while driving through some country road out the back of nowhere. In any case, that pre approval expired after six months and banks started limiting new pre approvals to just three months. I’m not sure how they expected buyers to find a home in…
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Helping a stranger with a flat tyre
Finally had to deal with a flat tyre. But it wasn’t ours. Read on… Today was the first real day of summer in eastern Melbourne, after a few drizzly days. I decided to get out in the nature and go for a walk, at the base of the Dandenong Ranges, at the 1000 Steps Kakoda Walk. I managed to park right near the entrance, between two of the typical gigantic utes that barely fit in parking spaces. Beautiful place. So green. Killer steps. It’s much worse than it looks in the photos – honest 😞. I think I did 1000 steps. I only made it half way up, turned around and came back down, hoping that none of the children and older people who passed me realised that I didn’t go all the way to the top. 🤫 I may need to get more fit. Back at the carpark, I found three flat tyres. It wasn’t our Tesla. It was a Mazda CX-9. The young couple driving it had missed the turn into the carpark, taken the next turn, which happens to have unforgiving road spikes to make it exit only. Three flat tyres! 😮😖. Three…
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Glamping at Ballina
A few weeks ago Ballina Glamping at Ballina Beach Nature Resort.
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Our planned solar installation
Here’s an update on our planned solar installation, in Emerald Victoria, since some have asked. We were hoping to fill the sun facing part of our roof with solar panels. Lightning Energy has been great (Hi Andrew 👋). They put together a detailed initial proposal for us that would have given us 15kW of electricity from 34 solar panels (0.44kW each panel). The plan was to use that to charge the EV (7kW) and house battery (5kW), hot water, air conditioning etc. If/when we couldn’t use it all, we would export 5kW back to the grid. In a disappointing turn, we learned today that AusNet has rejected the proposal and capped it at a max of 11.9kW solar panels and 1.5kW export. So, our installation will be restricted to match 😢. The 11.9kW max solar production would only happen in full sun, in the sunny months of the year. On cloudy days, or in the middle of winter, solar panels only generate a fraction of the max power. For example, we might only generate 50% or 6kW on a sunny day in winter.…
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Another visit to the new house, painters at work
We took another “trip” to our new home in Emerald, Victoria, past Puffing Billy Railway. The painters (Bob and Andrew) are hard at work discovering and remedying some unexpected plastering and join defects. We don’t have furniture or food in the house yet. We sat outside and worked from our laptops, in the garden. We ate lunch at The General Food Store Emerald, and grabbed some enormous delicious scones for “lunch dessert” from Emerald Village Bakery and Cafe. We had to share just one. We also grabbed several night’s dinners 😋. On the return trip, we dropped by Choices Flooring again, to triple check our choice of carpet. The color looks different on-line.
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Kallista brunch, and a spin in a BYD
A lazy day trip up the Dandenong Ranges to Kallista Deli for brunch. Delicious smokey beans and corn bread or Eggs Benedict. Our friends, Sue and Ron, took us for a spin in their newly leased BYD EV. We envied the retractable sunroof, V2L (vehicle to load) and virtual top camera view of the car parking. But it lacks Tesla features like autopilot.
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Keys to our new home in Emerald
After travelling in our EV for a year, up and down the east coast of Australia, we have the keys to our new home, in Emerald Victoria! After a few stressful days wondering if the money transfer worked with ANZ Australia, we picked up our keys from Barry Plant Emerald. Thanks also to Mortgage Choice in Tumbi Umbi, NSW, for sorting out the otherwise mind numbing loan application forms, to get us this far. The painter has already started prepping. We’ve organised new carpet. Hopefully the solar and battery will follow soon from Lightning Energy.
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Final leg: Holbrook to Melbourne
The final leg of our return trip from Airlie Beach in Queensland, to the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. We left our accommodation at The Jolly Swagman Motor Inn Holbrook, then a brief stop at Chiltern Rest Stop. At lunch time we grabbed a couple of salad sandwiches from Mawsons Bakery Cafe, in Euroa, and ate them in Seven Creeks Park while the car charged and kept Archie in “cat mode” (shh, don’t tell him the proper name for it) air conditioned comfort. Then on to Croydon Vet Clinic and Lou Lou's Cattery and Small Animal Boarding Pty Ltd, and finally our last temporary accommodation at our generous sister Helen’s house in Knoxfield. In the pantry, we found our last bag of Brookfarm Granohlaah for breakfast the next morning!
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Picking up Archie from Cat Utopia
November 19 - 20: Today we finally picked up our cat, Archie, from Cat Utopia Resort & Spa in Doyalson. He’s been there all the time that we’ve been road tripping and searching for a new home. He was very chilled in the Tesla, snoozing for most of the trip. When we stopped for a brief lunch at Campbelltown Catholic Club and dinner at Oliver's Real Food Gundagai, Archie stayed in the car set to “dog mode”, which keeps him in air conditioned comfort. When we arrived at Jolly Swagman Motor Inn Holbrook, Archie checked the perimeter a few times in our room, peering out the window. Tomorrow, we complete our migration to Melbourne, taking Archie to Croydon Vet Clinic, and a brief stay at Lou Lou's Cattery in Bayswater North, while we get our house ready in Emerald Victoria.
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Tesla Autopilot through Hume Highway rain
Our Tesla’s Autopilot slowed to 90km/h on the Hume Highway, when the heavens opened. It still maintained excellent driving, amidst slowing cars and speeding trucks. On our way to Holbrook for the night, we stopped for dinner at Oliver's Real Food Gundagai, and enjoyed their new Mexican and vegetarian pockets, with a smoothie. The rain cleared to show “Jesus Sky”, with the sun’s rays coming through the cloud openings.
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Furniture shopping in Erina, with EV charging
While staying in Erina, NSW for a few nights, we popped into a few nearby shops to check out carpet, dining tables, lounges, for our new home in Emerald Victoria. One of the lounges even has a power point into which we could plug our car! 😉 (No, we’re not buying that one.) We indulged in a coffee and lunch at Sage Cafe at Erina Fair and a massage in a chair that gets quite intimate 😮. The Tesla got a clean and shine from the guys at Snap CarWash Red in Erina Fair. Great job as always. They must wonder about the treatment of our car as we return from each adventure in different corners of the eastern states. We (Fran) finally removed the Tesla number plate cover, which had accumulated dust after many dirt road adventures. The car looks so much better without it, we think. While waiting for the car wash, we bought some toys for the Christmas toy drive at Coast Realty, where a couple of our kids work. 🎁 The staff at Choices Flooring Erina were super helpful, patient and knowledgeable.…
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Beer-motif toilets at Heatherbrae Pies, Hexham
We drove south from Kempsey towards the NSW Central Coast, stopping for lunch at Heatherbrae Pies Hexham. The toilets and taps have an interesting beer motif 🤔.
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An overnight with John and Sue, near Kempsey
John and Sue kindly invited us to stay last night at their house near Kempsey, on our way south. Beautiful house and large property, with Marley the labrador to welcome us. We met John and Sue back in February at the Fully Charged Show in Sydney. John had then been waiting two years for his Tesla Model S order. He hedged his bets and ordered a black Model Y performance (shown in the photo). Later Tesla canceled his Model S order, after announcing that they will no longer make them for right hand drive markets, like Australia. They also credited $3k for the inconvenience, towards his Model Y order. We took it for a spin, with our heads planted on the head rests during launch. Whoa! It’s zero to 100km/h is 3.7s, compared to our standard Model 3’s 6.1s. (The Model 3 Performance does 100km/h in 3.3s.) The sound system is amazing, with about 14 speakers plus sub woofer.
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Coffee in Yamba, by the lighthouse
We continued south, crossing the Clarence River on the Harwood Bridge, near Maclean, then headed east to find coffee in Yamba. Had a bit of a stretch and explore there at Turners Beach, just under the Yamba Lighthouse. Then back on the road to Woolgoolga for lunch at the Beachouse Cafe. The Tesla navigation plotted what I guess it thought was the shortest route to Woolgoolga Beach, but the turn off from the Pacific Highway turned out to be a long windy dirt road through monotonous terrain, so we aborted immediately and headed back onto the highway. The underlying Google Maps sometimes doesn’t seem great at determining or showing road conditions when plotting a route.
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Glamping our way through Ballina
We woke in our Ballina Glamping tent at Ballina Beach Nature Resort. It’s a great setup. Hot shower, four post bed, dishwasher, swing chair, stove, power points to charge phones and car. Yeah, we know how to camp! Not sure about the efficiency of the air con in the tent, but maybe not much worse than many uninsulated houses. Lovely staff and setting. We set off south along the south bank of the river, towards our next night’s stop near Kempsey.
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Catching the Ballina ferry for dinner
We arrived at Ballina Beach Nature Resort just after 4pm, and realised that all of the shops and food outlets are located on the north side of the river, in the main town of Ballina. So, we hopped back in the car and onto the river ferry. It’s a $7 fee each way for a car on the ferry. We grabbed some Thai and ice cream cones, while watching the sun set over the river. A quick shop in Woolies for milk and breakfast supplies. Then we engaged boat mode again to re-cross the river and plug into the power point on the deck of our Ballina Glamping tent.
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On the Ballina ferry
Catching the ferry over to Ballina, NSW, from Ballina Glamping at Ballina Beach Nature Resort.
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Coffee in Eumundi, then IKEA North Lakes
We checked out of our B&B in Eumundi. Knowing that we wouldn’t find a park in town on market day, Tom double parked while Francis grabbed a coffee. What about breakfast? We headed south to IKEA North Lakes, to look at some furniture (for our new home in Emerald, Victoria). It turns out they serve breakfast there too, some assembly required, no Allen keys. Morning tea was, well, covered by guilt. Then off south through the outskirts of Brisbane, over the apocalyptic looking Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges.
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Two nights at Eumundi Escape B&B
We stopped for a couple of nights in Eumundi at Eumundi Escape B&B. Dinner at Sala Thai and Imperial Hotel Eumundi, with a walk through the Christmas decorated trees, the night before the place is packed with visitors to the Wednesday (and Saturday) markets. Time to catch up on some work, overlooking the nature, with some of the nature looking back 🐸. We tried out the of coffee machine and frother a few times. Not bad! It saved us enough in coffee purchases to pay for charging! 😉 Eumundi is between the Bruce Highway and the train line, so you sometimes try to pick where you’re heading a truck, train or plane 😉.
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Korte's Resort Rockhampton, with kangaroos
November 11 - 13: Fancy motel with a pool, restaurant, laundry, kangaroos in the distance, and Tesla destination chargers. Really friendly and helpful staff. We spent way too long trying to rebalance washing machines while trying to get through the backlog of clothes from the previous week. Also squeezed in some paid work on the laptop. We popped ten minutes down the road to explore the Kershaw Gardens. It’s an oasis of green with kids playground, water jets, waterfalls, walking path through a mini botanic garden. We have officially run out of Granolaah from Costco in Victoria, so we really need to hurry back south now.
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First charge at the new Calliope Superchargers
A couple more stops for a stretch and a wee, along the Bruce Highway, heading south. First stop at the new Tesla Superchargers in Calliope. I’m told it’s pronounced “cal eye o pee”. These weren’t here on our previous trip in January. They are now the new most northern Tesla Superchargers on the east coast (previously Gympie). Bit of an isolated spot, but a short walk to the service station, cafe and toilet. We only stopped for the few minutes to walk there and back. The next stop was in Gin Gin, which just happened to have a bakery and a charger. So, this turned into a lunch stop. Interesting main street layout, with a park and toilets on an island between the north and south lanes of the Bruce Highway.
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The Cistern Chapel of Maryborough
The Caricature Queen had actually drawn it in our caricature early this year, but we’d not previously seen it for ourselves. Very flash flush! We had hoped to finally meet the Caricature Queen face to face, but we unfortunately passed through on a day that the shop is shut.
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Strolling Kershaw Gardens, Rockhampton
Strolling through Kershaw Gardens in Rockhampton.
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Snorkelling at Cats Eye Beach
November 9 - 10: Buffet breakfast with dragonfruit and granola and other healthy and less healthy options). A bit more work on the laptop from the balcony. Rainbow birthday cake, taking care not to feed the cockatoos, who will tear apart the room, given the chance. Then back on the ferry to the mainland. It’s been a fun four days.
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Celebrating our daughter's 21st birthday
November 7 - 8: Lots of fun and laughs over meals and exploring, meeting some locals. Managed to squeeze in some work from laptops on the balcony.
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Mackay to Rockhampton, the long quiet stretch
We’re driving from Mackay to Rockhampton today. It’s one of the longest stretches of “not much here”, with signs along the Bruce Highway like “Still a long way to go, kids” and trivia questions/answers. We stopped for lunch at one of the few options along the way: Flaggy Rock Cafe. It’s a great little place with good food. The cars jostle to find parking in the shade. We moved the car out to the RV section to park under a tree, and kept the air con running to keep our food cool. A bit further down the road, we stopped briefly for the toilet at the Marlborough Service Station, with a reminder that we’re not paying $2/L for petrol 😮.
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A second visit to Zarby's Cafe
First stop, at Zarby’s Cafe’, heading back south from Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach. We discovered this cute diner, with good food, a couple of weeks earlier on our way north. We arrived 20 minutes before closing time, but the staff were kind enough to make us a delicious sandwich and chips. The couple who arrived after closing had to settle for Pringles for lunch 😢 😉.
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Visiting 'Tarquin' the burnt-orange Tesla
We popped in to see Kylie, Aaron, their family, pets and newly wrapped “Tarquin” the Tesla, in its burnt orange glory. We first met them (back when Tarquin was white) nearly a year ago when we were road tripping towards Cairns (and the Daintree). Since then, Kylie has been following along on our blog, making suggestions along the way. They kindly invited us for some afternoon tea today ☺️. The finished edges of Tarquin’s wrap are impressively neat. Our Tesla is basically the same, except ours is wrapped in bugs and thousands of kilometres of road dust. Francis was ready to adopt a few of the pets. We considered charging in the garage, but the pricing (made especially for us) was too high 😉. We stayed overnight in a motel in Mackay, which turned out to be right under the flight path, next to the airport. It was amusing, rather than annoying, until perhaps the 6am wake up call of what seemed to be a truck on our roof.
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Coffee at the Hangar Cafe, Airlie Beach airport
November 4 - 6: After an unsuccessful attempt to make coffee using the machine in our accommodation in Baybliss Apartments, we set out to The Hangar Cafe, a few minutes away at the airport, next to the runway. Some people were so desperate for coffee that they jumped out of planes to get there. We’re guessing that at least one of the chopper pilots lives on site with their family. We watched their kids zoom along the service road on e-scooters next to the runway. During an afternoon swim in the pool at our apartment, Erin and Isaiah paid us a surprise visit. We went for a joy ride in the Tesla to nearby Funnel Bay. Lovely spot. I briefly awoke at sunrise to catch a photo through the balcony window of our accommodation. You’re welcome 😉.
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A few visits to Airlie Beach
November 4 - 6: First for the waffle chips (and salad for balance) at Airlie Beach Treehouse. The established trees around Airlie Beach Lagoon are amazing, with their intricate root systems that start metres above the ground. The lagoon is needed for swimming, because the ocean is trying to kill you, according to the warning signs. The prettier the ocean, the more deadly, it seems. The parking lots by the beach use a pretty simple EasyPark app, at $2 per hour parking. Almost no shade, however. On our last day, while buying Cocopops from Airlie Beach Woolworths across the road, we discovered it has its own shaded car park.
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Ferry to Hamilton Island, to pick up Amber
We took the ferry from Airlie Beach over to Hamilton Island, past a giant cruise ship, to meet our local family, Erin and Isaiah, and pick up another daughter, Amber, from the airport. Tom did his best impersonation with the other chauffeurs, holding the passenger name sign. We squished into the electric buggy and headed to our accommodation in the Reef View Hotel,. We checked out the views from the hotel’s balcony and glass elevators as the sun set.
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Kangaroos on the beach at Cape Hillsborough sunrise
Kangaroos on the beach at sunrise at Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park.
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Coconut and mango curry at Cape Gloucester Resort
We took a day trip out through Dingo Beach, over OMG Hill to Cape Gloucester Resort in Hideaway Bay. What a beautiful spot. Delicious coconut and mango curry with little naan breads seemed perfect with the tropical sunset.
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Baybliss Apartments at Shute Harbour
We drove through Proserpine and Airlie Beach to Shute Harbour, to stay for three nights. Found this great place Baybliss Apartments on Booking.com, with window overlooking the bay and a shared infinity pool.
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A morning coffee hunt to Seaforth
Getting away from the hustle and bustle to the natural beauty of Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park is great, but in the morning, Francis longs for the civilisation of coffee. We set off for a day trip to nearby Seaforth, but just found more of the nature, without coffee. We diverted down a dirt road through the cane fields to Mount Ossa, back on the Bruce Highway. There we found a great little diner called Zarby’s Cafe’. Decorated with rock and roll icons like Elvis and a juke box, but playing good old country music. Delicious eggs for brekky, and the coffee, of course. Lovely staff. Back to the holiday park for a swim in the pool and to test out the water slide. Lazy evening for the kangaroos, probably preparing for the paparazzi tomorrow morning.
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Digital-nomad days at Cape Hillsborough
Woke up late on our first morning. Digital nomad work in the middle of the day, with a pick plate for lunch. Walk on the beach at sunset. November 2: Kangaroos on the beach at sunrise. What’s most amazing about these photos is not the first rays lighting up the sky, the fresh feel of the day beginning, or the iconic kangaroos getting their feet wet in the ocean. It’s the fact that we were up and out the door at sunrise! 😉
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Three nights at The Coast Motel, Yeppoon
October 26-29. We checked into The Coast Motel in Yeppoon, for three nights. Nice place, with a pool, laundry, room balcony, tavern next door and undercover shaded parking. During the middle day heat, we caught up on some of the necessities of life, including work (coding and a virtual meeting), laundry. We’re not sure about the stocking lint filter on the dryer. We chipped away at the seemingly endless admin of preparing to move into our new home, thousands of kilometres away, in Emerald Victoria, where the temperature is less than half that in Yeppoon. I think we’ll be in for a shock when we eventually go home. In the cooler parts of the day, we gave ourselves a reprieve, with a morning coffee from Two Sisters Coffee Bar in nearby Cooee Bay, a visit to the Wreck Point Scenic Lookout. One day we drove down to Emu Park, with the soldier crabs and metal emus. We ate lunch there, watching several people stroll past in Oktoberfest clothing. We also had several visits to Yeppoon Main…
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Past 'Are we there yet?' signs to Mackay
We left Capricorn Caves, near Rockhampton heading north again along the Bruce Highway, along the most empty stretch of the trip, towards Mackay. Passed signs like “Are we there yet?” and “Still a long way to go, kids”. Stopped for coffee at the Marlborough Service Station. The staff were lovely. Fran may have been influenced by the free churro with coffee offer. Carmila: Stopped for the toilet and to buy some Kit Kats, to support the local sugar industry 😉. It’s all sugar cane fields from here to Mackay (and beyond). Great to see some green after hundreds of kilometres of dried out landscape. We noted the signs “Use your cane train brain” and looked out for cane trains. We stopped at the Koumala Hotel for lunch, but it turns out today isn’t a kitchen cooking day. So we ventured off the highway to Sarina Beach Motel’s on site restaurant for a couple of burgers. We had stayed here in December. Tom tried to grab a coconut from a tree for dessert, but was unsuccessful. We drove through…
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Booking jackpot at Cape Hillsborough
Sometimes it’s a bit of a lottery when booking somewhere new and unseen. Often, we hit the jackpot, like we did here at Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park. It’s a caravan, camping and cabin park, in a national park, with beaches, mangroves, stunning landscapes and rock formations, walks, a couple of kangaroos hopping around the park and a whole mob coming out for sunrise on the beach each morning. We’ll be making or own meals for a few days. Delicious fruit salad and yogurt is a great start. Stay tuned for more photos, including the kangaroos on the beach.
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A Cathedral Cave tour at Capricorn Caves
We took the afternoon tour through the Cathedral Cave at Capricorn Caves. Our guide, Amber, told us about it collapsing every 10,000 years or so; the unique resident endangered fern; how the bat poo is the foundation of the local ecosystem; and how the stalactites and stalagmites here only grow when it rains. Seeing the tall tree roots growing in mid air from ceiling to floor was fascinating. We loved the acoustics in the cathedral (complete with church pews) as they played “Hallelujah” through some hidden speakers with a pitch black interlude. We did our best Indiana Jones on the way out through tight twisting tunnels and suspended bridges.
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A cabin stay at Capricorn Caves
October 29-31: Just north of Rockhampton, we stopped for a couple of nights. The street is just after a collection of rusting old cars, which makes me glad that the Tesla body is pressed aluminium (no rust). The on site wifi and the phone call reception each only had about one bar of signal strength, so we got a bit creative for internet. Somehow, the Tesla had the best internet connection, so we watched a few episodes of “Upload” in it before bed. Ironically, the story starts in the future with someone dying in a self driving car 😮. For laptop work, we pretended we had StarLink, by positioning an iPhone on the roof of the Tesla, and hot spotting from it. We cooked meals and took special precaution not to wear another one on a white top. We quickly chilled a few cans of ginger beer in the freezer, but forgot them for a day. Fortunately, they didn’t explode in there, but they were close! We took one of the cave tours, which I’ll post separately.
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Furniture-trying at Fantastic Furniture, Rockhampton
After three days in and around Yeppoon, we headed back inland to Rockhampton. We parked next to the library and grabbed lunch and a coffee at The Two Professors cafe. We found Fantastic Furniture to try out some lounge options, much to the amusement of other customers. The lounge is not for the Tesla, but for our soon to be new home in Emerald, Victoria. Not enough boot space to transport it from here, though 😉. Next, Capricorn Caves.
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Nearly 1000 followers — thank you!
Hey, I just noticed that we nearly have a thousand followers 😮, since starting this travel blog in December. Thank you to all of you who have taken an interest, left a comment, asked questions and encouraged us along the way 🥰. We seem to have hundreds of people who view and like our posts, but haven’t “followed”. Can you please help us tip over the 1000 mark? Please do this: 1. Tap on “Tesla Tripping” to view our profile. See screenshot. 2. Tap on the “…” button. 3. Tap on “Follow” so it changes to “Following”. If it already says “Following”, then you’re already part of the thousand – thank you ❤️
Formerly: Tesla Tripping
Come along on our EV road trips around Australia and Europe, and follow as we progressively electrify our home in Emerald, Victoria.
Join us on the road. We set off in late 2022 and drove eastern Australia in our Tesla Model 3 — Sydney, Dubbo, Armidale, Brisbane, Cape Tribulation, then down through Queensland and back. We've since upgraded to a Model Y.
We've kept exploring — Uluru, the Snowy Mountains and Gippsland, and a longer run through Europe in 2024. There's plenty more on the map, so come along for the next leg.
At home in Emerald, in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, we're progressively electrifying everything: rooftop solar, a home battery, a hot water heat pump, air conditioned heating and cooling, and EV charging straight from the sun. We're going fully electric, off the gas.
Got questions, or insights of your own? We'd love to hear them — please drop a comment on any post.