-
HQ
HQ
HQ
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.
-
HQ
A bollard manoeuvre, and meeting Patty
Manoeuvred my way around the bollards with a three point turn again, at the RACQ Chargefox charger. Chatted briefly with Scott (before me in a blue Tesla Model 3 with bikes on a rack) and Patty afterwards. Patty is today moving with his dogs up from The Sunshine Coast to Port Douglas. His wife is driving another Tesla. They are planning to “hippy-fy” their new place with EV chargers for guests.
-
HQ
HQ
HQ
An Audi e-tron meet, with Linda and Louis
We waited for another Tesla Model 3, which was at 99% for ages when we got there, not checked in, in PlugShare. Then had a chat with Linda and Louis who arrived a while later, in their Audi e-tron. They had travelled from Wollongong, passing through Port Douglas. We agreed that we need more than one RACQ Chargefox fast charger in these locations. The layout of this charger is great: easy to park; can charge from either side; near shopping and toilets.
-
HQ
HQ
HQ
Mossman Gorge in the Daintree
Visitors have to park at the center, then catch a shuttle bus to the gorge, then walk a nice 640m boardwalk to the popular river spot. The centre includes a cafe, toilets, gift shop and ticket counter. It’s pretty but seems to be a large overhead for a fairly standard river view, with room at the gorge for a limited number of visitors. There is a longer 2km walk, but we didn’t try it. They advise not to swim, but half the people do. We found out later that a couple of tourists were swept away by the river, prompting a search.
-
HQ
HQ
HQ
Made it to Cape Tribulation
We made it to the northernmost point of our road trip: Cape Tribulation. Lush vegetation, lots of wildlife if you look closely. The ocean is eerie – it’s hard to tell where it ends and the sky begins. It’s so very humid in summer. Great little cafe/kiosk where we were staying. But we also cooked our meals in the camp kitchen. There’s no grid power here, north of the Daintree River, so the Safari Lodge and Campground (our accommodation) and other places all run on diesel generators. The generator supplies the electricity for the powered sites, cabins, lights, kiosk, washing machines, everything. A few places have solar panels. There are plans for a micro-grid to get rid of the diesel generators. I'm surprised that they don't have more solar here, but it is coming
-
HQ
Crossing the Daintree River ferry
We crossed the Daintree River on the ferry. Notice on the other side of the river the toddler that seems to be driving a car from the sunroof.
-
HQ
HQ
HQ
Charging in Cairns, plus an AQUA Lagoon coffee
Charged up for the trip to Daintree. Managed to beat Kylie and Aaron this time, who resorted to the slow 11kW charger next to us, until we finished. Enjoyed a delicious coffee and an ice block with fruit in it at AQUA Cairns Lagoon cafe. Tried to block a photo of me in portrait 🤪.
-
HQ
HQ
HQ
Queueing at the Cardwell charger
We charged up at Cardwell (south of Cairns). We initially queued behind Aaron and Kylie in their Tesla Model 3 (Mackay to Cairns). While waiting, we drove up the road to buy lunch from a cafe, under “The Big Crab”. When we returned, we queued behind Vijay and his family in their MG (Port Douglas to Brisbane). We ate our lunch the pretty park next to the charger, whilst avoiding swimming and being eaten ourselves by crocodiles.
-
We might be a little bit crazy
We moved out of our home, sold what we could, moved the rest into storage, and set off road tripping in our Tesla Model 3. It?s the cheapest, smallest Tesla, with RWD (rear wheel drive), LFP battery and about 430km range. It runs on electricity. No petrol, oil, smell, noise etc. We?ve only had it three months. We have a bed that fits the back of the Tesla from Tessories Australia, a Carsule tent from MOGICS, a huge 50L camp fridge, camp chairs and other gear from KILOS GEAR. When we can’t find accommodation, the Tesla will be our home for the night. We were living on the NSW Central Coast, in Saratoga. All of our kids have grown and moved out. We need to downsize and reset. But, for the moment, we are without a home, other than the Tesla. We had only booked accommodation for our first two nights, in Port Stephens. We’re just winging it from there. The rough plan is to then head west through Mudgee and Dubbo, then up through Tamworth and Armidale, then up through Queensland to Airlie…
-
HQ
HQ
HQ
Setting off on our east-coast EV adventure
We packed the essentials into our electric car (Tesla Model 3) and set out to explore the east coast of Australia, out to Dubbo, up through Queensland to Cape Tribulation, down from Mackay to Bega and along the south Victorian coast, Great Ocean Road, The Grampians and much more. Last lunch before we go, courtesy of Shelly's Cafe. Somehow we managed to fit all of that (including 50L fridge, bed, chairs, tent, food, clothes, computers) into the smallest car that Tesla make.
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.