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Goodbye gas — disconnecting the ducted heating
Goodbye gas! I finally organised disconnecting the ducted gas heating at our home. If only we could see the burnt gas pouring into the air, all the time, and not just when the condensation highlights it (as in the photos). Pumping carcinogens and greenhouse gases into the air that we breathe. It’s nuts. It was costing us up to $528 per month to run the heating in winter. Our replacement air conditioning will be closer to free, thanks to our solar and battery. We recently also replaced our gas hot water with a heat pump. Our one remaining gas appliance is our stove top. Once that’s gone, we will save $35 per month just for the connection fee. And no more gas! We’re replacing the gas heating with some split air conditioners. For those who might say “what about in a blackout”? Note the power point connection on the old gas heating. Our old gas hot water heat pump had one too. They both needed electricity to run. In fact, in addition the gas consumed, the heating used about 1kW of…
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First Tesla service call: a new wheel
First service call for our Tesla Model Y. Replacing our loaner wheel with a new wheel. As you can see in our posts from a few weeks ago, we hit a pothole, damaging our left rear wheel. At the time, we only knew that we had a slow leak. We logged the problem in the Tesla app. They arranged for roadside assistance to come to us, in about an hour, to install a loaner wheel, and take ours away to diagnose. Today, Tesla replaced the loan wheel with a new wheel, costing a whopping $1319. I asked them to clean the damaged wheel and put it in the back of the car. In the photos, you can see the buckle and crack. I am wondering if it is fixable. When I booked this service in the app, I also asked them to fix the water in the light bar, and some issues with the steering wheel buttons. They replaced both. I’ll discuss the steering wheel buttons in a separate post. All covered under warranty. I had a bit of trouble figuring out where to leave the car. Several after me also mistakenly parked in…
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Great chargers, sad site, at Coolac
Time for a break and a cup of tea. The navigation says that the next EV charger is at Coolac, just north of Gundagai, so we stopped there. Wow. It’s a pretty bad. The chargers are great, simple and fast. But the site is woeful. The hotel is closed or being renovated. The toilets are port-a-loos, but are disgusting . I don’t know how much of that is due to infrequent maintenance versus just being the busiest time of year. There is a service station nearby with some food and hopefully better toilets, but it’s a ten minute walk away in the heat, and not an option for Mum’s walker. Some people were sheltering from the sun under the three tall trees begging the toilets. Not a great spot. Tesla/government really needs to ensure better location for EV chargers. We enjoyed a cup of tea from our thermoses, and some Christmas snacks (thank you Krissy). Some way further up the highway, we pulled over into Bookham, for a conveniently located toilet and a bit of a stretch in some broken shade. In…
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Oli burger and FSD on the Hume Highway
Lunch stop at Oliver's, just outside Gundagai. I recommend the Oli burger 🍔. Tesla Model 3 with stripes parked near us. FSD along most of the Hume Highway. It does a great job, and avoids human fatigue. A few complaints, though, including it repeatedly thinking that the speed limit is 100, even when it’s actually 110 (pictured). Occasionally it dropped to 80 or 40, presumably after seeing some random sign off the highway. Pretty good driving efficiency with FSD, too, about 14kWh per 100km. See screenshots.
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Heat pump installation
We finally got around to installing a hot water heat pump, to replace our gas hot water system. We were paying about $40 per month for our instant gas hot water (plus $40 connection fee). Now we’re paying nothing, because the heat pump is just using our excess solar power. Without solar, I estimate it would be costing us $8 per month to power it from the electricity grid. There are a few incentive schemes around to replace gas (or other old inefficient systems) with a heat pump. An installer will factor these into their quote. The subsidies can be significant. In our case, the total price was $4480, but it was reduced to $1650 for us to pay, after subsidies were subtracted. A hot water heat pump uses the same principle as an air conditioner (which is also a heat pump). It “pumps” heat from one side to the other. In this case, it pumps heat from the outside air into the tank of water. The basic physics is that when you compress air in a confined space, it gets hot, and when you expand…
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On our way to Coober Pedy — first Glendambo stop
On our way to Coober Pedy, the plan was to stop here at the Glendambo Roadhouse for lunch and top up “fuel” for the car. Glendambo seems to consist of three main buildings: on the left, an old run down, decommissioned service station. In the middle, a roadhouse/pub, with access to motel rooms and camp ground behind. On the right, a newer service station with simple hot food options. I heard the service station staff saying that they had run out of diesel fuel, awaiting a delivery in an hour or two. A truckie reported to say he had thousands of litres parked outside, but he couldn’t give it up, since it was bound for Coober Pedy. If there’s no fuel, there’s no plan B. You just have to wait and hope. We chatted to one of the guys towing the rally car with skulls, appropriately named “Numb Skulls”. They’re headed from home in Katherine, NT south for the Variety Bash near Adelaide, then back home. That’s a lot of towing.
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Charging confusion at Spud's Roadhouse
Although it’s in the middle of nowhere, Spud's Roadhouse is a great place to stop on the way to Uluru. For one, it has a few EV charging options. Now, charging should be simple, like it was for the two EVs that were here when I arrived. They each plugged into one of the two DC charging cables, walked over to get some food at the roadhouse while their cars charged. Then off they went – one towards Adelaide and the other to Roxbury. But life isn’t always so simple. I plugged into the remaining charger, which is a slower AC station. It’s only 7kW, compared to the faster DC adjacent chargers at 80-150kW. But, that’s fine – I’m staying here overnight, so I have the time, or I could have just used a fast charger when one of the other drivers disconnected. This AC charger requires your own “Type 2” (technically “Mennekes”) cable, which we have, so I plugged it into the car and EV charger. To my surprise, it immediately started charging, without using an app or tap card. I left it connected…
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Walking the Murrumbidgee levee in Wagga
Out for a walk along the levee bank along the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga. Beautiful day, warmer now with the sunshine. Lots of people camping by the river, I presume as their homes. Must be so cold at night.
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A fluid swap at Oliver's Real Food, Gundagai
Quick stop for a fluid change (hot chocolate in, wee out) at Oliver's Real Food Gundagai.
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A cafe opposite the Yass Superchargers
Stop for a late lunch, in Yass, at Kaffeine 2582. We picked this place, because it’s opposite the Tesla Superchargers. I wonder if the cafe realises how many EV drivers now eat at their cafe 🤔.
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A solar-powered coffee stop at Glenrowan BP
Coffee stop, just north of Glenrowan, at the BP service centre. The Tesla/Google navigation only knew the south bound service center here, so the directions tried to send us over the highway 🤪. Thanks to the nearby solar farm that provides the power to the grid that found its way to our car. We overheard someone paying $1100 for fuel, presumably a semi trailer. Wow. 😮 Home baked Anzac slice (thank you Krissy) was the perfect accompaniment for the coffee and thermos of tea. The small birds begged us for crumbs. On towards Wagga.
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Tetris-ing four people, a fridge and luggage into a Model 3
We know our Tesla Model 3 can fit a 50L camp fridge. And we know it will take a large travel suitcase, or four people and some luggage. But we didn’t know if it would take all that at the same time. It took a fair bit of Tetris-ing, and the boot strained at the seams, but we managed to get everything in. I think we might need a bigger car. First stop at Eumundi Markets. We parked in the shade and later opened the boot so the fridge had some outlet for the hot air. Second stop along the highway at Burpengary for some fast food lunch. Then we delivered Erin and Isaiah to their accommodation in Brisbane before their flight back to Airlie Beach tomorrow.
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Crepes for breakfast at Botero Cafe, Maclean
Crepes filled with chocolate mousse, banana and cherry sauce is a perfectly legitimate breakfast, according to Botero Cafe, in Maclean. Onward north towards Coollum Beach in Queensland.
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Halloween mishaps, then a farm B&B near Paris
October 31 - November 2: After a series of Halloween misadventures, we finally made it to our accommodation, south east of Paris. Beautiful buildings, set on a farm. Breakfast set by Jerome each morning.
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The long flight home from Amsterdam
November 7-8: Via Singapore, back to Melbourne. First, a quick correction to Tom’s inside out t-shirt – it was a chaotic morning getting to the airport. The food and service on Singapore AIRLINES was great. The in flight wifi is good, but connecting to it is more complicated than it should be. We couldn’t sleep. Towards the end, we looked at each other in despair and lamented “the human body was not designed to endure this”. Final leg from Melbourne Airport to home in Emerald via Uber in a Tesla Model 3, just like ours. We were impressed how the driver managed to fit all our luggage in the boot. Just in time for a well earned sleep 😴. Next morning: removal of the Europe road trip beard.
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UFODRIVE return chaos at Amsterdam airport
Up early (ish) to drive the Tesla to the airport. Luckily we allowed extra time, because a bus breakdown at the airport delayed us by an hour. And then trying to find where to return the rental car took us ages. UFODRIVE needs to improve the airport drop off instructions. But the rest of the return process worked pretty well. All from within the app, take some photos and finalise to lock the car.
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Final night in Amsterdam
Our final night in the Netherlands and Europe, before our long flight home tomorrow.
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Crossed off: an electric hearse
We can cross “electric hearse” off our list of electric vehicles to see 😮. Seems to be a custom converted Tesla.
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Last lunch with cousin Nico in Amsterdam
Our last meet up with cousin Nico, in Amsterdam, for lunch at the Noorderlicht Café. Converted docklands with some interesting large artwork. We’ve spent two months in Europe. We hired a Tesla Model Y from UFODRIVE in the Netherlands, visited Germany for lunch, drove all over the Netherlands, then through Belgium, France and Switzerland, down to Italy, and back. We left Nico with a “gift bag” of all the road tripping gear (cooler bag, utensils etc) that wouldn’t fit in our plane baggage tomorrow. Sad to say goodbye, but lots of great memories.
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Watching out for everything, in Amsterdam
A lazy wander around Amsterdam. Really need to pay attention when crossing the road. Watch out for tiny cars, electric bikes, trams, line marking machines, horses, even stilts.
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Van Gogh and silent canal boats in Amsterdam
A day wandering around Amsterdam, starting at the Van Gogh Museum. Lunch next to the canal. No fumes or noise from the many passing tour boats, because they are all electric. Blissful.
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8000 km later, back in Amsterdam
Full circle through Europe, after nearly 8000km, back to Amsterdam. We checked in at the Clayton Hotel. Parking across the canal at QPark – not cheap in the city, for a few days. Tight fit. Several EV charging points. The nearby Albert Heijn store stocked Australian Lindermans wine.
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France to Amsterdam, via a Lesquin McDonald's
We drove from France, through Belgium, back to Amsterdam. First stop, in Lesquin France, at a McDonalds for lunch. This was our first and only fast food chain stop while in Europe. We were curious to see if it was much different to home. The French fries on the menu are, of course, just called “fries” (or “frites”, in French). They also offer plant based chicken nuggets.
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A restored B&B in Flavy-Le-Martel
We arrived last night in this delightful B&B, in the small French town of Flavy-Le-Martel. Our host shared breakfast time with us, telling us the history. She bought the derelict house, which had been abandoned for thirty years. She moved from Paris, and spent a decade rebuilding it, with help from contractors, but mostly herself, with instructions from YouTube videos. Very impressive. We loved being back on rural roads.
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Goodbye Paris, Indian dinner in Saint-Quentin
Goodbye Paris. A quick wave as we passed the Arc de Triomphe and the Moulin Rouge. Northward to Sant-Quentin, France, for a traditional… Indian dinner.
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Lunch at La Petit Palais
Much more inviting, friendly and accessible than most palatial attractions.
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More Paris architecture
We strolled around Paris, checking out some more of the architecture.
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All sorts of EVs in Paris
November 2-4: The inner region of the city now requires vehicles to register and display an emissions sticker. The less polluting the vehicle, the cheaper the permit. The result: noticeably improved air quality, with obvious benefits to health. There are also many electric charging options. The future is looking good.
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How many photos can we take of the Eiffel Tower?
November 2-4: We tried our best, over a couple of days, while we stayed a few blocks away, in Paris.
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A Paris hotel a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower
We used the last of our Luxury Escapes credit to book a couple of nights at this hotel in Paris, a few blocks walk from the Eiffel Tower and the river. Parking on site, but it was a tight fit. The toilets were in the basement, with an impressive arched roof of stones. Many enticing patisseries nearby, even just outside our window. First task was to buy some croissants to have in our room. Then a walk to the Eiffel Tower, and some dinner out, in Paris. As you do 😉.
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A lazy day after two days of Versailles
A lazy day after two days of tackling traffic to and from Versailles. We drove through some of the poorer high density suburbs around us, stopping in a park with a random ruin. Filled with families playing bocci, other ball games, and just enjoying life. Lunch options were difficult to find. We discovered that it was “All Saints Day”, with many businesses closed. We ate at a pub, still Halloween themed, including dismembered body parts. We opted for vegetarian 😉. Tomorrow we’re heading to Paris.
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Inside the Palace of Versailles
Back to the Palace of Versailles. We got to go inside this time, having finally snapped up tickets. Interior decorating overload. Amazing, ostentatious, a bit crowded. The stairs have a well worn groove from so many visitors. The traffic home seemed busier than yesterday. A long slow drive to get back. We later discovered that tomorrow is a public holiday “All Saints Day”. So, we were driving out of Paris suburbs in peak hour, just before a long weekend. We stopped by Best Wok again for dinner, and snapped a photo with the robot waiter.
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More Versailles mishaps, on the road south
Our Versailles string of mishaps continued. First the good news. We finally got out of Versailles and the busy night time suburbs of Paris, heading south east towards our accommodation. Overdue for some dinner, and the EV needing a charge, we looked on the Tesla’s navigation for a stop along the way for both. We picked one of several options along the way, a bank of “V4” Tesla superchargers. We parked, plugged in, and walked next door to “Best Wok” – an all you can eat buffet restaurant. Once we started talking, the designated English speaking staff member came over to help us. The staff were all lovely. Even the robot that collected the dirty plates and delivered drinks, had a smile. Marvin better lift his game 😉. So many food options. We were overjoyed to have fresh veggies. We plated a pile of ingredients, handed them to the wok cook, and watched him fry it up. Fun and delicious. We didn’t have escargot or frogs legs, but this was such a joyful meal to have in France. Returning to…
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Our second run-in with European police
Our second run in with police in Europe. This time in France. After exploring the gardens around the Palace of Versailles, in the evening we drove through the southern suburbs of Paris towards the accommodation we had booked earlier that day. The navigation said to take an exit in 300m, but there were two close together, and I mistakenly took the one, which took us back in the wrong direction, through a low clearance long tunnel with a €12 fee., adding another hour to our trip. This was not going well. We exited the tunnel, back in the suburbs, driving through Versailles. Slow traffic, single lane in each direction. We could hear a siren somewhere getting closer. Suddenly, there was a police car on the wrong side of the road heading straight for our rental Tesla. In addition to flashers and sirens, they started flashing high beams. We stopped, checked rear vision cameras and mirror, and slowly reversed to the side. Bang! We hit something. We felt and heard it. “Shit shit shit” I said…
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Sold out at Versailles, so we wandered the gardens
We arrived at at the Palace of Versailles, passed the golden gates and the armed guards, only to discover that tickets to the actual palace were completely sold out for today. So, we spent the afternoon wandering the magnificent gardens (which also required tickets). But first, lunch at one of the restaurants, which turned out to be big plate (and bill), small meal. Fancy and delicious, though. We bought tickets to the palace for tomorrow, which means another trip back here from our accommodation on the other side of Paris.
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Laundry, then folding while charging, in France
Having finished the laundry and exhausted our hour of parking, we shuffled our now clean clothes into the frunk, drove to the other end of town, plugged into a destination charger, and proceeded to fold our clothes and pack them into our suitcases. Life in Europe is so glamorous! Next to the charger is possibly Cluny’s main attraction: The Cluny Abbey. We felt obliged to visit it.
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Saint-Clement B&B and a regretted kebab
Inching closer to Paris, we stopped overnight at a B&B in Saint-Clement. Breakfast was a hamper delivery in the morning. Dinner was a regretted kebab from across the road. On the way to Saint Clement, we stopped at a patisserie for lunch, followed by Halloween themed cake.
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We stopped at a B&B in Cluny, France
October 27-29: Beautiful historic town. A few streets adorned with strings of bras, which we were told are in support of breast cancer research fund raising. Parking in the narrow cobblestone roads is a challenge. It took a couple of attempts to find somewhere that didn’t block a turning area or garage. On any road trip, the laundry eventually catches up with us. We started some machines going in the local laundrette while we enjoyed some lunch nearby. Then we laid the clean clothes in the Tesla’s frunk to sort out a bit later.
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An Australian-brand charger in central Lyon
A brief drive through Lyon, heading north west towards Cluny and Paris. Parking was at a premium. Then we thought to look on the Tesla navigation for an EV charger, which of course comes with parking. Great! We found one a few blocks away – an Australian brand “Tritium”. One bay way taken, so we parked in the spare bay and had a brief wander in the central park. Again, the toilets disappointed, so back to the car to get toilet paper. Again, EV chargers are easier to find than functioning toilets, in much of Europe.
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A postman's quirky palace, near Cluny
We left our B&B, detouring on our way to Paris, to check out this “palace” suggested by our hosts. What a quirky place. Built by a postman, over several decades, with no particular artistic or engineering skills. It’s kind of like a large sandcastle sculpture. Along the way, we snapped a photo next to a wind turbine. Notice how the crops are planted right up to the edge of it. A great way to keep agricultural land and still generate power.
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A day trip back into the French Alps
Day trip back towards the French Alps, along some sections of road carved into the side of a mountain. Beautiful hike along the stream to a waterfall. The restaurant on the map was not a functioning option when we arrived, so we made do with snacks we happened to have in the car. The toilet turned out to be BYO toilet paper, so we became popular with other hikers when we showed up with a spare roll. Be prepared.
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A lovely B&B in La Tour-du-Pin
October 25-27: We followed our usual pattern: at about 4pm we looked on Booking.com for somewhere to stay, generally in our direction of travel. The owner, her visiting daughter, and her young son looked after us, with breakfast and tips on local attractions. And music played on an old style record player. When we told a few locals we are from Australia, they each asked “why did you come here?” I don’t think they get many passing through 😉. For dinner, we were really needing some veggies. So, we bypassed the traditional French cuisine, and opted instead, both nights, for Asian style food from nearby “Marco Polo Cuisine du Monde”. The (French) manager was thrilled to put a second pin into Australia on his world map of visitors (pictured).
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A random afternoon-tea stop, with a waterfall
First stop (on the return northbound trip) in France. Time for a break and afternoon tea, so we just looked in our general direction on the navigation map for something random worth the stop. Waterfall and cafe – perfect! This cafe’s decorations showed that Halloween is surprisingly big in random places across Europe. Crepes with sugar frosting. Mum: I think your crepes are better 😋. We spotted another EV parked there too – a Porsche Taycan, which costs about three to four times our Tesla.
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Leaving Italy via a maze of toll booths
Leaving Italy. So many toll booths, with different systems. Some give you a ticket to insert at the other end, then pay. Some require payment up front with a tap on. Some don’t do tap on, so you have to use a physical card. Different booths for different payments. We reversed out of a few. Not a fan. After that, we turned on “Avoid Toll Roads” in the navigation. The most expensive toll of the whole trip was leaving Italy through a long tunnel to France. This toll booth was actually staffed. When he said “€55”, I asked “Is that just for this road?” Yes it was. The cafe had very little. We settled for a croissant and cuppa. We passed on the pokies. French/Italian alps along the way. Beautiful scenery.
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Six nights in a flat near Rome
October 17 - 22: Great view from the balcony. Our hosts Antonio and Roberta were lovely. They live in the flat on the ground floor. We had several conversations through the Google Translate app. For the first time, our accommodation included an adapter for Australian plugs. They even brought up their microwave for us to use. Dinners in our flat included: 1. The first night, when we arrived, we were a bit wrecked. So, cereal for dinner. 2. Francis cooked up a delicious veg pasta, which, thanks to the microwave, fed us two nights. 3. Tom tracked down a local pizza shop and ordered a dessert from the menu. The pizza was great. The “dessert” turned out to be spinach and chili something, which was inedible. Definitely failed with the translation there.
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A coastal stretch in Lerici
We headed north from Lucca, stopping on the coast at the little town of Lerici, for a cuppa and a stretch. The toilet at the cafe was just a seat over a hole in the floor, so we looked elsewhere. The public toilet required coins, but after coins failed, a local told just that you can just open the door. BYO toilet paper.
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Greta's B&B, past Alessandria
We found this lovely B&B in the Italian countryside, just past Alessandria. Our host, Greta, was equally lovely, making our breakfast and having a good chat. She confessed that part of this was procrastination over study 😉.
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Exploring the walled town of Lucca
We explored the walled town of Lucca.
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Watching everyone hold up the Leaning Tower
Possibly the best thing about visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa is seeing how many people pose for a photo to hold it up.
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A countryside cafe on the road from Rome
Starting our return northward journey, from Rome towards Lucca, near Pisa. We turned on “Avoid Toll Roads” and took some rural roads near the west coast of Italy. We stumbled across this cute little cafe in the middle of nowhere, with a family of welcoming cats.
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.