Fully Charged Sydney + Victoria 2023

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?

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.

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 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!

Looking back to Echuca from Moama Beach

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

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).

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.

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…

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 ☺️.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 😉.

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…

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.

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…

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.

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…

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!

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.

A banana smoothie on Terrigal Beach

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 wait at the Davistown waterfront

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

Pro and DIY EV conversions, at Fully Charged

Electric vehicle conversions, professional and DIY, at #fullychargedliveaustralia Fully Charged Show.

Solar-powered prototype cars at Fully Charged

These solar powered prototype cars have paved out a lot of tech that we’ll see in the future (and we see already). #fullychargedliveaustralia Fully Charged Show

Interviewed by Jack Scarlett

Lovely guy, and so tall! Francis is totally fan girling right now.

Electric motorcycles at Fully Charged Live

Australian Electric Motor Co, Fonz Moto, Savic Motorcycles, Energica, Zero Motorcycles

EV vans at Fully Charged Live

Several EV vans on site at #FullyChargedLiveAustralia Fully Charged Show.

Panel discussions at Fully Charged Live

There were many interesting, informative and thought provoking panel discussions at #FullyChargedLiveAustralia Fully Charged Show. We couldn’t attend them all.

Test driving a Model X and an MG ZS

Francis trying out a Tesla Model X and an MG ZS EV at #FullyChargedLiveAustralia Fully Charged Show.

Mantra on Pitt Street, for Fully Charged

We stayed the weekend at The Mantra on Pitt Street in Sydney, about a 15 minute walk each day to #fullychargedlive at the International Convention Centre Sydney - ICC Sydney, at Darling Harbour. We booked ahead online for parking next door with Wilsons Parking. But when it came time to leave, the gate wouldn’t open from the tap of my phone (like it normally does), so I had to backup and get another car to reverse, so I could call their support line and try again. That was the beginning of a long day, trying to find parking in the city to then queue for ages at Officeworks, then a short queue at Broadway Shopping Centre for charging, then queue on the long detour to bypass a fatal crash on the Hume Highway.

Indian lunch at the Broadway Superchargers

Indian for lunch. Boring charging details: We navigated through the carpark at Broadway Shopping Centre to the Tesla superchargers (and other chargers) near the exit. The first Tesla supercharger was empty, with the cable on the ground. We tried it, but realised that the cable in the ground was a signal from the previous person that it wasn’t working. All the other superchargers were full, so we tried the available Tesla destination charger, but we missed the red light indicating that it too wasn’t working. Then we tried the third party chargers which required our own type 2 cable, but I couldn’t get an Internet connection for the Chargefox app to unlock it. One of the other cars vacated a supercharger, so we pulled in. Fortunately we had discussed with another one that pulled in afterwards that we were “next”, since there’s no queuing mechanism. It worked, but was slow and the power jumped between 12kW and 60kW. Then a Tesla technician arrived. Very nice guy. We moved to a fully…

An overnight at Durham Farm, Bundanoon

We stayed last night in Bundanoon at Durham Farm. Beautiful place, along another unsealed road, in an Airbnb in a converted half of a barn. Beautiful dressage horses in the other half of the barn. We didn’t hear our equestrian neighbours during the night. We asked our host, Virginia, about charging our EV overnight. She said they hadn’t had that request before, but she was very helpful in locating a power point for us. She asked “how much do you usually get charged for this?” I said “We don’t normally get charged, but I’m happy to pay you. I think it will cost you a about $4 (off the top of my head)”. I later calculated it at 15 hours (7pm to 10am), 10 amp outlet, 240 volts = 15 x 10 x 240 = 36kWh. At 14c per kWh (estimate based on our previous rate at home), that’s $5.04. We left $20 cash on the kitchen bench to cover it.

A quick charge in Cooma

A quick charge at Cooma, while we looked on line for a place to stay the night. Then the final leg through alpine country towards our accommodation in Jindabyne.

The Panorama Jindabyne, with destination chargers

Staying the night at The Panorama in Jindabyne Snowy Mountains. Pleasant surprise: free on site Tesla destination chargers (one working) and a double rainbow! 🌈 🌈 Unpleasant surprise: no bare feet allowed 👣 🚫

An açai-bowl breakfast in Jindabyne

Morning açai bowl and fruit toast at Jindabyne, before heading west along The Alpine Way. And, yes, Francis’s white top did not survive unscathed.

Thredbo and Dead Horse Gap, on the Alpine Way

Today we drove through Thredbo and Dead Horse Gap, as we started along The Alpine Way. Beautiful scenery and fluctuating temperatures. No petrol for two hours, but there is electricity here and there.

A lunch break at Geehi

Lunch break, along The Alpine Way, at Geehi, beside Swampy Plain River.

Past Murray 1 Power Station

Part of the Snowy Hydro electric scheme. “One of the seven engineering wonders of the world” which “provides 11% of the [national electric grid]”. Coming down the west side of The Great Dividing Range, the car added 7% charge from the regenerating (going down a hill puts power back into the battery). Then along the Murray Valley Highway beside Tallagatta Creek (which appears to have been dammed).

Charging from a power point at Motel Views

We stayed overnight at “Motel Views #Yackandandah”. Scenic setting and town. Our host, Jackie, was happy for us to plug in overnight to charge. She said they have talked about adding wall chargers, but for now offered us a power point near reception, which was very kind. No extra cost ☺️. There’s also a 50kW fast charger in town, which we used for 15 minutes while waiting for our takeaway Thai order from Grace's Place Cafe Yackandandah. Next, heading through Beechworth towards the east of Melbourne.

Lunch in Mansfield

Lunch today in Mansfield