Staying at a BnB tonight, near Mission Beach, QLD.

I tried to book one listed in PlugShare with a 7kW EV charger, but I chose the wrong one in Airbnb. Fortunately the host very kindly allowed us to plug into the normal 10A power outlet in the garage. It’s only 2kW, but it will get us mostly charged up by morning. Unfortunately, I made a bit of a mess when trying to do a three point turn at the top of the sloped loose gravel driveway, to reverse into the garage. Rear wheel drive is great for going forward up a hill, but not so good for reversing up a loose surface slope.

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.

We stopped in at 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. Charging: The car park has a type 2 charger, but you need to bring your own cable. It’s only 7kW, but would be handy if you were staying for a few hours (and you had the type 2 cable, which we didn’t). We had more than enough charge, but it would have been handy to charge the car while it was just sitting there, anyway.

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 Charging: We didn’t want to plug in and add to the diesel burning, so we just used the Tesla’s battery energy until we returned to the grid south of the river a few days later.

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. Charging: We last charged up the car at Port Douglas. This will be enough for a few days while we explore the Daintree Rainforest in the other side of the river.

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 🤪.

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. Charging: The next charger in Tully is faulted, according to the RACQ Chargefox app. We had to queue twice, because there is no central queuing app. The ChargeFox app shows when the charger is in use, but not who’s waiting or how long they’ll be there. They weren’t using PlugShare, which at least shows who is waiting and notifies you when someone finishes. We need to solve this issue.

On our way from Townsville to Cairns, along the Bruce Highway, we stumbled across the…

…Frosty Mango. They sell a while range of frozen fruity goodness, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We cooled down with some mango pancakes and ice cream 🥭 🥞 🍨😋 . Charging: To our pleasant surprise, in the car park are a couple of free Tesla destination chargers, powered by the many solar panels on the roof. So, we just plugged in while we ate. Charging here at 11kW is “level 2” or “destination charger”, which is slower than a fast charger (50kW to 350kW), but faster than a standard power point wall socket (about 2.4kW).

We drove up to the top of Cutheringa (English name "Castle Hill"), for amazing views all…

…around Townsville and over to Magnetic Island. It’s just short of the 300m height required for it to be classed as a mountain. Dozens of people were _walking_ up the hill! Charging: We stayed at The Oaks in Townsville. A few of the parking spots have a power point next to them. So, we checked with reception and just plugged in while parked, ready for the next day’s exploring. Oh, and driving back down the hill actually recharges the car!

We checked in at Oaks Gateway Townsville and discovered that some parking spots have…

…power points. Very convenient for overnight charging. Thank you Oaks!

We charged the car and our bellies (thanks Ayr Woolworths) in Ayr, just south of…

…Townsville. Really awkwardly positioned Chargefox charger, requiring a wide turn to avoid the bollards, while holding up traffic behind coming through a roundabout. The towns that have chargers, like Ayr, will get a lot more passing visitors as EVs increase in number. Other towns are missing out and need to get sorted.

Rainy day – Great time to tour the island in an electric buggy.

We left our Tesla Model 3 at Airlie Beach, to spend a few days on Hamilton Island.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that most vehicles on the island are electric (golf buggies), with charging points at most parking spots and home garages. And no fumes as you walk along next to those vehicles ☺️. It seems so simple and logical when you see a place that has done it right.

Merry Christmas from half our family 🎄. Love and miss the rest of you ♥️.

Christmas Eve fireworks

Christmas Eve: Evening picnic at the beach, with half of Hamilton Island.

Erin took us out for dinner and to see the night lights.

Spotted some animals at the wildlife park and just roaming around the island.

Finally found a place to swim in the ocean in the Whitsundays where the jelly fish are…

…not likely to kill you. Well, there are still warning signs.

Found coffee at Bobs Bakery - Hamilton Island.

Cockatoos found my breakfast cereal and got very close, but I don't share.

Driving the electric buggy, with groceries.

Finally on Hamilton Island, reunited with Erin and Ben.

We left our car near Airlie Beach and caught a ferry to Hamilton Island for a few days…

…over Christmas. Two of our kids met us on the island. Erin works there and Ben flew in from the NSW Central Coast. We squeezed our bags onto the electric golf buggy and navigated the local traffic. Charging: Most of the vehicles on the island are electric (mainly golf buggies). There’s a charging socket at almost every parking spot. This is a big win for the air quality and noise level near the roads.

Passing by Daydream Island and other countless islands.

We boarded the ferry from Airlie Beach through the Whitsundays to Hamilton Island, to see…

…our two youngest kids.

I think Fran just had coffee from the last remaining place on the mainland.

(She reviewed it as the “best in the area”.) So, now we’ll have to move to an island to find more.

Quick lunch between errands.

The pumpkin came with pumpkin/hummus sauce. It was a lot of (too much) pumpkin!

Swimming in Yeppoon, on an isolated stretch of beach, washing away any responsibilities.

A quick top up charge at the RACQ Chargefox charger in Mount Larcom, and a chat with Ben…

…Chisholm. Ben recommended the Mount Larcom Cafe opposite, and I was tempted, but we had just eaten. We’re on our way north today to Rockhampton. Ben is on his way south, eventually to Brisbane. We chatted about living out of your car/van, solar panels and electric cars.

We spotted a series of small blue EV charger signs along the road, and followed them into…

…Miriam Vale. What a lovely spot. The EV parking is a little further down the road from town, but there’s a cafe, toilet, nice park. Oh, and bats. Fran is not a fan of bats 🦇 Charging: Only one RACQ Chargefox CCS2 charger, so the Tesla after us had to wait a few minutes. Fortunately, we had both checked in via PlugShare (which helps find an available charger), so we knew who was waiting etc.

Hit by two tropical rain storms between Bundaberg and Mount Larcom.

We went for a swim in Hervey Bay, shortly after arriving.

We walked far from the car to find a good place to swim. We saw the giant black clouds rolling in. Then the heavens opened.

Breakfast at The Edge Restaurant, Montvile QLD. Thank you, Helen ☺️

Staying at Maleny Tropical Retreat.

Host Ken and his sister Daphne were kind enough to allow us to plug in the Tesla overnight to charge. Great to chat and hear their stories. Beautiful location. Balinese style. Videos to follow soon.

Walking along the Obi Obi Boardwalk, in Maleny.

Great to have shade on a fairly hot day, and pass the time while waiting for the wash cycles at Maleny Laundrette.

Since there’s no engine in the Tesla, it has a “frunk“ (front trunk). We’re

using it to store the smelly laundry and shoes. We were starting to run out of clothes, so it’s time to do the laundry.

Staying at a Balinese villa style B&B in Maleny.

We stopped at Heifer Creek for the drop toilet and a sit in the nature with the magpies.

Drive through coffee from The Dairy Lounge in Warwick, QLD.

Then following the winding road to Gatton Qld.

Something I hadn’t considered: EVs are friendlier to other guests at a motel. N

o noise or fumes ☺️. Thank you Buckeroo Motel 🤠.

Our longest wait at a charger so far.

When we arrived at Tenterfield Visitor Information Centre, The NRMA charger, a grey Model 3 was already there charging (at the only charger). It was at 79%, so I figured they'll be back soon. They hadn't checked in using PlugShare, so I had no idea. We went for a walk through Tenterfield while I checked my Tesla Sentry Cam to see if they had moved. 30 minutes later, we came back to see they were at 99%. We waited in the car for another 20 minutes, while a red Tesla Model Y joined the queue behind us (we both check in as "waiting" in PlugShare). The grey model 3 owner returned saying that their app has just told them it had finished charging. I suggested/requested that they use PlugShare. Lessons learned: 1. The NRMA: We need more than one charger in these locations, please. The Model Y owner said they thought Tesla are adding some nearby, but not yet operational. 2. We need the chargers to request/facilitate checking in, so we can see whether it's worth waiting. 3. Owners need to be…

We discuss the truly important marriage issues, such as the order of topping of a scone…

…with jam and cream.

On the way to Glenn Innes, we noticed some peculiar boulders off the side of the road.

A quick U-turn and then we drove through Stonehenge Recreation Reserve.

Breakfast in Central Park Armidale, supplied by Seesaw Coffee Co.

A walk around St Peters Anglican cathedral, armidale and through St Mary's & St Joseph's Catholic Cathedral.

I outsmarted myself. I locked myself out of the car.

The Tesla notified me that there was a software update available. Normally this is done via a wifi connection at home at midnight when you’re not using the car. But I thought I knew better and tethered the car through my iPhone, told the car to update, accepted the warning that I won’t be able to use the car for 25 minutes. But, 10 minutes later, I wanted to open the door. Yeah, I’m not so smart. Edit: Updated with getting back into the car.

This was the first other EV we had seen since leaving the coast.

Ian and Heidi have had their Tesla Model 3 since 2019. They have a tow bar fitted to carry their bikes (one is a e-bike), but they also tow trailers. For their current road trip, they have temporarily removed their back seats, so the backs fold down flat, giving them a flat extended boot and more space. They also raved about their portable induction hotplate. Great to have a chat about Tesla Road Tripping.

Nerd alert: We managed to add 4% charge to the car, just from going downhill.

Fran's bed design parody followed by a fairly boring video of how the Tessories Australia…

…mattress packs away. We had a terrible night's sleep, mainly due to needing better padding for our hips. But the air con worked a treat and we had ample head room.

We checked in for our first night car camping at Discovery Parks.

Michelle at reception was very friendly and helpful, though a little puzzled when I mentioned that I wanted to plug in an electric car. We opted for a powered site with an ensuite (private toilet, shower and sink). We set up the MOGICS Carsule tent, moved the 50L Kings fridge and all our gear from the car into the tent and setup the Tessories bed in the Tesla. We had a swim in the pool, showered in the ensuite and walked up the road to dinner at Club Dubbo. We turned on “camp mode” in the Tesla which kept us in air conditioned comfort all night, using power from the battery, with no engine running. The bottom of the bed was slightly angled, putting too much weight in our hips, and kept us awake half the night. Charging: The 15A power point worked great at fully charging the Tesla Model 3 overnight, with a full "tank" ready to go the next morning.