Fully Charged + Off-Grid Living 2025

First meal stop, in Euroa.

A couple of bakery goodies, thus begins our newest bakery tour of the east coast of Australia. Nice to chill in the park, with the ducks and magpies. Earlier, after driving along the “Black Spur” (pictured), we briefly stopped in Yarck, for a cup of thermos tea and delicious choc coated Anzac slice – thank you Krissy 😋. We tried out the neck rest, for the first time, which we bought two years ago, but couldn’t get it quite right. Charging: Our EV charged up at the Tesla Superchargers right next to the park, while we had a quick lunch and toilet break. Total time for us to interact with the charger: less than 20 seconds. There was a destination charger in Yarck, but it wasn’t worth the bother for 10 min at 7kW. The PlugShare and Chargefox apps indicated that it needs some maintenance.

Morning refuel: coffee and electrons.

On our way today from Gobbagombalin (a suburb of Wagga Wagga), to the Hunter Valley. From our grandson to our Mum. Charging: I still can’t see the destination chargers at The Coffee Pedaler, which I think they were planning. They might be out the back? So, we popped up the road to drink our coffee while parked at the Tesla Superchargers at Oliver’s. Years ago, these were the first EV chargers were had seen, which started us thinking about buying an EV. Once we had finished coffee, toilet and posting on socials, we unplugged and headed off. No need to wait until full. Charging is something we try to only do while parked anyway.

Lunch at CAFE 5911 Goulburn, after a stretch through the park.

Charging: Our car was fully charged at the nearby Tesla superchargers, all done by the time we finished lunch.

We pulled into Cessnock late yesterday afternoon, and stayed last night at the Potters…

…Hunter Valley Hotel. Great salad bowl dinner options. This morning we popped in on Mum for breakfast. She made us boiled eggs, which we loved. Charging: Ideally we would have charged overnight at our accommodation, but there wasn’t a suitable power outlet to do so. So, we stopped with 6% remaining, on our way north at the Tesla Superchargers in Heatherbrae. We knew to grab a coffee before arriving here. Not a bad location, but it’s a kilometre away from the more interesting stop on the other side of the road, with more facilities. The PlugShare app shows more Tesla Superchargers as ”coming soon” there, but it’s been that way for a long time.

We stopped for lunch at the Thrumster shopping center.

Unfortunately, the few food outlets all seemed to have closed the kitchen for the afternoon. So, we grabbed some supplies at the IGA and had some healthy snacks in the car. The Tesla watches me watching the road. I had only brief glances away at the map, while on Autopilot, but the car was unforgiving, warned me a few times, then suspended autopilot privileges. I had to pull over and park briefly to reset it 😤. I do think it’s too sensitive now. Charging: Tesla Superchargers are right here in the car park. Super quick and convenient. Plug in and walk away – it’s all automatic. We might have instead stopped up the road at the chargers at the Cassegrain Winery, but I think they have closed the restaurant there.

Concluding the third leg of our trip from Emerald Victoria to Coolum Beach in Queensland…

…we stayed the night in Maclean. Good value little motel. Takeaway dinner from up the road at the Peking Chinese Restaurant. Along the pretty walk on the levee bank, I noticed that the road and river seem to be at about the same height. Jeremy has run the Waterview Motel for the past two years. He installed a bank of EV destination chargers, 22kW of solar panels and 60kWh of battery storage. The solar charges up the battery and any cars during the day. At night, the battery powers the site and any cars still plugged in. Jeremy has his own BYD Atto 3 EV, which he drives locally and to Brisbane. Like many motels, this one has a sign to ask drivers not to back into the parking in front of the rooms, since it fills them with carcinogenic fumes. EVs are of course exempt. I watched the driver of one large 4WD take several attempts to back in, idling in between, which made the porch air unbreathable. I pointed out the sign, then they moved on. Charging: We plugged in while the sun was still…

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. Charging: We fully charged last night at the Waterview Motel in Maclean. We stopped briefly at a BP service center along the highway. We noticed a BP fast (ish) charger, and figured we might as well plug in while parked anyway. But it was a bit of a faf to get it working, and then it decided to disconnect itself.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the Wappa Falls and Wappa Dam.

We left the literally death defying leaps to the younger ones. Dinner at Grill'd Maroochydore, Sunshine Plaza. Charging: We haven’t charged for a few days. No power point in the parking spot at our accommodation. Down to 24% at dinner time, we plugged into the Tesla Superchargers, conveniently located in the carpark near our dinner. Finished charging before our dinner order arrived, so I had to move the car one space forward.

We arrived at our accommodation, booked on-line an hour before.

By “arrived” I mean we followed the car’s navigation to… a locked fence. Apple Maps also suggested we break through. But we decided it was better to drive around the (very large) block to the main entrance. The Tesla navigation showed two destination chargers on site – win! But we soon discovered they were out of action – lose. PlugShare shows them as having been off-line for a long time, which is disappointing. The large mob of wallabies more than made up for the arrival hiccups. The whole site, at Sirromet Winery, Mount Cotton, is beautiful. We stayed next to a lake in one of the glamping tents, with all the mod cons, including modern shower room, toilet and small kitchen. We helped ourselves to the minibar provided red wine, and our last pack of cheese and crackers. Dinner at the on site restaurant was a great chance to relax, enjoy the view and more wallabies. Tiramisu was shared, as a balance of indulgence and responsibility 😉. Breakfast was included, at the on site cafe opposite…

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. Charging: We charged up a couple of days ago at Tesla Superchargers while we had dinner. Today, since we stopped along the highway anyway, we plugged into one of the bp pulse fast chargers. After the faf I had the other day with one, I’ve learnt to get the session and payment started in the app first, then plug in. It worked first time. But I wish it was as easy as it is at Tesla and Evie…

Time for a stretch. We followed the Tesla navigation to the Superchargers at the Harwood…

…Hotel, on the Clarence River. Love the sign. The bridge construction looks like a modern day pyramid. Very impressive. Charging: Boringly easy. Park. Plug in. Walk away. Use the amenities. Come back. Unplug. Drive off.

Arrived in Byron Bay, in time for some Mexican fajitas at Miss Margarita, and a stroll…

…along the waterfront. This morning we were in Wellington Point, catching up with our old friends (Tom’s youth group leaders from decades ago, when we were youth), Ross and Sharon. Lunch with them at the local Redlands Sporting Club, and a peak at possibly their new housing block. Charging: The club didn’t have any EV charging points, which is a lost opportunity. In Byron Bay we were surprised to find only one fast charger in town, run by Chargefox and I’m guessing the local council. It was occupied for ages, we think because their session must have died midway. The next day we found it had been turned off. We’re down to 12% charge for the night, but we’ll be fine.

Last night we stopped at Emerald Beach Pizza & Pasta.

We have been dreaming about their mac and cheese, for the past year, but we couldn’t stop on our way north last week. We mentioned how far we’d traveled for this culinary delight, but the staff just looked at us as if we were crazy (which is possible). We brought it back to our accommodation near Coffs Harbour, unwrapped it from the foil container, only to discover that it wasn’t really full. Sometimes it’s best not to meet your heros. Prior to that, we had a short walk on Emerald Beach. A couple of years ago, we were planning on moving somewhere near here, but we ended up in Emerald Victoria instead. Both Emeralds are green and filled with kangaroos. We opted for the one with lower humidity. Our accommodation was an Airbnb apartment at Pacific Bay Resort. Well appointed by the owner. Beautiful setting. We enjoyed cooling off in the pool. This morning, we stopped at The Clog Barn, on our way out of Coffs Harbour. I’m not sure how much of your shopping list, Helen, will make it all the…

Arriving at a cafe before 2:30 makes all the difference.

On the way north, last week, we stopped here at about 3pm and all the lunch places were shut. On our way south now, The Hill Cafe is a great option for stopping to charge the belly and charge the car. There’s a big sign on the way into the shopping center in Thrumster (near Port Macquarie) that says something like “Shop, Eat, and Recharge”. No petrol station on this side of town. It’s a snippet of the future. Charging: We arrived with 12% charge, as predicted by the navigation. The Tesla Superchargers in the car park charged our car up to 97% ish while we had lunch. No need to wait for 100%, since the last bit can take ages. We just left as soon as we were ready. The car park also has a couple of The NRMA EV chargers.

The “Best Scones” sign on the highway lured us in again, south of Port Macquarie in North…

…Moorland. We had the cafe courtyard to ourselves, apart from the staff and chickens. Charging: No EV chargers at the cafe. We had a toilet stop a couple of hours later in Raymond Terrance, and used the Tesla Superchargers there while parked, powered by a large array of solar panels shading the car park. A great alternative to Heatherbrae.

A couple of nights in the Hunter Valley, NSW, to catch up with my Mum and sister.

and sister. We stayed at Beltana Villas. Beautiful setting, spacious villas with a balcony, pool and spa. The visiting kangaroo family topped it off. We experienced one of the worst smells, and it wasn’t an animal. A human had apparently previously put milk in the water intake of the coffee pod machine. No trace in the water container, but the first pod we tried gave a smell that made us gag, as it blasted something more than water through it. Our hosts kindly replaced it. Brunch at Ronnies in the Hunter Valley Gardens Shopping Village. Dinner up the road at Harrigan's. Coffee from Cafe Enzo. We managed to fit Mum’s walker (and Mum) in the car, without removing our camp fridge and luggage. We might need more car or less relatives. The least we could do for another serving of boiled eggs. Thanks Mum ☺️. Charging: No EV chargers at our accommodation. Hunter Valley Gardens has a couple of fast EV chargers from The NRMA, which worked fine, although the app isn’t the best. All charged up…

We stayed last night at Byron Springs Guest House.

Private room and shower, shared pool, lounge room and kitchen. Beautiful setting, in a suburban street. Charging: No practical power points in the parking area, so we didn’t bother to try (asking first, of course). We were down to 13% battery last night, so we’ll just find something while we’re parked for breakfast.

We managed to catch up with a kindred spirit, Ric Richardson, for breakfast in Byron Bay…

…at the Marvell Street Cafe. We’ve worked on a few projects together, over the years, building apps to demonstrate various patents. Emails, chat messages and video chats are great ways to communicate data and specs. But there are some people where you just cherish the chance to meet face to face. As usual, we have all of our gear, including food, packed in the car. We left the car with aircon running, on low fan. We set the Tesla to "Camp Mode" so that it would keep power on for the camp fridge we have in the back seat. But, it seems we can't keep Camp Mode and Sentry Mode active at the same time 😞. Charging: Byron Bay seems pretty progressive. There are electric bikes (and non electric) everywhere. But there only seems to be one fast EV charger in town, at the library, and it was off line this morning when we tried to connect. We only had 12% charge, so I wanted to top up before we left town. Fortunately, according PlugShare, there are one or two more banks of fast chargers “coming…

I tried a different EV today, on my way from The NSW Central Coast to Sydney.

It powers while in motion, directly from overhead wires, is semi autonomous, has vehicle to load on every seat, designated quiet spaces, tray table, and giant windows. Not bad! Even the anti EV haters seem to accept this one 😉. After my commute for work, we met up with our dear friends, Hugh and Margaret, for dinner at The Elenora Hotel, followed by choc mousse, fruit and coffee back at the villa. Lots of stories to share about EV road trips in Europe, New Zealand, Western Australia and Far North Queensland. Charging: Apart from the main charging of our car at Erina Fair, we also grabbed some top up charge at the villa, manually tweaking the Tesla to consume just the excess solar produced by the SolarEdge system.

A couple of visits to Erina Fair, while we’ve been staying nearby, this week.

Pineapple fried rice at Thai Thyme. Teriyaki pizza at GPK. Tomorrow we’re off to the Fully Charged Everything Electric Show in Sydney. Charging: Erina Fair has had a couple of Tesla destination chargers for years. And for years they have been the only public chargers around, so are almost always busy. We did get lucky on Monday night, when we first arrived, to top up to full. It’s still relatively difficult to park there, but the car park entrance, around several obstacles. Plugshare shows since fast chargers “coming soon” nearby, but they have been months in progress. Twelve new Tesla Superchargers have sprung up in West Gosford, which is great.

Great memories, spending some time with family on the NSW Central Coast.

Tomorrow: Off to Everything Electric (by Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.

The Xpeng G6 is a strong competition against the Tesla Model Y.

We viewed both at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney. A few weeks earlier, we took a G6 for a test drive at the XPENG Port Melbourne showroom (also pictured). The Xpeng G6 and Tesla Model Y both have great tech, great efficiency, ventilated and heated front seats. The G6 doesn’t have frunk storage, has small subtrunk storage, smaller boot, no glovebox, but has a bit more rear passenger room and probably more comfy seats. It has Apple Maps and Vehicle to Load (V2L). It is $10k cheaper, but requires paid regular servicing and and has longer warranty. It includes auto lane change (extra purchase on the Tesla). The Tesla has faster acceleration, sportier handling, one pedal driving comes to a full stop without the brake, and has more fast charging options. It has a screen for rear passengers and powered rear seat folding. It has much more storage overall, including huge sub trunk, boot and frunk. It has a better sound system, even though it has slightly less…

Checking out the new 2025 Tesla Model Y “Juniper”. Eas

ier for passengers to get in and out, compared to our lower Model 3. Love the ventilated seats. So much room in this thing, more than any other competitor vehicle, it seems. And the most efficient. I’ve added photos of Phil lying down in the back of another Tesla Model Y (not Juniper), on a Tesla mattress, to show how much space there is with the seats down Still no vehicle to load (V2L) or Apple Car Play, like most competitors have. At Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.

Great to see some innovative new EV designs at Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show)…

…in Sydney. This Deepal E07 has a hatch that’s kind of like a small ute tray. Full cabin plus a tray/boot. Opens electronically. You can even extend the tray length by folding down the rear seats (unlike the Cybertruck). Australian pricing and release expected at the next exhibition, I think in April.

Portable power. A few V2L (vehicle to load) examples at The Everything Electric Show…

…(Fully Charged Show). Including an EV DJ, coffee machine, large TV, and power tools. Most EVs now include V2L, so you can plug just about any household appliance into your car, and power it without running an engine, so no heat, exhaust and noise. Tesla, however, does not currently offer this feature, except on the Cybertruck. Very disappointing.

Just a few of the electric motorbikes at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged…

…Show) in Sydney. Including locally built Savic Motorcycles.

A few of the electric converted vehicles at The Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show)…

…in Sydney.

The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) wrapped up in Sydney for another year…

…but will be back, for the first time, in Melbourne in November. In the car park, we walked past four guys standing around the open bonnet of a V8 ute, saying “we should have gone electric”. Very fitting end. Amber showed off her Tesla Tripping tote bag, as we said goodbye. 3000km done and 1000km to go. Car fully packed again, with the addition of four old computers we had left behind when we moved from the Central Coast, two years ago. One of the sharp iMacs showed its abandonment issues by cutting my bare foot. Next stop, for dinner, in Campbelltown. We shared a roast and dessert. Then on to Mittagong for tonight’s accommodation, booked at the last minute, as usual. Charging: Fully charged at the Superchargers in Campbelltown while we ate dinner. Well, by the time our order came, so I had to move the car. We didn't need to charge yet, but it's quick and easy to top up whenever we are parked anyway.

At The Everything Electric Show in Sydney (by the Fully Charged Show), checking out the…

…Tesla Cybertruck. Impressive, but ridiculously big, like most oversized utes.

Checking out electric vans at Everything Electric (from Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.

We spotted a few utes and trucks at the Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show), in…

…Sydney. Some conversions, some plug in hybrid (PHEV), and one large battery swap unit for a semi, in just 3 minutes. We sat in the huge frunk of the F150 Lightning, made possible because no engine is needed. Some electric utes have been popular for mining operations, so as not to poison the air in the shafts, and to avoid the need to truck in fuel to remote sites. On the way out, we spotted a BYD Shark (PHEV) parked at a fast charger on the street. Frustratingly, they hadn’t plugged in. There were a couple of parking cops who were hopefully about to post an infringement notice. Chargers are for charging, not just parking 🤦‍♂️.

We stayed last night at Springs Resort, in Mittagong – a good value motel. T

he RSL next door has a fast charger but doesn’t serve breakfast after 9am, but we typically barely get out the door before 10am 😴. So, we drove into town for some brekky. Stopped in Yass at Kaffeine 2582 for a light lunch and a driving break. We arrived in Wagga Wagga a little too early to meet up with family for the night, so we used the extra time to top up the car. Charging: We didn’t bother using the fast charger next to our accommodation in Mittagong, since we already had over 85% charge. The supercharger in Yass was all we needed, while we had lunch. Super easy.

The final stretch of this 4000km road trip, to get home.

We stayed last night in Gobbagombalin (near Wagga Wagga) with our grandson (oh, and his parents 😉). Just a couple of bakery stops, in Holbrook and Yea. The first cafe in Holbrook was closed, so we looked through the window like lost puppies. While parked, we kept the car in Camp Mode, with the air con on, to keep our camp fridge going and our food cool. No exhaust or additional heat. Charging: The car's navigation suggested charging in Wangaratta, but we ignored that and just charged where we stopped for a break. Since we were stopping anyway at Holbrook and Yea, we parked the car at the Superchargers in each town, so the “tank” could fill up while our bellies did. So easy.

Random drive out to Ballarat to pick up a family friend and take them to the airport.

Two medium large bags and one carry on all fit into the boot, thanks to the sub trunk space. Before we left, I gave the car a “full service” by topping up the washer fluid. The screen showed that the tyre pressures were good there’s no engine oil or radiator fluid etc to check in an EV. Charging: We mostly charged at home, for free, from solar. But we did stop on the way home in Moonee Ponds for a few minutes for a toilet and charger. Total cost for “fuel” $3.58. Not bad for about 350km. The Moonee Ponds superchargers are a few levels down, and charged relatively slowly. But, at least the car park has reasonable signs giving directions.

Off to The Macedon Ranges today, for a Mystery Adventures Picnic.

It’s basically a foodie treasure hunt. Great Christmas gift, thank you Helen 😋. First stop at 3 Little Pigs Gisborne cafe, for coffee. Then, on through Watt's Fresh Woodend, Kyneton to Malmsbury, stopping along the way for a food platter, chocolates, bits, drinks and bread. Picnic at Malmsbury Botanic Gardens, with a walk to the Malmsbury Railway Viaduct. Charging: Charged up at home yesterday using solar, even though it was a fairly overcast day. 100% charged battery was enough for the trip there and back, plus Sentry Mode and keeping the air con running while parked at each stop along the way (to keep food and cabin cool). Returned home with 8%, ready to charge up again. Easy.

The “Long delays” prophecy was fulfilled today, when it took us four hours (from home) to…

…get into the Avalon Airshow. Very happy to have the car’s Autopilot take care of most of the driving, along the highway and then through the walking pace bumper to bumper final few kilometres. The car park was quite a dustbowl. By the end of the day, our hair, skin and clothes had a mixture of car park dust, aviation fuel fumes, and a touch of sunscreen. Mmmm. The show was amazing. Even understanding the physics, it’s still unbelievable how we can get tonnes of metal to zoom around the sky. We spotted a few electric buggies transporting VIPs, one electric bus, and even an electric powered tank and fighter jet (see the photos to figure out the twist 😉). But, still dozens of diesel buses and a few petrol buggies, pouring too many fumes into the packed crowd. But, hey, I think the aircraft exhausts may have overshadowed it all. And of course the “wall of fire” opening act that created an apocalyptic wall of black smoke (pictured). We mainly went to meet up with two of our adult kids,…

The NRMA Airlie Beach Holiday Park is a shining light.

EV destination chargers at each of the new cabins. Fast chargers out front for the public. Efficient electric hot water heat pumps. On site cafe and coffee. E-bikes. Walk to nearby Coles and shopping center. This is the future. Well done, The NRMA! Missing our own EV right now, still parked back in Melbourne airport.

Road tripping through Europe gave us a glimpse into the future of EVs and road trips in…

…Australia. Border Regional Electrification Events invited us to talk about it in the Electrification Tent at the Off-Grid Living Festival, in Chiltern, Victoria (30 minutes from the NSW border). The audience asked some excellent questions. Thanks to all those who attended. Some of the slides from our talk, included here.

Imagine driving an ICE (internal combustion engine) car for the first time, coming from…

…EVs. April 5: We drove in a couple of ICE cars around town (Airlie Beach and Cannonvale) for a few days. It reminded me of a couple of years ago, hopping back in our Mazda CX-5, after owning an EV. Here are my observations: 1. You can’t charge it up while parked at home, or at a shopping center. You have to go to a special “fuel station” to recharge the car. You can’t just leave the car to recharge – you have to stay with it, holding the recharge nozzle. 2. It smells. And the fumes are carcinogenic. The fumes come from the nozzle, but also out of the back of the car while driving. 3. When the car has enough charge (fuel), you put the nozzle back in the pump. But then you have to walk into the service station to pay at the counter. It’s not automatic at the pump, or it’s too complicated for most people to bother that way. 4. There’s a possibility of fire. The fuel is highly flammable. And the car actually combusts that fuel to make the car go. There are about 7 ICE car fires each day…

Any power point is a charging station.

We drove from eastern Melbourne, Victoria, north to just over the border in Corowa, NSW. We can walk down the road and see Victoria on the other side of the Murray River. We were in Queensland earlier this week 🤪. We’re staying at an Airbnb house for a couple of days, while we attend the Off-Grid Living Festival in Chiltern, tomorrow. Charging: We charged up the car at home from solar, for free. We drove all the way without charging, arriving with 11% charge remaining. We plugged into a power point at our accommodation (yes, we checked first with our host), which brought the tank up to 76%, more than enough for our day trip to the festival the next morning. We could have charged at several fast chargers along our route, but since we didn’t need to stop for any other reason, we just drove on and charged at our destination. So many options.

Strolling around the Off-Grid Living Festival today, in Chiltern, Victoria.

Such a wide range of exhibitors. Excellent food options, but very little shade. Lots of dust, which destroyed the car wash we did a couple of days ago. Very thankful for a smoothie from the Barefoot Blender. Most of the site seems to be powered from solar, or from V2L EVs. Great to see. Less smelly and noisy generators. Even the security motorbikes are electric. Nice!

Rest stop at Lake Nillahcootie, near Bonnie Doon.

On our way back home from the Off-Grid Living Festival and Corowa, crossing back over the border into Victoria. To our pleasant surprise, coffee and toasties were on offer from the Kalari Kafe van in the car park by the lake. Unfortunately, the generators powering the van filled the area with noise and some fumes. Hopefully V2L EVs will soon become so common place and accessible that more food vans will be able to use them. Charging: Two days ago, we drove our EV, fully charged from solar, from home in Emerald, Victoria to a B&B in Corowa, NSW. While parked at our accommodation, we charged up from a standard power point, before driving home today. About 700km in total, with no visits to charging stations required.