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A roof-top drying rack, while DC charging
Mixing up the meals today. Breakfast and the final episode of season 1 of Goliath (on the car’s big screen) at 4pm while DC charging. The Tesla roof doubles as a drying rack for the dishes. It seems that almost all of Childers, Queensland closes at about 3pm. We couldn’t even get a coffee. So, it was DIY with the help of IGA Childers.
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An RV-plug experiment with Tesla Summon
While waiting for another EV to finish using the only DC 50kW fast RACQ Chargefox charger in town, we played with connecting to an AC 7kW 32A 5 pin plug, usually used by RVs, and using the Tesla's "summon" feature. Mark Bailey MP: We need more than one DC charger at each location.
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Breakfast at Hidden Garden Cafe, Agnes Water
Explored a little around Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy.
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Koorawatha Homestead Motel — first stay
We found this great place along the Bruce Highway. Peaceful, view of the mountains and stormy clouds, restaurant, room service, pool, freshly renovated, great price. I noticed that, as you can see in the photos, the giant 4WDs are too big to fit under the carport roof (here and elsewhere).
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Wind turbines on a ship, at Gladstone
Tried to follow the coast a bit more closely, through Gladstone and Tannum Sands. Lots of coal, aluminium and shipping. We spotted some giant wind turbine blades on a ship. Nice lunch at Flavours Marina.
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Chatting with Lachlan, in his BYD
Another BYD. Chatted with the owner, Lachlan, returning to Blackwater from Dubbo. Good to see a variety of EVs on the road. Did I mention that we need more fast chargers at these sites? 😉
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Plugged in next to Kristie's BYD
Chatted with Kristie, who was driving her BYD back to Ayr. Kristie checked in as “waiting” via PlugShare, which then alerted me that someone was waiting after me. Unfortunately, although I had entered my charging time into PlugShare, it doesn’t tell the next person how long they need to wait 🤔. Kristie said she has also previously been caught out at the faulted RACQ Chargefox 50kW charger at Marlborough Service Station, and had the use the slow (7kW?) AC charger. She said it had been broken (perhaps on and off?) since March last year! How is this okay Queensland Government and Mark Bailey MP? This also explains the congestion at the Rockhampton charger 🙄.
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A 'fridge'-stickered Tesla in Rockhampton
Jake was waiting after us to charge in Rockhampton, Queensland. He’s on his way to get his windscreen repaired or replaced and will finally bid farewell to the “fridge” sticker. He told some stories of people damaging his car, such as jumping on the bonnet (while it was parked) and throwing sharp metal onto the road. Fortunately the Tesla’s sentry cam helped police track down the culprit and the car warned that tyre pressure was dropping. He said there is a lot of car theft in Rockhampton, so he’s thankful for the Tesla security features. There’s only one fast 50kW DC charger, so he resorted to the slow AC (7kW?) charger, since he carries the required type 2 cable. It was too slow, so he jumped in the DC charger when I was done. RACQ, Chargefox and Mark Bailey MP we need more than one DC charger at each location.
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Charging in Rockhampton, with Marlborough still down
Charging up at the RACQ Chargefox charger in Rockhampton, Queensland. We couldn’t charge in Marlborough, because that charger is still faulted, listed in the Chargefox app as waiting for parts until January 19, after being broken for a month! I chatted with Bronwyn and Phil who (with two more of their family, not pictured) had driven their 2020 Model 3 from Brisbane to Mossman Gorge, currently on their way back. They said they had been caught at Marlborough, found the charger not working, and did not have enough charge to get to the next one. It’s a really long stretch out there – even the petrol stations have signs warning “99km to next petrol”, but the gap for EVs is more than twice that. So, they asked at the Marlborough Service Station if they could just plug into the mains supply for a slow charge, to which they said “Sure. We have an open kitchen”. We joked that maybe they broke the charger to increase food patronage 😉. But seriously, thank you for allowing the slow charge 😇.…
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Back at Carmila, because Marlborough's still down
Back at the Carmila charger on our way south. Only reason we have to charge here is because the next charger at Marlborough is still Faulted 🤦. Come on RACQ, Chargefox and Mark Bailey MP, you need to do better. Chatted with Dave who had ordered his Model Y while waiting for his Model 3, and the Y came first. On their way to Mackay then Airlie Beach.
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Lunch with Kylie, while we charge in Mackay
We took up the offer of one of our blog watchers, Kylie, to meet up for lunch in her home town of Mackay, while our Tesla was charging. Kylie won a bet with her husband on the sale price of their previous ICE car, so she chose the Tesla Model 3 as their new car.
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Generating power while driving downhill, out of Eungella
Nerd alert: Regenerating (making power while driving downhill) from Eungella National Park.
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A last rainforest walk in Eungella
One last rainforest walk before we left Eungella National Park. Beautiful tall trees and elusive wildlife. When the sun is high, there’s very little shade for a parked car. So, cars get very hot. Fortunately the Tesla has automatic cabin climate control that turns on the air conditioning when needed, and we can cool it right down from the phone app when we’re on the way back to the car. Other cars, like a ute next to us, left their engine running while they went for a walk, so they could keep the air conditioning on.
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Watching mist lift over Eungella
Watching the cloud/mist retreat in the morning, followed by our typical cereal and fruit brekky from our car fridge and grocery bag.
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Inland to Eungella, on a tip from Greg
We detoured inland, thanks to a suggestion from Greg Hayden, to Eungella National Park. We managed to spot a couple of platypuses and many turtles at Broken River. Amazing view, delicious pub dinner, quaint accommodation and friendly staff at The Eungella Chalet.
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Platypuses at Broken River
Platypuses in Broken River, Eungella National Park.
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A picnic-from-the-fridge lunch in Proserpine
Top up charge in Proserpine. We walked around looking for some lunch, but found nothing open within walking distance. So, we had cheese, crackers, quince paste, cherries, nuts from our car fridge and grocery bag, in the delightful cool escape from the blaring heat and humidity.
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Caraoke, sheltered from the heat
Sheltered from the heat and the covid cruisers in the cool Tesla, while singing some Caraoke, probably to the amusement of the Airlie Beach visitors and locals.
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Tourists ignoring the swim warnings, at Airlie Beach
Our final morning in Airlie Beach, at Airlie Beach Foreshore Markets, along with a cruise boat load of tourists, some of whom ignored or missed the warning signs to take a swim in the ocean. We watched with a mix of envy and fear as they cooled off from the heat.
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Erin ferries over for one more night, at The Sebel
We stayed at the The Sebel Whitsundays, using more of my Luxury Escapes credits. Our daughter, Erin, ferried over from her workplace/home in Hamilton Island for one more get together before we head back south. I am dumbfounded by the parking of a couple of drivers (Ford Everest and Mitsubishi something), right up against the line 🙄, leaving no/little room for the next car.
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Auld Lang Syne, on the Tesla, in Airlie Beach
Belated Happy New Year with one of our kids, Erin, back in Airlie Beach, with the Auld Lang Syne Tesla light show. This was the first day she had seen the Tesla. In 30 seconds, she went from "what is this?" to selling it to the passers by. They asked many questions, so we fired up the "Carol in the Bells" light show and even tried our first auto summon.
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Up Mount Inkerman, knowing we'd recover the charge
The trees and/or birds in the parking on the main street in Ayr had left crap all over the car. Heading south from Ayr towards Bowen, we saw a steep drive up to Mount Inkerman lookout. Knowing that we’d recover the “fuel” on the way back down (thanks to the EV’s regenerative braking), we sidetracked up the mountain to check out the view, and the wallabies, and so I could eat my half of the pineapple cream pie 😋.
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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.
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Mexican lunch at Noodies, Magnetic Island
Drove to the other side of the island for a great Mexican lunch at The Noodies Restaurant in Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island.
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Power points spotted on the Magnetic Island ferry
Catching the ferry back to the mainland from Magnetic Island. Found power points on the ferry for 10A, 15A and five pin 32A. We asked the crew if we could charge if needed, to which they said “I don’t see why not”. Good to know for any future emergency. But we were already fully charged from the normal power point at the accommodation last night, and since the ferry is diesel powered, it would reduce the advantage of having an electric car 😉.
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Picnic Bay on Magnetic Island, $150 a night
Found this great place, for $150 per night (last minute rates, I think) at Picnic Bay on Magnetic Island. Walked to: - Lunch at Picnic bay hotel. Note my excellent burger halving! - Swimming at Picnic Bay Beach, protected by stinger nets. But the water is so warm, that it’s not really refreshing. - Delicious Italian dinner at Mamma Roma. - Walk along the esplanade with the frogs. Had a chat with our hosts about EVs and took Jeremy for a spin in the Tesla. I think they’re now planning to add an EV charge point in the car port and maybe buying an EV themselves.
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Curlews, rock wallabies and tropical fish
Curlew, rock wallabies and tropical fish.
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Driving the Tesla onto the Magnetic Island ferry
We drove the Tesla onto the ferry for the 35 minute trip over to Magnetic Island. Staying there for two nights. The AirTags in our gear sent some concerning notifications when we walked from the car to elsewhere in the ferry 😉.
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First time on an Evie 10-minute fast charger
10 minute fast charge to 80% at Evie Networks charger next to a Puma Energy petrol station. This was our first time using one of these. Costs twice as much (60c/kWh) as the RACQ Chargefox chargers (30c/kWh) but they are about twice as fast for us (100kW vs 50kW, and theoretical max speed of 350kW). Also the CCS2 charger is on the right instead of left. One of the charging stations was in maintenance, but at least they had two, unlike the competitor. It took four attempts at plugging in for the charger to work. Francis seems to be more successful at this than me. Edit: Note the Tesla message about battery temperature. We don't currently have a way to tell the Tesla car to precondition the battery for a third party fast charger - only for Tesla fast chargers, which don't currently exist up here. Now off to Magnetic Island.
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Hotel Grand Chancellor, Townsville
Used some of my Luxury Escapes credits to book a “last minute escape” at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Townsville, which included $25 towards room service and a free buffet breakfast. We had some problems previously booking similar with LE, but it seems to be working now. Fran wanted to take the pancake machine with us. You can see Magnetic Island in the distance. We’re heading there next (today), for a couple of nights, taking the Tesla on the ferry.
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Bats over Townsville, from the 17th floor
Bats flying over Townsville, viewed from the 17th floor.
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Mango pancakes, again
Yum! Fran says mid photo “but they’ll think that all we do is eat at cafes”.
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Crabs at Cardwell Beach
Crabs at Cardwell Beach.
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A Cardwell charger chat with Brandon
Stopped to stretch and charge at Cardwell again. Chatted briefly with Brandon and family, returning from Cairns to Sydney in a Tesla Model 3 Long Range. He left their Model X at home, because he said the Model 3 is better suited to a road trip.
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Why are Tully and Marlborough still faulted?
Looking at our route for the trip back south, it seems that the chargers at Tully and Marlborough are still faulted, and will have been for weeks! This is at probably the busiest time of the year. How is this acceptable? If another charger at a town either side of these also faults, then that creates a stretch that will be too long for some vehicles. RACQ and Chargefox: It’s great that you’ve put these chargers in place, but you can’t call it the “Queensland Electric Super Highway” unless you guarantee a certain amount of up time and make it feasible for EVs to travel through quickly.
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Beautiful (but lethal) beaches near Mission Beach
So many beautiful beaches hidden behind rainforest buffers, such as Narragon Beach, near Mission Beach. The more beautiful the water, the more likely it is that it will kill you, according to the many warning signs for crocodiles and jelly fish.
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Anniversary breakfast at Cafe Johalia
Wedding anniversary breakfast at Cafe Johalia in Mission Beach, QLD, followed by some beach exploring.
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Two cassowaries on the Cassowary Coast
We spotted two cassowaries, on The Cassowary Coast.
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A friendly 10 A outlet, near Mission Beach
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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 🤪.
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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.
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Mango pancakes at the Frosty Mango
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 🥭 🥞 🍨😋 .
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Up Castle Hill (Cutheringa), Townsville
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!
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Power-point parking at Oaks Gateway Townsville
We checked in at Oaks Gateway Townsville and discovered that some parking spots have power points. Very convenient for overnight charging. Thank you Oaks!
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An awkward Ayr charger, between bollards
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.
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Where can I buy a Type 2 cable in QLD?
Is there anywhere north of Airlie Beach in Queensland where you can buy a type 2 charging cable? Over the counter, not mail order.
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.