ElecTrekking Australia

06/11/2024

We weren’t fully convinced about making the long drive to Uluru in the November heat, but this morning the whole family was feeling up for the adventure, so we packed up and headed north along the Stuart Highway!

Our first stop was Marla, where we grabbed a cold drink in the roadhouse while waiting to top up the battery. Marla’s charger isn’t the fastest, so we carefully calculated just enough charge (with a buffer!) needed to get us to the next stop at Erldunda and then hit the road again.

But before setting off we gave the NRMA a call to confirm that the charger at Erldunda was operational. The charging station wasn't showing up on the NRMA App and although it was visible on PlugShare its status wasn't available. Initially they couldn't see the charger in the system but after some back and forth told us that, as far as they could see, there was a charger online.

As we crossed into the Northern Territory, the earth turned a deeper red, and the heat intensified welcoming us to the Outback. Before jumping in the pool at Erldunda we plugged in at the (free) 50 kW charger, which was indeed operational. However instead of the supposed 50 kW it was only delivering 35 and then rapidly decreased down to 10kW... hardly fast charging. Fortunately it made no difference as we were planning on staying the night at Erldunda before continuing on to Uluru in the morning. Instead of using the charging station, we swapped over to the (free) AEVA three phase outlet which delivers 22kW*. Fantastic to have two dedicated charging options in such a remote location!

But the real treat was still to come. As night fell, we were gifted a breath taking electrical storm, with lightning flashing across the dark desert sky and rain pouring down. It was one of those awe-inspiring moments where you see the full power and beauty of nature and one that we’ll remember forever!

*𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘝9 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 11𝘬𝘞 𝘈𝘊

05/11/2024

Heading to the Red Centre via Coober Pedy was always going to be part of the electric journey we would need to well plan in advance.

Between Port Augusta and Coober Pedy lies 540km of rugged South Australian outback with, well… not much in between! We had mapped out a fast charging stop at Pimba Roadhouse near Woomera, but a recent storm had taken down the high-voltage network, affecting power in the area. Keeping an eye on the updates online we were assured that the charger would be restored by the time we arrived, but… no such luck!

Suddenly, we faced three options:
1️⃣ Turn back to Port Augusta and wait it out,
2️⃣ Drive 168km off course to Roxby Downs for a working charger, or
3️⃣ Push onward, find a place to stay and trickle-charge

The kids voted for Plan A, but Tim (who was driving) cast the deciding vote, and we headed to Roxby Downs. After fully charging to 100% and treating ourselves to ice cream, we set off again. It was all looking good with a strong tailwind that had us cruising efficiently at 5.3 km/kWh. But once we turned the corner and rejoined the Stuart Highway, that same wind brought our energy efficiency down to 4.1 km/kWh, forecasting us to fall short of Coober Pedy by about 15km.

Tim was keen to push the boundaries, believing we could make the distance if we dropped our speed and got into Coober Pedy late. So, another family vote was called, and this time the majority prevailed—we instead stopped at Glendambo before the roos came out at dusk and trickle charged overnight. By morning, we had 40% more power, plenty to make it to Coober Pedy without any stress!

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans hit a bump! We were unlucky with the delay in the fast charger coming back online, but it was a great reminder of why backup plans are a must on the road! And it’s all part of the adventure 🚗💨

* 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘈𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢.

04/11/2024

Xavier spotted our latest trip update in the new Caravan World magazine at the Peterborough Newsagency. Very exciting when you're 8 years old!

https://tinyurl.com/26fjenjt

30/10/2024

We passed the 27,000 km mark in our all electric "big lap" journey as we crossed from Victoria into South Australia.

The distances were much shorter while exploring the state of Victoria over the past month. Around the Melbourne area we stayed mainly at powered sites in caravan parks and so had no additional costs for charging the EV. Further away from the capital we camped primarily at National Park sites and free camps and used the fast charge network chargers or those located at tourist attractions. In total, we spent $101 on fast charging (at five stations) for 2,200km of travel over 25 days in the state.

The significant elevation around Otway National Park caught us off guard a little. At one point our projected range indicated we would fall short of reaching our campsite at Port Campbell by 15 kms, but fortunately the improved efficiency going back downhill combined with regenerative charge saw us gain all that shortfall back, and reach our destination with 3% battery (or ~10 kms) remaining without needing to use any of our back up plans.

It was wonderful to see so many wind turbines around the south west coast making good use of the abundant renewable wind power, some of which was less than ideal for camping!! 💨🍃

28/10/2024

We only knew of Warrnambool because of the movie "Oddball". The film is based on the amazing true story of the Middle Island Penguin Project. The island's Little Penguin population had been decimated by foxes over the years, with their numbers reduced to less than 10. In a novel attempt to save the penguins, Maremma guardian dogs were trained to protect the island’s Little Penguins from foxes, allowing the population to slowly build to well over 100 penguins today.

Warrnambool is on what is known as the "Shipwreck Coast". This treacherous stretch of coast is believed to have around 700 shipwrecked vessels submerged in its waters. The most famous wreck was the Loch Ard, which sunk on the final day of its three month journey from England to Melbourne, claiming the lives of all passengers on board with the exception of two. The crew and passengers had just been celebrating the end of their journey before night fell and the ship crashed into the cliffs. Navigating the Bass Strait is referred to as threading the "eye of the needle". The Strait is only 250kms wide with more than 50 islands and known for being one of the roughest stretches of water in the world.

The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village in Warrnambool was well worth the visit. It is both a living historical village that displays the life of a 19th century port and town, and holder of the fascinating maritime shipwreck collection. The EV charger in their carpark was also a bonus!

On the recommendation of the volunteer who gave us a fantastic free tour in Warrnambool, we stopped off to visit Tower Hill and stroll their Lava Tongue boardwalk, and were treated with siting wild koalas jumping between the high branches of their eucalyptus trees.

28/10/2024

Leaving Melbourne, we headed to the scenic Great Ocean Road. The 243 kilometers of road was constructed over a 13 year period between 1919 and 1932 by 3,000 returned soldiers following World War I. The conditions under which the road was built make you appreciate the effort that went into constructing it, often in the side of sheer cliffs and using only simple tools.

The coastal drive is nothing less than spectacular with stunning rock formations, steep limestone cliffs, lush rainforests, thundering waterfalls and wild beaches along the way and dotted with small sea side villages.

Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung Peoples are the custodians of the lands and waters encompassed by the Great Ocean Road region and have been for millennia. In 2023 the traditional owners were successful in their native title claim over 8,578 square kilometres of this region. The Federal Court assesses native title claims and only recognises those which can display an unbroken continuation of culture reaching back to pre-colonisation.

The determination recognises the Traditional Owners right to access, use, and protect public land in accordance with their traditional law and custom. It also recognises their right to be consulted on the use and development of the land and natural resources to ensure the protection and preservation of places and areas with cultural importance.

22/10/2024

Inspiring stories of innovative technology from the dreamers, engineers and visionaries paving the way for our renewable energy future

21/10/2024

Stunning Wilsons Promontory is the southernmost tip of mainland Australia and a nationally significant climate refuge for native wildlife. The Prom Sanctuary project is home to ten major ecosystems with more than 150 threatened plant and animal species found there to date. The sanctuary is a landscape-scale nature conservation initiative, responding to the challenges of climate change by enabling species and nature to survive, adapt and evolve. Many of the national park campsites are tucked away in the bush allowing you to share the space with the local wombats, kangaroos, emus and birdlife.

We spent hours playing hide and seek amongst the granite boulders on Squeaky Beach, famous for its turquoise water and the high pitched squeak the fine grain quartz sand makes when you walk on it. The kids were also well entertained by Tidal River, fascinated by the ever changing form of the river as the water flows in and out with the tide.

21/10/2024

Bendigo was an early adopter of electrified transport with electric battery trams successfully operating from 1903 ⚡️🚎

18/10/2024

With the Phillip Island MotoGP on this weekend, we gave the racetrack a test run in advance in one of their brand new go-karts. A missed opportunity not transitioning to electric when they just replaced their entire fleet ⚡️

18/10/2024

With little penguin parades at dusk, rugged coastline to explore, abundant wildlife encounters and motorbike racing, what more could you ask for from Phillip Island... how about a chocolate factory!

We listened to advice and took towels to allow us to sit on the sand rather than in the formal seating and scored front row spots on the beach to watch thousands of the famous little penguins make the treacherous journey from the sea to their burrows in the dunes. We loved hearing them call out to their friends and gathering groups together at the waters edge before one of them got up the courage to start their run (waddle) across the sand.

There's even a live burrow cam to watch their interactions.
https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/penguin-burrow-camera/

18/10/2024

Gold was discovered in Ballarat in 1851, triggering the greatest gold rush the world has ever known💰🪙 The Sovereign Hill living museum is an immersive experience providing an opportunity to explore a historically accurate re-creation of the Ballarat gold field town from this era.

The Brown's confectionary making demonstration complete with warm samples of raspberry drops was a definite highlight. The kids were also delighted to try traditional toffee apples for the first time. Panning for gold was a huge hit as was the old style nine pin bowling saloon. And of course our animal loving daughter was thrilled by the horse drawn carriage ride. The gold pour demonstration was unexpectedly mesmerising! It was a rare opportunity to witness the glowing liquid metal at a temperature of over 1,000 degrees creating a solid bar (valued at $300k!). The underground mine tour was another great experience, although the dark, cramped mine tunnels were a little too much for the kids!

The after dark AURA sound and light show was also fantastic, immersing you in the story of gold from its creation at the beginning of the universe, its discovery and the enormous impact this had. It's a unique moving theatre where you travel across the Sovereign Hill site under the cover of darkness with hundreds of impressive projections telling the story.

Alongside the stories of the Diggings and the Eureka Stockade, AURA also tells the creation story of the Wadawurrung people and highlights the impact of our pursuit of wealth on Country. It seems we are still learning the same lessons today 170 years later.

16/10/2024

Encouraging to see electrification emerging as an upcoming election issue!⚡🌏❤️ We need everyone to make the electric transition as soon as possible, so government must provide support to make it accessible for ALL Australians.

"𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯."

www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-16/labor-mulls-electrify-everything-household-batteries/104476650?

Household batteries could form part of a plan to make electricity cheaper for low- to middle-income earners before the next election.

15/10/2024

A fabulous overnight stop at the Buchan Caves Reserve to visit Fairy Cave. Xavier wasn't keen to descend underground, but the rest of us really enjoyed the experience exploring the, at times tight, cave with its elaborate limestone sculptures, calcite-rimmed pools and stalactites/stalagmites that have formed over thousands of years.

It's hard to imagine that where we camped was completely underwater less than a year ago. On Boxing Day 2023, more than 60mm of rain fell in 30 minutes, causing a severe flash flood. The entire reserve, buildings and bridges were inundated and underwater with two people tragically losing their lives. A phenomenal job has been done to get the reserve, caves, campground and visitor centre up and running again after the devastation to the local area and community.

Sadly, now that we are experiencing the effects of climate change, extreme weather events like this are becoming more common. Even more reason to prioritise the transition to renewables and limit the future impacts of climate change!

15/10/2024

Glorious beachside camping at Mystery Bay along the south NSW coastline with very active whales playing just off shore.

We were visited by Stan and Twig who were also on their own big EV road trip. Twig was greeted with an agility course lovingly constructed for him on the beach by Ellie. (We are coming to accept that a puppy joining our family upon our return home is almost inevitable...)

15/10/2024

You might have seen the news that Britain, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, last week closed its last coal fired power generator. The UK started reducing its dependence on coal decades before Australia and we are still a long way behind.

While the “opportunity”, or the “potential” for instantaneous 100 per cent renewables in Australia will occur in the next year, it’s unlikely to actually occur for at least another decade, when the last coal fired generators exit the system.

Driving through Gippsland in Victoria, we passed Loy Yang A & B, two large brown coal fired power plants (and mine) that together are Australia's biggest power station and Australia's largest emitting industrial facility. At present Victoria still generates around 60% of its power using non-renewable sources that spew out millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution. The Loy Yang A will continue to operate until at least 2035 under a deal struck with the Victorian state government. Saying goodbye to Loy Yang earlier would be far better as a 2035 closure date effectively kills any hope that Australia will reach 100 per cent renewables in the next decade despite the potential already existing.

More encouragingly, also in South Gippsland, there is the Toora Wind Farm that supplies renewable energy to the surrounding towns. The 12 turbines share land with dairy and cattle herds. Farming activity continues undisturbed while the wind farm generates safe, clean electricity.

04/10/2024

One of the electric features that we appreciate most about our camper is the 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗝𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 which has made our travel set up and pack down so much quicker, easier and safer. The electric roof was actually one of the factors that influenced our decision to buy our specific camper when searching the second hand market.

Jacka's electric system is a great aftermarket improvement for pop-ups with the dreaded cable winch roofs, replacing this instead with a motorised worm drive.

This innovative system has been developed by an Australian family business based in Sydney. While in their home city we met up with the Jacka team and were incredibly impressed with their ethos and commitment to quality. Our system has operated flawlessly, but given it's tougher than average workload during our lap, Mal & Stuart were keen to take a good look and used our visit as a perfect opportunity to analzye the system to ensure that their product remains of the highest standard and reliability even when in well used condition.

They're such fabulous people that we even ended up spending a day with Mal and his kids enjoying the Blue Mountains together.

Here's their website if anyone is interested in what Jacka has to offer: https://jackaindustries.com/

02/10/2024

We were very lucky to catch some of the last of the snow in Perisher Valley and at the top of Thredbo before spring really kicked in on Mt Kosciuszko ❄️⛄️🌨 It was the first time the kids had really experienced snow and although it wasn't fresh and powdery, it was a novel experience for us to share together. An old "YES" corflute that has travelled the country with us in the camper's boot made a great makeshift toboggan until we were kindly gifted two proper ones from the caretaker of our campground. Without waterproof boots or gloves the fingers and toes did find the slope sliding adventures a bit chilly, but we didn't let it ruin the fun. Of course there was also the obligatory snow ball fights and snowman building. Ellie & Renée also tried out Thredbo's new Alpine Coaster and both gave it the thumbs up.

We were mindful of the impact (on the EV's battery) of the sub zero temperatures and the steep ascent to get up to the snow, but knowing that there were free chargers up at Thredbo meant that there were no issues, and the regenerative braking coming back down the mountain meant we had gained even more battery charge by the time we descended back down to Jindabyne.

28/09/2024

Complimentary EV charging while you play in the snow at Thredbo, powered by renewable energy from the Snowy Mountains Hydro ⚡💧🌏

27/09/2024

Canberra, from the Ngunnawal words meaning "meeting place".

We had been so looking forward to this experience (well, Renée in particular) so were very excited to see the bush capital suddenly emerge from the rural farm lands we had been driving through since leaving the coast.

The intentional master planning of Canberra is obvious, especially when viewed from the Mount Ainslie lookout. Back in 1912 a competition was hosted to design the nation’s capital with the award ultimately going to American architect Walter Burley Griffin whose aim was to design a truly modern city that integrated with the natural setting. Today, the city continues as a modern leader evidenced by the value it places on the natural environment and its commitment to sustainability, including sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. Our home city and state could learn a lot from their quality urban planning and sustainability initiatives.

Canberra has topped our list of favourite cities to visit on this trip with so many interesting cultural experiences for everyone to enjoy. Renée could have spent a whole week nerding out at Parliament House & Old Parliament House alone! The kids' "𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨" was on steroids, learning an enormous amount about our country in the five days we were there.

We were so impressed with the quality of every one of the (mainly free) places we visited:

⚡️Parliament House
⚡️Museum of Australian Democracy - Old Parliament House
⚡️Questacon - the National Science & Technology Centre
⚡️National Museum of Australia (with a very strong Indigenous focus)
⚡️National War Memorial
⚡️Australian National Botanical Gardens
⚡️National Dinosaur Museum
⚡️Royal Australian Mint
⚡Floriade

26/09/2024

A couple of days meandering down the coast from Sydney to Canberra via the scenic route with a detour through the beautiful Kangaroo Valley.

25/09/2024

The world heritage listed Blue Mountains were spectacular with amazing scenery including the famous Three Sisters. Riding on the world's steepest railway, a flood lit night walk to Katoomba Falls, spotting wild Lyrebirds and watching flocks of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos spiral diving through the valleys were among the magical experiences. Spending time with the Badman family was also a special highlight.

The blue hue of the mountains comes from the eucalyptus oil vapour (from the Blue Gums) creating a haze. The further in the distance the mountain, the bluer it appears due to viewing it through a larger quantity of v***r.

The impressive botanical gardens included Wollemi Pines, one of the world's oldest and rarest tree species belonging to a 200 million-year-old plant family. It was known from fossil records but presumed extinct until it was discovered in 1994 by a bushwalker in the Blue Mountains. The location of the small population of trees in the wild is a closely guarded secret. The site is the first declared Asset of Intergenerational Significance in NSW, recognising the significance of the Wollemi Pines.

📽️ Ellie made a short video of her highlights

20/09/2024

Professor Greg Morrison from Western Sydney University invited us to speak with his team about our experiences travelling Australia all-electric.

Greg leads the Urban Transformations Research Centre which is helping towns and cities around the country to achieve their net zero goals. It's encouraging to hear about the communities taking advantage of the opportunities the energy transition presents and moving towards more sustainable ways of living where both people and the environment benefit.

16/09/2024

New Bathurst Lap Record: Fastest EV Towing a Camper 🏁⚡🏎️🏆🤣

15/09/2024

Took a small detour so we could visit the Parkes Observatory which was out of this world! 🌌🚀 This is the massive radio telescope that helped beam live footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing back to Earth in 1969 and the real star of the Australian movie "The Dish" 🎬🍿

Despite its age, The Dish is still at the forefront of space exploration, finding more Pulsars than all other observatories in the world combined, being just one of its other claims to fame.