Country Trekking In A Tesla Model 3 In 3rd World Australia

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After waiting for over 3 years (order placed April 2016), we had just picked up our brand new Tesla Model 3 SR+ (September 2019) from the Brisbane showroom and we were off for a road trip. My good friend Pete was throwing a bash for his 70th birthday and wanted us to come. Slight problem — it was in Gayndah 316 km away and there were no chargers once we left the coast.

I need to say that this was 2 years ago and the buildout of chargers in Queensland has been rapid. I wouldn’t have this problem today. In fact, I think there are more chargers in Queensland than there are electric cars (especially if you don’t count the Teslas).

First order of business was to book accommodation — yes, the motel clerk assured us, they had had a visit from a Telstra car (the phone company) before, so there would be no problem. Then, I asked Pete if we could charge at his home while we were at the party — again, no worries mate. 

We fully charged at home overnight (north side of Brisbane), then drove to the Tesla Supercharger at Sunshine Coast Plaza (120 km). While we had lunch, Tess had a feed and we were soon on the road again. Arriving at the motel, we discovered that their charging option was an extension cord hanging over a fence plugged into a powerpoint at the back of the motel which delivered 10 km of range per hour of charging. After a couple of hours of this, we then drove to the party.

Much to my delight, my mate had set up an EV charging station for us, running from a 15 amp power point, fed from his solar. See photos below. We didn’t get as much charge as we needed because we kept taking party guests on test drives up his long straight road. We left the party late and went back to the motel where the extension cord was waiting for us.

Image by David Waterworth
Image by David Waterworth

The next morning, we still didn’t have enough charge — but it was okay because Pete had invited us back to his place for a BBQ breakfast — bacon, eggs, sausages, and leftover prawns from the night before. Best of all, we were able to fully charge Tess and make it home with ease. 

Our next road trip will be going to Winton to see the dinosaur tracks.


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David Waterworth

David Waterworth is a retired teacher who divides his time between looking after his grandchildren and trying to make sure they have a planet to live on. He is long on Tesla [NASDAQ:TSLA].

David Waterworth has 733 posts and counting. See all posts by David Waterworth