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Finally trying the Dindi Cafe in Yarck
On the way, yesterday, from Yackandandah to our home in Emerald, we stopped for a break in Yarck. We have passed the Dindi Cafe many times before. Now we could finally check it out. We had read reviews that said it had strong smells from the products, but our sensitive noses found the smells of lemon myrtle, eucalyptus quite pleasant. We bought a couple of products and shared a toasted panini for a late lunch. They just offer ready made food from the display cabinet.
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A not-so-flat detour to Flat Rock
We took a stab at the on screen map by tapping “Flat Rock”. It took us out the back of Beechworth, past the correctional center, along a dirt road. The path to the rock was not flat, so we groaned in the photo. The moss on the rock was like carpet for bare feet.
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Beechworth sweets, then Newton Falls
Like a kid in a candy store at The Beechworth Sweet Co. But we showed restraint… until we went next door to the Beechworth Bakery. We took a couple of vege rolls and a cuppa down to Newton Falls, which are pretty spectacular for something right in the middle of town.
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A $10 squeegee solves an EV-charger gap
We figured out that the one advantage of having an ICE car is having access to a window washing squeegee at the service station, a feature that is not provided at EV chargers. Problem solved: We bought a $10 squeegee at Mitre 10, and keep it in the car boot. We set off this morning with a clean windscreen and a full “tank”.
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Past The Big Shovel, ending at Yack's Bottom Pub
We stopped by “The Big Shovel” as we left the Off-Grid Living Festival in Chiltern. Francis tried to make a friend out of a skittish young bull. We finished up back in Yack, this time at the ”Bottom Pub”, complete with appropriate (or inappropriate) photo.
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Slides from our EV road-tripping talk
Some of the slides from our presentation on EV road tripping at the Off-Grid Living Festival, in the Border Regional Electrification Events electrification tent.
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The vibe at the Off-Grid Living Festival
Great vibe at the Off-Grid Living Festival. Street musician and entertainers, cuddly animals, amazing artwork, lots of delicious food options. No disposable plates! Impressive.
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An eye-opening talk on EV conversions
Eye opening talk today at the Border Regional Electrification Events electrification tent, about converting existing cars to EVs. New life for classic cars. Improves torque, reliability and longevity. No fumes or noise. Love it.
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Yackandandah Motor Inn has EV charging sorted
The Yackandandah Motor Inn has got it sorted! It has a power point outside the room, next to the parking spot, specifically for EVs and e-bikes. Brilliant! Before you point out that the sign says to “park front in“, we checked that with management. As we’ve seen in other motels, that’s to reduce the fumes and noise of ICE vehicles filling the rooms, which of course is not a concern for EVs. Even the bedside charging is set up properly, with USB-C, USB-A and a power point high enough for a laptop plug pack. Dinner is a very short walk away at the Star Hotel Yackandandah. We had mushroom fettuccine and eggplant parmigiana.
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Marvin meets Husqvarna at the Off-Grid Festival
On our way out from the Off-Grid Living Festival, we checked out some of the displays in the Border Regional Electrification Events area. We had a chat with Paul about the Husqvana robot mower that was quietly cutting a patch of lawn next to us. All Seasons Garden Solutions: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091464130556 We chatted with Matt from Clenergy about a possible portable battery for camping, which can charge from the Tesla car’s 12V supply and from portable solar panels, to then use it for high power cooking such as induction stove tops. It pains me that this is needed because our Tesla doesn’t have vehicle to load (V2L) which could power the stove directly. Other EVs have this feature.
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EVs and conversions at the Off-Grid Festival
Many electric vehicles at the Off-Grid Living Festival this weekend, in the Border Regional Electrification Events area. New cars from Tesla, MG, Hyundai and others. Test drives on site. We spotted a few converted cars including a VW Beatle and a Mini. A Zero motorcycle. Dozens of electric mowers from small to huge. The place of huge!
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Catching the EV panel at the Off-Grid Festival
We arrived at Off-Grid Living Festival at about 2:30, to catch a few of the talks in the Border Regional Electrification Events electrification tent. We caught the tail end of a panel discussion of EV owners answering some audience questions, then Michael from the Electric Vehicle Council covering a range of issues. And finally an eye opening discussion on recycling measures in place for lithium batteries in Australia. The tent was appropriately powered by V2L (vehicle to load) from the MG EV parked next to it. We found our names in the presenters list for tomorrow! See you at noon.
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Battery-powered coffee at the Off-Grid Festival
Battery powered coffee at the Off-Grid Living Festival. No diesel generator noise or fumes. How’s the serenity!
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First stop, Marmalades in Yea, on the way to Chiltern
First stop, in Yea, on our way to the Off-Grid Living Festival. We stopped for lunch at Marmalades – delicious fritters and a cheese waffle dish, which was new for us.
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Cramming Early Settler furniture into the Tesla
We crammed our final furniture purchases into the Tesla. They arrived at Early Settler Furniture in Chirnside, about three months after we ordered them. We didn’t want to fork out for another delivery fee (we’ve paid for two already on this one order), so we decided to just pick them up. Two bedside tables and two tall coffee tables, plus the boxes and packaging. Two fit in the back seat and two almost fit in the boot. So, we left the boot slightly open. Driving off, the Tesla displayed a warning on screen and played a continuous three beep sound. We couldn’t tap anywhere to stop it, but after a minute or so, it just went quiet. We stopped for lunch at Milk & Wine Co in Heathmont. Delicious coffee and eggs. But, I digress. While we were seated for lunch, the Tesla sent my phone a notification to warn that the boot was open. That was okay. But, I also couldn’t lock the car. It seems that the open boot prevents the car locking the doors too. I’ll need to check into this. It seems wrong…
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A Touch of Dutch for Easter goodies
A culinary step back to Fran’s roots at A touch of Dutch. We left with some Dutch chocolate for Easter, apple cake, crochets and a bunch of sweets (for gifting, honestly!).
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High tea at Oxi Tea Room
A road trip into Melbourne city for a fancy high tea at Oxi Tea Room. We managed to find a free parking spot in the same laneway. The choice of over thirty teas was laid out in a matrix of flavours. The high tea theme changes every season. For autumn, it is a space adventure. The artwork, ornaments and spectacular food matched the story unfolding on our phones, guiding us through eating each sculpture. We couldn’t tell which was savoury or sweet until we tasted them. It pushed comfort zones a little, but it was amazing. The staff were lovely. Thanks to Helen for this “out there” Christmas gift ☺️👽🧑🚀.
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Bunnings sausage sangas, in cosy Tesla mode
Aussie traditional trip to Bunnings, complete with sausage sangas. We did wonder about the meat source, after reading the sign 😉. Rather than hover around the carpark, while eating, we hopped in the Tesla. For a laugh, we turned on the cozy fireplace, which also blows warm air from the “fire”. I tapped the screen once and, to my surprise, it started playing Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” 🎶 😮🤭😂.
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Eggs Florentine in Cockatoo
A local trip to Cockatoo, Victoria, for Eggs Florentine at Brunch on McBride. We had to laugh at the inappropriately truncated The Black Cockatoo Pizza Cafe across the road. We wandered a bit down the road through the local community garden, and harvested a strawberry. A familiar toot toot sound turned out to be Puffing Billy Railway with a Thomas The Tank Engine face. We think it runs from Emerald to Cockatoo only once a day.
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By the start of the Yarra River, Warburton
Next to the beginnings of the Yarra River in Warburton Victoria.
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A drawer-knob hunt in Warburton
A quick trip this morning out to Blue Scooter, in Warburton, to look for some drawer knobs. But, it’s all about the journey. We stopped on the way there to grab a coffee in Wesburn at The Flying Apron Patisserie. After Blue Scooter we walked the long way back to the car, through Warburton around the Yarra River, sharing a burger for lunch at Three Sugars Cafe Warburton. Stunningly beautiful day.
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On the way to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie
On our way to Yarra Valley Chocolaterie.
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Finally inside Yarra Valley Chocolaterie
After having driven past it many times, we finally got to visit Yarra Valley Chocolaterie today. It’s huge! So many sweet treats. We had a sensible meal in the restaurant before buying just a couple of chocolate bags… and some ice creams.
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Emu Plains Market, in a friend's BYD Atto 3
Day trip with friends in their BYD Atto 3 out to Emu Plains Market, followed by a late lunch at Somers General Store. Francis and Ron were on brand with our Tesla Tripping caricatured tote bags 😉. We like a lot about the Atto 3, including the ride height, vehicle to load and retractable sun roof. The CD looking air vents and other decor feel a bit weird. If you like a more traditional car, with more buttons, then this might be a better option for you than a Tesla. Petrol prices are spiking again. We noticed the $2.30 per litre signs at petrol stations as we drove along. The petrol bowsers out the front of Somers General Store are now just an ornamental relic of the past.
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Four double scoops, kept chilled by the Tesla
Double the EVs and double the ice creams. This time I took a large container to Bam Bam Italian to buy four double scoop ice creams for us and our guests. The car kept the temperature at a chilly 15°C while Kyla accepted the challenge to scoop two spheres into each cone. Tomorrow, we’re off to Emu Plains Markets.
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Ice-cream mode, in 36 °C heat
The challenge: In the middle of the hottest three day stretch in Victoria in decades, bring home double ice cream cones without them melting all over the car. Solution: Set the Tesla to “ice cream mode”. Well, it’s really just the “keep” setting in the air conditioner. It keeps the car cool, without running an engine, while I exited to buy ice cream cones at Bam Bam Italian. Mission successful! 🍦😋
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Two ways to beat 36 °C in the Dandenongs
We found a couple of creative ways to find relief from the 36°C heat today: 1. Road trip to Warburton to wade in the cleanish start of the Yarra River. 2. Drive 1.2km above sea level near Mount Donna Buang, where the temperature dropped to 24°C. The river in Warburton was popular today. Many people set up with floating tubes, shade tents, picnics. We grabbed lunch nearby at BT Dubs Cafe. It’s hard to find a good view from the road around Mount Donna Buang. The best spot was this launch pad, presumably for hang-gliders, down a long narrow gravel road that leads to Healesville. No place to park and barely enough room for another car to pass. Luckily we only passed two other cars along that entire road. Beautiful drive. No worries about our engine overheating because, well, the EV doesn’t have an engine 😉. When we arrived back home, the bonnet feels no hotter than the ambient temperature.
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Tesla now registered in Victoria
Well, it’s official. Our Tesla is now registered in Victoria, and so are we. We had booked appointments (at a cost of 3 x $40) with VicRoads a couple of weeks ago, to change over from NSW to Victoria. When we were nearly due to leave home, we realised that we had not completed some of the paperwork, which would have taken another 15 minutes. So, we postponed, which cost an additional 3 x $20. Today, we arrived on time, collected our appointment tickets from the reception desk and waited. We watched as other people were called up, in no numerical order, and realised there was no predictable system as to who was next. About 30/40 minutes later we were called up. In retrospect, we should have just come along to our original appointment and filled out the additional form while we waited. Anyway, the staff were lovely and the place is modern. The single shared toilet had a queue, which probably indicates a planning oversight. We watched a couple of different youngsters called up for their…
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An 'EV' for the hedges
I tried out another “EV”, kind of – an Electric Vegetation cutter 😉. Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch. It’s an electric hedge trimmer. Emerald has so much vegetation, and our place is no exception. Hundreds of meters of hedges. The RYOBI electric hedge cutter is fairly quiet, instantly turns on and off, and is fueled for free by the sun via our roof solar panels. While cutting, it did occur to me that using a petrol powered hedge trimmer would be a much less pleasant experience. Much louder, with fumes in my face, heat and higher fire risk. I’d be dependant on an external fuel supplier to truck in petrol from hundreds of kilometers away, and I’d have to drive to a petrol station to get it. When the battery goes flat on this electric model, I just plug it in and walk away to do something else. It will take an hour or more to recharge, but I don’t have to do anything. Plugging in the battery takes a few seconds. If I really wanted to keep going immediately, I could swap with another…
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Up Mt Dandenong: Destiny Point to SkyHigh
Continuing or short road trip, we drove from one side of Mount Dandenong at Destiny Point Cafe, up the road to the other side, looking out from SkyHigh. It’s not the superhero school from the Sky High movie, or a high school at all (which I thought it was 🤦♂️). But it does have a great view all the way to Melbourne city in the distance. From up here, we feel like huge giants! $10 for parking on the weekend, which was pretty packed due to the Oxfam walk passing through there. Up to 87km walking, including 2km vertical (one support person told me). Then a beautiful drive home through the prehistoric looking fern trees and giant trees.
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So much to explore in the Yarra/Dandenong Ranges
I think it would take a few years of weekends to visit all of the attractions in the Yarra/Dandenong Ranges where we now live. This morning’s road trip started out to Destiny Point Cafe, in Kalorama, opposite the Silvan Dam Lookout. When we first arrived, three of the ten cars in the car park were EVs. We started with a seat on the outside of the cafe, but the 16°C plus wind soon sent us inside. Second day of Autumn! The coffee mug was a welcome heat source. The staff were lovely. The veg brekkies were delicious. Even the toilet courtyard was beautiful, adorned with various bonsai trees.
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'Drive on sunshine': free fuel from our roof
“Drive on sunshine” ☀️ Also known as “charge on solar”. Or, just free car fuel from the sun, with no ongoing cost, fumes, noise, trips to a fuel station, burning coal, paying for oil to questionable regimes… well, you get the picture 😉. Tesla updated the software today to finally enable this feature in Australia. We first saw reports about it coming last week, but it didn’t appear. The USA has had it for a while, perhaps a year. I don’t know why they need to release it on a per country basis. Being the tech nerd that I am, after reading an email from Tesla today, I checked several times that my Tesla app was up to date, manually triggered the software update on the car, tried logging out and back into the Tesla app several times. Finally, a few minutes ago, the new feature appeared! If I had just left it, the overnight update cycle would probably have just done it all for me. Ironically, it’s after sunset now, so I can’t actually use it. But I have configured it so that the morning…
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Water lilies at Blue Lotus Water Garden
Morning drive out to Blue Lotus Water Garden near Yarra Junction. The entry fee is $24.50 per adult. The gardens are extensive and amazing. If I read correctly, they are the biggest summer supplier of water lily seed pods to Melbourne and Sydney. I should have realised that their opening time of 10am means that the cafe doesn’t serve breakfast. The lunch options are limited. We had a “brunch” of quiche/pie, salad and chips – baked on site and delicious. At first I misread one sign as “Supercharger” but it was actually “Supercharged Pink” which I presume is a flower variety.
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Nine days of grid outage in Emerald
It’s been nine days of grid power outage here in Emerald Victoria. The community has pulled together to share resources. Today I received an SMS from Ben to ask if he could charge at our place. I assumed it was another neighbour asking if they could plug their phone or laptop in to the power board we laid out in the porch. We were the only house in the street to still have power after the storm hit, thanks to our Tesla Powerwall battery. It’s been charging up each day from solar panels on the roof. But Ben was actually after a place to charge his EV. I had forgotten about our listing on PlugShare during all of the neighbourhood blackout dramas. I said yes, no problem. Today he had driven from his home in Packenham east to Sale, then back west and up the hills to Emerald, and has a few more nearby drives to do before returning home. The navigation said he would get home with 8% charge, but that wasn’t accounting for extra stops. So, he wanted to play it safe.
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Back home with battery power
We’re are back home in Emerald and have power! The grid is still out, and is expected to be down until mid next week. But our house is getting power from solar and our Tesla Powerwall battery. Driving back home (after our road trip to NSW), we could see why Emerald is still in the dark. Many power lines (and phone/broadband lines) are still down. Emerald featured in the first story on last night’s (Friday) ABC news: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/abc-news-vic At least one of our neighbours is running a fuel generator. Another has a couple of solar panels hooked up to a car battery for night lights and a 12V car fridge. Schools are effectively closed. The local petrol station had one pump going, with a long queue. We have offered our neighbours electricity from our solar/battery power. One family had no power for three days, but now we have connected some extension cords over the fence. History: The grid died on Tuesday 14th. We were away road tripping in NSW. Our Tesla Powerwall…
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Powerwall hits zero during the grid outage
Well, that’s not good. The Tesla Powerwall at home has just gone flat (zero percent charge) at about 5pm today. Our new home town of Emerald is one of many affected by the grid outage in Victoria, after a wild storm hit on Tuesday afternoon. A couple of months ago, we had Lightning Energy install solar and a Powerwall battery at our new home. In a grid outage, the solar array is supposed to keep the house electricity going, recharge the battery each day, and keep the fridge cold. But the solar production stopped working when the grid outage started. Something is wrong with the installation. The battery has slowly depleted, until it hit zero percent two days later (this afternoon). I contacted the installer, Lightning Energy, a couple of days ago to hopefully fix it before the fridge died. No answer from service. So, I SMSed Andrew, who works for them and lives locally. He kindly offered to pop in on his way home to take a look. Here’s hoping we can get power from the sun back…
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Wahroonga traffic, then Autopilot tea
Off we go from Sydney back to home in Victoria. Slow start with bumper traffic through Wahroonga. Popped the car on Autopilot and poured a cup of tea.
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Wild weather hits Victoria
Wow, what a wild weather ride in Victoria yesterday. We’re still in NSW, but the Weather app summarised the weather at home in Emerald as “Fire Weather” 😮. The heat was followed by a heavy storm that knocked down many trees and power lines. In the middle of the day, wholesale electricity prices peaked at a hundred times the norm at nearly $20 per kWh (normally under 20c per kWh). I checked our home remotely using the Tesla app. It was exporting power from our battery (and solar) to help keep the grid supply going, whilst paying us about $100 per hour for the supply! Our battery has continued to supply power to our home during the blackout. We messaged some of our neighbours an invitation to come over and plug in any needed devices (such as phones or a portable fridge). A few of them also checked on our house for us. Great neighbours and community ☺️. We might need to also offer them showers because those with on demand gas hot water often need electricity to light them. All the petrol…
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All modes of transport at Everything Electric Sydney
So many different modes of transport at Fully Charged Show’s Everything Electric, Sydney.
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Day two at Everything Electric Sydney
Our second day at Fully Charged Show’s Everything Electric Australia 2024. We checked out Tiny Solar Homes, Bosh Cooking, many vehicles (see previous post) and a few more panel discussions. I am particularly interested in Vehicle to Everything, but hampered until Tesla enables it on their cars, like BYD, Ionic, MG and others already have. I briefly ran into Chris Bowen MP (walking with Robert Llewellyn's and Dan Caesar). I asked him to stop subsidising fossil fuel companies. “One thing at a time, mate” was his response. I am very glad that he has finally brought in vehicle emissions standards and other positive steps. But stopping tax payer funding of fossil fuel companies, which are killing us, seems like a much bigger impact. No reason for us to wait to do that. The planet can’t wait, for sure. +1.5°C and still climbing 😢.
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Day-one wrap-up at Everything Electric Sydney
Wrapping up our first day at Fully Charged Show’s Everything Electric Sydney. Guest panelist for Evie Networks discussing better public charging. Attended several panel discussions in the Giga Theatre and Mega Theatre. Spotted a few solar race cars. I grilled the team at the Enphase Energy stand on how I can turn off my solar production remotely. No satisfactory answer yet, so I’ll be back to grill them tomorrow. We asked the fire warden how many EV fires have occurred here so far. He said “zero” in sign, in the photo. Unsurprising since there have only been six EV fires in Australia (ever), none of them while charging. Finished off laughing, watching Jack Scarlett and Imogen Bhogal, from Fully Charged Show, cooking Pad Thai on an induction stove. Hosted by Zoe Bingley-Pullin (previously hosted Good Chef, Bad Chef). Back again tomorrow.
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A vegan pie before the Evie panel
Arrived at Fully Charged Show’s Everything Electric Sydney, just in time for a vegan pie and a quick view of some of the exhibits. Have to eat quickly before we’re on the panel with Evie Networks to discuss how to improve EV charging.
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Charging in Bright while we eat at the Alpine pub
We arrived in Bright, after our trek north through the Victorian alps. Fortunately summer days are long, so we still had plenty of light. We plugged into the town’s Evie Networks charger while we had dinner at the nearby Alpine Bright pub. We checked in to Motel Sierra and collected our travel blanket that Peter had kindly kept for us, since we left it there months ago on our last trip through. Carrying bags upstairs was offset by a cup of tea and biscuit on the balcony. Next morning, we had brekky out at The Riverdeck Kitchen, overlooking the river that runs through town. Francis managed to somehow squirt the yolk from her Eggs Benedict precisely onto her T-shirt. We watched as someone parked next to our Tesla, right up against the line, then inevitably hit our car with their door 🤦
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A Berry View Motel night, via Yackandandah and Yass
After a long drive from Bright, through Yackandandah and Yass, we arrived in Berry, checked into the Berry View Motel, then drove around the corner to the Berry Bowling Club for dinner. A ute parked adjacent to us in the motel car park illustrates that some vehicles are just too big for current car parking. We had to reverse in at an angle to avoid scraping along the ute’s towball. Next morning, we popped into the local IV Coffee outlet, appropriately adorned with ivy. Then onward to the Fully Charged Show Everything Electric expo in Sydney.
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A Yackandandah cake stop, hidden from the paparazzi
On our way from Bright, Victoria to Yass and Berry in NSW, first stop in Yackandandah for toilet, coffee and… cake. Francis hid from the paparazzi shot, while Tom claimed it was ordered when he ducked outside. Yackandandah is one of our favourite places to stop along the way. It featured in an episode of “Back Roads” on ABC. https://iview.abc.net.au/show/back-roads/series/1/video/IV1507H003S00
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Pausing at Mount Hotham
Along the Great Alpine Road, looking towards Mount Kosciusko.
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Driving the Great Alpine Road
Today we drove along the Great Alpine Road from Bairnsdale in Gippsland Victoria, through Mount Hotham and various lookouts pointing at the highest places in Australia, including Mount Kosciusko. Unsurprisingly, The Great Alpine Road is the highest highway in Australia. Stunning scenery, on top of the world. We’re on our way to Fully Charged Show’s Everything Electric show in Sydney, and to catch up with family in NSW.
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Through Mount Hotham, on the way to Sydney
Passing through Mount Hotham, along The Great Alpine Road, on our way from Gippsland in Victoria, to Everything Electric Australia in Sydney NSW.
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A bucket-o-chino at Cafe 3869, Yinnar
After staying overnight with our friends in Budgeree, we followed their BYD Atto 3 a few kilometers north to Cafe 3869 in Yinnar. We had the biggest coffee we’ve ever seen. It was like a bucket-o-chino! We started heading north-ish, past the Loy Yang Coal Fired Power Station, and giant open cut coal mines with lots of sprinklers to try to contain the dust 😷. We stopped in Bairnsdale for a brief break for the toilet and a stretch. A ute had ICEd one of the charging bays, but the signage doesn’t clearly state that they can’t. We walked through the large park that seems to divide the main road in town. Then properly north along the Great Alpine Road towards Bright.
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An off-grid stay in Budgeree
After our short exploration of the Tarra-Bulga National Park, we drove north to Moe to meet our friends, Ron & Sue, for dinner. We’re staying at their place tonight, in nearby Budgeree. Their house is off grid, powered by solar and an array of lead acid batteries. They drive a BYD Atto 3 which has V2L (vehicle to load) which means that, if necessary, they can plug their household items into their car. We wish our Tesla had that facility.
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.