Anticlockwise Adventure!

[brewster]

I assume you went the Mt Isa & Tennant Creek. If you did, the trip to Cloncurry would be pretty tight in my 85, wondering if you looked in at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse on the way through and if their was a place to get a bit of juice there, or anywhere else in between for that matter? This epic trip is very exciting just following your posts and photos

 

[RichardMcN]

Totally fantastic trip, details & pics Richard!!! So which way did you end up going? Highway 1 through Burketown or Route 83 through Mt Isa & Tennant Creek?

I assume you went the Mt Isa & Tennant Creek. If you did, the trip to Cloncurry would be pretty tight in my 85, wondering if you looked in at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse on the way through

Yes (to answer the mystery question) we are heading via Mt Isa and Tennant Creek (Cloncurry tonight). You would have made it Brewster. We had 10% to spare driving at 100km/h (luxury - often we need to hold back to 90) and with the aircon ON (a real luxury!).

Here is Tessie trying to look cool and fit in amongst the 4WD's, road trains and birds of prey (quite a few in the air - you'll have to zoom) at Burke & Wills Roadhouse

wondering ... if their was a place to get a bit of juice there, or anywhere else in between for that matter?

No 3 phase at B&W :-( I had hoped to be putting more points on Plugshare by now, but I'm finding less working 5 pin 3 phase than I thought. My approach now is (like the WA boys) to find keen managers and owners and make the case for investing in 3 phase (aided by AEVA's free outlet offer). I have a few receptive ones already so fingers crossed! Fortunately we can make 400km/day on twin 15 amp, so progress is keeping up!

Wish I had the ability to do the circumnavigation like you but will have to settle for a whale watching trip to Hervey Bay with the family next week.

This epic trip is very exciting just your posts and photos

As we are heading into a fair bit of flat scrubby driving, I am going to have to get more creative to come up with content ...

How about a locust plague (south of B&W)

Overtaking a road train is a buzz if you are driving, but not if you are in the passenger'seat!

I think you'll see more marine mammals than me for a while, White Star!
.

 

[*KT*]

So how are the sensors holding up to the dirt and insects? Are you cleaning daily
.

 

[Dylanpete]

I'm very much looking forward to regular updates of this journey around Australia, without doubt the power supply is in place, without doubt your 90D has the best combination of options for good range, and having the Octopus will be a cut downtime when only 15 amp is available.
Climate wise you've picked the best time of year to travel across the top end, although you may be squeezed in at campsites by Southern Grey Nomads chasing the Sun.
There's going to be times when you walk into a location and ask for 3 phase power to charge your electric car, they'll give you the look like you've just landed from outer space or worse still escaped from the local institution, there's going to be times when your sitting in a roadhouse having a coffee 500 miles from nowhere and some guy walks in and announces " there's a bloody Tesla electric car parked outside, I never thought I'd see the day" and everyone looks at each other saying "what's a Tesla?"
There's going to be times when you meet a kid who's an absolute Tesla junkie, and its now the best day of his life, and his parents are ever grateful to you because even though they have no idea what a Tesla is "that damn kid of ours hasnt smiled for the past two weeks of this holiday"
There also may be the time when you come across that one person, the one who thinks electric cars are evil, he read it online at RWNJ daily, he knows what the car is and it shouldn't be there, "this is a city car boy, it doesn't belong here", no need to say a word, just enjoy the moment.

Richard, when rereading this fantastic note from Blue heaven....how does it match with your experience till now?

There will also be those young guys who want you to "rev" your assumed V8...

 

[Dylanpete]

Fabulous idea. Loving the photos and commentary.
How fast could you conceivably drive to cairns from brisbane if you pushed it?

Which i know is not the point of EV driving but i need to let my sister know to end an argument on ice v ev we had last december.

KT, starting early morning you can do it in 1 day if you have dual chargers.

 

[Dylanpete]

Go, go, Go Richard...and send us lots of pictures!

 

[RichardMcN]

So how are the sensors holding up to the dirt and insects? Are you cleaning daily
.

Sensors are not to bad really KT. Have never specifically cleaned any. Autopilot got upset for a few minutes once about no visibility, but recovered before I could find out where the radar sensor is (and I stil am not sure - new model).

 

[RichardMcN]

Go, go, Go Richard...and send us lots of pictures!

OK if you insist ! ! !

I thought I was going to run out of stuff to photograph in the endless flat open country, but not quite yet it seems ...

Just near the Cloncurry caravan park

(I have promised Tessie a wash in Darwin)

Nice unfolding vista

National Highway 2 ????

(Looking on Wikipedia it seems there is no legislated national highway numbering system anymore. This "Highway 2" is just the highway that extends from Brisbane's M2 and it becomes NT Route 66 across the border.)

! ! ! ! !

3 phase charging at Mount Isa Showground with technicians Luke (Tesla obsessed) and Jaden. Mount Isa came across as a very friendly and confident town.

Ant heaven

Sinkhole at Camooweal caves.

(A bit of dirt for Tessie to get there though - I am really going to have to deliver on that car wash promise!)

 

[*KT*]

Sensors are not to bad really KT.

I am impressed then. Before and after photos in Darwin will be fun.

 

[Dylanpete]

Great pics again Richard!
Quite a few people told me those roads are pretty boring but it looks like once in a while it's worth to have a stop...
No encounters with wildlife?
Would you mind to list once your different charging points since departure?

 

[RichardMcN]

I am impressed then. Before and after photos in Darwin will be fun.

No "before" photos are allowed says Tessie. Sorry KT - all I can do is ask !

 

[strykeroz]

It's a few years yet, but we need to have a way to flat tow a Tesla (presumably a Model Y) behind the electric bus-camper before I get to be a grey nomad...

 

[raynewman]

It's a few years yet, but we need to have a way to flat tow a Tesla (presumably a Model Y) behind the electric bus-camper before I get to be a grey nomad...

Electric bus I assume.

 

[strykeroz]

Electric bus I assume.

Yes. Need the electric bus, a way to drop the electric compact SUV into neutral for towing. And to win lotto. But then we're as good as in the road

 

[MangroveMike]

Awesome trip @RichardMcN . The pioneer spirit is alive!

If you use the bus to tow the Tesla in drive you could use regen to charge the battery (The physics & maths doesn't align, but hey).

 

[MangroveMike]

 

[RichardMcN]

Great pics again Richard!
Quite a few people told me those roads are pretty boring but it looks like once in a while it's worth to have a stop...
No encounters with wildlife?
Would you mind to list once your different charging points since departure?

There is a lot of driving for sure through unchanging country, but much to occupy the mind. Always balancing range vs speed (esp in NT with 130 speed limit) vs aircon on/off/temp setting. Always trying to get the elusive Wedge Tail photo. Always looking for either existing 3 phase or an opportunity to give an AEVA outlet in return for wiring it. Always looking for interesting stuff and photo angles. Always looking for roos (none on the road at all so far but we rarely travel after sunset - only cattle on minor side roads). Sometimes even enjoying the moment, but not nearly as serenly as @Blue heaven.

Charging points fall into a few categories:

• Superchargers, dest chargers, EV chargers and publicly available 3 phase - I always sign in on Plugshare and put it on Plugshare if I'm the first there or it's not registered. I'm a mega Plugshare supporter.
• Places which I find but don't want to be publicised, and friend's homes - about 6 so far - sorry
• Places who I give an outlet to wire in the next few weeks - will put on Plugshare as soon as wired. Hopefully quite a few.
• 15 amp is everywhere in every caravan park, and it has been our core diet (mostly with a complex octopus which increases the rate by 25 - 75% but I'm hoping to get enough 3 phase points up so ppl will be fine at the standard 15A rate). Not much point in listing every caravan park.

Hope that helps !

 

[RichardMcN]

Richard, when rereading this fantastic note from Blue heaven....how does it match with your experience till now?

Interesting question Dylanpete!

Blue Heaven is pretty well right. We average about one REALLY interested person per day who has spent hours on the internet looking up Tesla, plus about 6 casually interested people per day. No detractors yet, apart from only one roadhouse owner who flat refused to talk to me.

One way I do fail to live up to Blue Heaven's post is in the area of mental serenity. For example:

ROUTE 66 ... 450 KM FROM 80% CHARGE !

(a couple of days ago, and I can now just bring myself to write about it.)

Terrible power supply in the caravan park at Camooweal, and we are sill charging when all the caravans have left.

By 11:30 we have to leave for Tennant Creek, 470km away still with only 80% charge. Looks like we have a 23% deficit, but off we go anyway. We are already 1 day behind schedule, and it will be 2 if we don't get to TC!

How do we do it? This shows the agonising solution. Drive at 70 km/h in a 130 zone (65 at times and never over 70) for 7 hours on dead straight roads with the aircon off on a day that topped 30 deg. Great economy though as you can see!

Hooray progress ! (albeit just a few km into the day)

This straight (the longest of many) is 66km long (that's an hour!)

(That's a mirage in the distance not a crest)

Great news - on the middle of the straight, Andrew from the upmarket Barkly Roadhouse agreed to install an AEVA 3 phase outlet that I dropped off, but unfortunately not for our benefit!

The day drags on ...

And to a weird crocodile-style sunset, we finally pull into a roadhouse about 20km short of Tennant Creek, and the day is saved!

 

[RichardMcN]

A few random shots along the Stuart Highway to here at Katherine.

Road kill

..........

Just like Monument Valley

Quirky overnight pub

Hot springs at Mataranka. There are crocodiles in the river about 500m away but seemingly the springs pool is safe!

We get this scary screen every day ...

A nice cave at Cutta Cutta

.

 

[strykeroz]

Glad to see Mataranka is back to being beautiful. When we went through there 18 years back a fruit bat colony had moved in after the Katherine River flooded them out, and the palm trees were reduced to stumps covered in a thick paste of fresh guano, the banks were black the the water unappealing. Now it's back to the oasis I remember it as in an earlier visit.