Overview > Day 1 to Noosa > Day 2 to Gold Coast > Day 3 to Coffs >
Day 4 in Coffs > Day 5 to Port > Day 6 to Kiama
| Driving conditions: We travelled at the designated speed limit – mostly 110 kmh on the highway – using Cruise Control (no re-gen) and with the Air Conditioning on all the way! |
We have set off this morning with an estimated range of 325 km, for a total driving distance (as measured by Google Maps) of just over 200 km.
Our destination is the Gold Coast, but when you are in Noosa at the end of summer, and the air temperature is close to 30°C at 9 am, you can’t leave without a visit to the National Park, and a walk around to Tea Tree Bay for a dip in the ocean. With the water at a balmy 27°C, it is like hopping into a bath, but a refreshing bath with an occasional wave to catch back to the sandy beach.
We finally meander (reluctantly) back to the car to begin our journey south.
Never 100% sure about our next charging opportunity, we stick to our ‘Charge when we can’ motto, and drop into Maroochydore, just south of Noosa, for a top up at a BP Pulse charging station (identified through PlugShare).
We plugged in for 20 mins, boosting our charge from 60% to 85% – giving us an estimated range of 371 km. More than enough to drive safely to the Gold Coast. (Time: 20 mins. Cost: 20.077 kWh @ 55c/kWh = $11.04)
We add another 175 km to the odometer driving to the Gold Coast, dropping the State of Charge (SoC) to 44%.
Tomorrow is a relatively long drive to Coffs Harbour, so after a shopping expedition at the Harbour Town shopping outlets, we head for the nearest fast charger, only to find it’s single CCS outlet connected to a blue BYD Atto 3 – fully charged, with no owner in sight. Grrrr!
We will worry about charging tomorrow.
There are chargers – and there are chargers!
Yes, there are plenty of options, but not all those options are suitable for casual drop-ins like us needing a fast charge. PlugShare displays the charging locations in three colours – brown, green and orange. It is the orange ones that we are interested in – DC ‘fast chargers’. The brown and green icons represent Type 2 AC chargers – at shopping centres and holiday accommodation. These AC chargers are generally rated to charge at 7-11kW, which is fine for locals who may be topping up while at the shops for a couple of hours, or for those who have access to holiday resort / accommodation chargers for overnight charging. And not all the orange icons are suitable either. If they are Tesla chargers, they may or may not be available to non-Tesla vehicles. And if they are available, you might find yourself paying 85c/kWh for the privilege of using one! So, drill down a little, and look carefully at the charging options, to make sure they are suitable for your needs. |
A quick search of the Gold Coast in PlugShare, and you would be forgiven for thinking that there is an oversupply of charging stations.Day 3: Gold Coast to Coffs Harbour >>>
Overview > Day 1 to Noosa > Day 2 to Gold Coast > Day 3 to Coffs >
Day 4 in Coffs > Day 5 to Port > Day 6 to Kiama