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! |
An easy two hour run down the coast from Coffs to Port today, so just a quick top up at the BP Pulse charger at the servo a few km down the road from our accommodation in Coffs.
Probably our least positive charging experience of the trip. The service station proprietor is storing a large hire trailer adjacent to, but overlapping the EV parking area. With a car already charging on one outlet our access to the second outlet is restricted by the offending trailer – so much so, that once parked I couldn’t open the driver’s door far enough to get out of the car to connect the charger.
Some acrobatics were required to exit through the passenger-side door!
The already charging BYD Dolphin was enjoying a 55 kW charge, until we connected, and the 55 kW was then shared between the two outlets – 30 for us, 25 for the Dolphin.
Fortunately for the Dolphin we disconnected after 30 mins, for a miserly 15 kWh charge, and pointed the MG south towards Port Macquarie with an estimated range of 281 km for the 152 km journey. (Time: 30 mins. Cost: 15.093 kWh @ 55c = $8.30)
The 90 minute or so journey to Port Macquarie is an easy cruise-controlled jaunt down the highway, punctuated by a couple of sections of roadworks. The MG really is a pleasure to drive.
First stop as we head into Port is, of course, Ricardo’s strawberry farm!
With a kilo of delicious hand-picked red berries loaded in the car, we head towards the 180 kW Chargefox chargers at the Port Macquarie Service Centre. The plan is to charge up this afternoon, to facilitate an early start on the highway the following day – but we arrive at the Service Centre to find that while only one of the three chargers is in use, the other two chargers are out of order!
Fortunately the sole charger occupant finished up just as we were preparing for a wait, so we were able to plug in to lift our charge from 28% to 95%, giving us an estimated range (Normal mode) of 375 km. (Time: 55 mins. Cost: 48.74 kWh @52c = $25.34)
Charging this afternoon helps us with an early start for the long drive tomorrow, rather than spending 45 minutes at the charger in the morning before we go anywhere – which will also make time for a morning dip at the beach!
Day 6: Port Macquarie to Kiama >>>
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