A previous return trip Brisbane – Canberra – Brisbane illustrated my motivation for environmental protection, EVs and sense for adventure.
This time around, I propped it up a notch higher.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) has strong international tourism ace cards and beyond the beaten tourist tracks, this area really offers some magic and fun! The environmental and scenic diversity is vast and distances to some attractive spots can be considerable but with the 400km “Typical Range” available from the Tesla and we haven’t experienced any real range anxiety.
This article fits my self-proclaimed mission of proving to Australians that with the Tesla Model S the era of electric transport has started NOW and that with little equipment you can travel thousands of km far from Tesla- or public charging infrastructure making use where ever possible of renewable energy resources. This is reality and not a far-fetched dream!
Since May, I have completed 2 return trips to FNQ. During the first one, I set a personal Tesla daily distance record of 948km without superchargers or destination chargers and I covered a distance of 1590km from home to Innisfail, 90km south of Cairns, in 2 days.
This was a scouting trip to evaluate the challenges I would encounter undertaking a real lengthy holiday trip bringing along my spouse, her nephew (11yo) and niece (9yo) who would come over from Taiwan to spend their school holiday with us.
For the 2nd trip odometer data tell that we covered 9,002km in 48 days holidaying!!
Over the course of both trips, I used a total of 40 different charging sites.
The huge trunk and “frunk” space of a Tesla MS was very beneficial for this family trip. Four 4 passengers, luggage “car support items” resulted in a “ballast” of about 400 kg but the Tesla handles the weight gracefully and the extra weight did only affect consumption a tiny bit, max 3%.
And charging time doesn’t need to be boring, once you have driven a few hours it’s a perfect opportunity to stretch legs, do a bit of exercise, visit the local township and have a light meal in a local eatery!
Re-post ~ How a Tesla travelled 9000 kms through Queensland without a super charger network | One Step Off the Grid
By Marc Talloen.
