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A Byron Springs Guest House stay
We stayed last night at Byron Springs Guest House. Private room and shower, shared pool, lounge room and kitchen. Beautiful setting, in a suburban street.
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A Hunter Valley stay at Beltana Villas
March 1-3: A couple of nights in the Hunter Valley, NSW, to catch up with my Mum and sister. We stayed at Beltana Villas. Beautiful setting, spacious villas with a balcony, pool and spa. The visiting kangaroo family topped it off. We experienced one of the worst smells, and it wasn’t an animal. A human had apparently previously put milk in the water intake of the coffee pod machine. No trace in the water container, but the first pod we tried gave a smell that made us gag, as it blasted something more than water through it. Our hosts kindly replaced it. Brunch at Ronnies in the Hunter Valley Gardens Shopping Village. Dinner up the road at Harrigan's. Coffee from Cafe Enzo. We managed to fit Mum’s walker (and Mum) in the car, without removing our camp fridge and luggage. We might need more car or less relatives. The least we could do for another serving of boiled eggs. Thanks Mum ☺️.
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The 'Best Scones' sign lured us in again
The “Best Scones” sign on the highway lured us in again, south of Port Macquarie in North Moorland. We had the cafe courtyard to ourselves, apart from the staff and chickens.
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Charging belly and car at The Hill Cafe
Arriving at a cafe before 2:30 makes all the difference. On the way north, last week, we stopped here at about 3pm and all the lunch places were shut. On our way south now, The Hill Cafe is a great option for stopping to charge the belly and charge the car. There’s a big sign on the way into the shopping center in Thrumster (near Port Macquarie) that says something like “Shop, Eat, and Recharge”. No petrol station on this side of town. It’s a snippet of the future.
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Mac and cheese, finally, at Emerald Beach
Last night we stopped at Emerald Beach Pizza & Pasta. We have been dreaming about their mac and cheese, for the past year, but we couldn’t stop on our way north last week. We mentioned how far we’d traveled for this culinary delight, but the staff just looked at us as if we were crazy (which is possible). We brought it back to our accommodation near Coffs Harbour, unwrapped it from the foil container, only to discover that it wasn’t really full. Sometimes it’s best not to meet your heros. Prior to that, we had a short walk on Emerald Beach. A couple of years ago, we were planning on moving somewhere near here, but we ended up in Emerald Victoria instead. Both Emeralds are green and filled with kangaroos. We opted for the one with lower humidity. Our accommodation was an Airbnb apartment at Pacific Bay Resort. Well appointed by the owner. Beautiful setting. We enjoyed cooling off in the pool. This morning, we stopped at The Clog Barn, on our way out of Coffs Harbour. I’m not sure how…
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Mexican at Miss Margarita, Byron Bay
Arrived in Byron Bay, in time for some Mexican fajitas at Miss Margarita, and a stroll along the waterfront. This morning we were in Wellington Point, catching up with our old friends (Tom’s youth group leaders from decades ago, when we were youth), Ross and Sharon. Lunch with them at the local Redlands Sporting Club, and a peak at possibly their new housing block.
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Superchargers and a pyramid bridge at Harwood Hotel
Time for a stretch. We followed the Tesla navigation to the Superchargers at the Harwood Hotel, on the Clarence River. Love the sign. The bridge construction looks like a modern day pyramid. Very impressive.
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Tetris-ing four people, a fridge and luggage into a Model 3
We know our Tesla Model 3 can fit a 50L camp fridge. And we know it will take a large travel suitcase, or four people and some luggage. But we didn’t know if it would take all that at the same time. It took a fair bit of Tetris-ing, and the boot strained at the seams, but we managed to get everything in. I think we might need a bigger car. First stop at Eumundi Markets. We parked in the shade and later opened the boot so the fridge had some outlet for the hot air. Second stop along the highway at Burpengary for some fast food lunch. Then we delivered Erin and Isaiah to their accommodation in Brisbane before their flight back to Airlie Beach tomorrow.
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Following Tesla nav to a locked fence
We arrived at our accommodation, booked on-line an hour before. By “arrived” I mean we followed the car’s navigation to… a locked fence. Apple Maps also suggested we break through. But we decided it was better to drive around the (very large) block to the main entrance. The Tesla navigation showed two destination chargers on site – win! But we soon discovered they were out of action – lose. PlugShare shows them as having been off-line for a long time, which is disappointing. The large mob of wallabies more than made up for the arrival hiccups. The whole site, at Sirromet Winery, Mount Cotton, is beautiful. We stayed next to a lake in one of the glamping tents, with all the mod cons, including modern shower room, toilet and small kitchen. We helped ourselves to the minibar provided red wine, and our last pack of cheese and crackers. Dinner at the on site restaurant was a great chance to relax, enjoy the view and more wallabies. Tiramisu was shared, as a balance of indulgence and…
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Wappa Falls, and Grill'd in Maroochydore
We spent a couple of hours exploring the Wappa Falls and Wappa Dam. We left the literally death defying leaps to the younger ones. Dinner at Grill'd Maroochydore, Sunshine Plaza.
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Crepes for breakfast at Botero Cafe, Maclean
Crepes filled with chocolate mousse, banana and cherry sauce is a perfectly legitimate breakfast, according to Botero Cafe, in Maclean. Onward north towards Coollum Beach in Queensland.
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An overnight stop in Maclean
Concluding the third leg of our trip from Emerald Victoria to Coolum Beach in Queensland, we stayed the night in Maclean. Good value little motel. Takeaway dinner from up the road at the Peking Chinese Restaurant. Along the pretty walk on the levee bank, I noticed that the road and river seem to be at about the same height. Jeremy has run the Waterview Motel for the past two years. He installed a bank of EV destination chargers, 22kW of solar panels and 60kWh of battery storage. The solar charges up the battery and any cars during the day. At night, the battery powers the site and any cars still plugged in. Jeremy has his own BYD Atto 3 EV, which he drives locally and to Brisbane. Like many motels, this one has a sign to ask drivers not to back into the parking in front of the rooms, since it fills them with carcinogenic fumes. EVs are of course exempt. I watched the driver of one large 4WD take several attempts to back in, idling in between, which made the porch air unbreathable. I…
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IGA snacks and driver-attention checks in Thrumster
We stopped for lunch at the Thrumster shopping center. Unfortunately, the few food outlets all seemed to have closed the kitchen for the afternoon. So, we grabbed some supplies at the IGA and had some healthy snacks in the car. The Tesla watches me watching the road. I had only brief glances away at the map, while on Autopilot, but the car was unforgiving, warned me a few times, then suspended autopilot privileges. I had to pull over and park briefly to reset it 😤. I do think it’s too sensitive now.
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Cessnock dinner, then Mum's boiled-egg breakfast
We pulled into Cessnock late yesterday afternoon, and stayed last night at the Potters Hunter Valley Hotel. Great salad bowl dinner options. This morning we popped in on Mum for breakfast. She made us boiled eggs, which we loved.
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Lunch at CAFE 5911, Goulburn
After a stretch through the park.
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Coffee and electrons, Wagga to the Hunter Valley
Morning refuel: coffee and electrons. On our way today from Gobbagombalin (a suburb of Wagga Wagga), to the Hunter Valley. From our grandson to our Mum.
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Euroa bakery and the Black Spur
First meal stop, in Euroa. A couple of bakery goodies, thus begins our newest bakery tour of the east coast of Australia. Nice to chill in the park, with the ducks and magpies. Earlier, after driving along the “Black Spur” (pictured), we briefly stopped in Yarck, for a cup of thermos tea and delicious choc coated Anzac slice – thank you Krissy 😋. We tried out the neck rest, for the first time, which we bought two years ago, but couldn’t get it quite right.
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Off up the east coast, again
Starting off on another road trip today, up the east coast of Australia, to the Sunshine Coast. Meeting with family along the way, and a work meeting in Byron Bay. Camp fridge packed, laundry bag, cables and shoes in the frunk. First stop tonight in Wagga. In case you’re wondering, the piece of furniture in the boot in for delivery to our family in there. Marvin the Mower and Vera the Vacuum tidied up the place before we left. We grabbed an egg muffin and coffee from Over the Road Cafe, in Emerald, on our way out of town
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A theatre-show history tour
A very interesting way to learn the history of a place: by joining the guided tour theatre show. “What was that?” by Essence Theatre Productions. We were greeted by the staff from a century ago, with a blend of Downton Abbey, comedy and ghost tour. We assumed the role of “friends of the family”, visiting a couple of months after the owners (the Chirnsides) had died. A few jump scares, moving furniture, audience roastings. Quite the variety. Thank you Helen for the off beat Christmas gift 🎁. We had hours to kill beforehand, which we passed at the Werribee Open Range Zoo next door, The Views - Function, Bar & Grill for dinner, and a game of Wordle on the Tesla screen. A pretty walk in front of the mansion included views across the river to the open plains zoo. Imagine having giraffes and rhinos for neighbours. We spotted an semi-electric (plug in hybrid) BYD “Shark” ute in the carpark.
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How did Marvin go while we were in Europe?
Movember: How did Marvin the Mower go, maintaining our lawn while we were away in Europe for two months? I’d like to say that he effortlessly mowed our 1500m2 lawn. But the reality wasn’t quite perfect. On the plus side: from the other side of the world, I could use the Mammotion app to mow any zones of our lawn. I could have scheduled it, but didn’t. I occasionally watched from my iPhone, through the mower’s camera, to check the grass length and also general security. It did a great job of the areas that it mowed. On the negatives: Marvin got stuck many times on the half buried round log next to the charging station. Wheels would go either side of the log, leaving Marvin floundering like a turtle, unable to touch the ground with the wheels. After returning, we “fixed” the problem by using an upturned table, and later just a block of wood. Similarly, he got stuck a few times on a raised edge (pictured). There seems to be some recent software glitch, where the mower leaves an…
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Renting a Tesla Model 3 in Sydney
November 10-11. After surviving the long flight back from Europe two days ago, I hopped back on a plane, from Melbourne to Sydney. Crazy, right! At Sydney Airport, I rented a Tesla Model 3, similar to ours, for a couple of days. Pretty seamless process, except for the web page directions to find the pick up spot at the airport. I could add my own profile to the in car list of drivers, and manually adjust to my preferred settings (such as seat position). But they didn’t give me access to connect my iPhone’s Tesla app. I increasingly missed the app connect features such as automatic lock/unlock and remote climate control. I had to tap the Tesla card to get into the car each time, like a Neanderthal 😉. Out of all the portals through which I could rent it, it turned out to be cheapest to rent through the Uber app, which now also lists car rentals. Go figure.
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Hyundai Ioniq 5 test drive
Ioniq 5 test drive. Sporty handling and acceleration. Nice interior. More physical buttons than Tesla (which may be good or bad). Felt smaller on the inside. At slightly higher cost than a Tesla Model Y, it seemed to be less value.
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Hyundai Kona: a quick look
Continuing our look at EV options. The Hyundai Kona. Good price. Small. But they somehow manage to fit it a spare wheel. We didn’t test drive it.
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Cooling off at Seaford Pier
Cooling off at the beach under Seaford Pier. Dinner: Chicken and mango salad, brought from home.
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Kia EV5 test drive: bouncy brick
Trying out the new ish Kia EV5. Nice enough. Roomy. Boxy. Handles like a bouncy brick. Poor efficiency.
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However you carry your tree, Merry Christmas
However you transport your tree and decorate it, merry Christmas to you all 🎄.
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Halloween mishaps, then a farm B&B near Paris
October 31 - November 2: After a series of Halloween misadventures, we finally made it to our accommodation, south east of Paris. Beautiful buildings, set on a farm. Breakfast set by Jerome each morning.
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The long flight home from Amsterdam
November 7-8: Via Singapore, back to Melbourne. First, a quick correction to Tom’s inside out t-shirt – it was a chaotic morning getting to the airport. The food and service on Singapore AIRLINES was great. The in flight wifi is good, but connecting to it is more complicated than it should be. We couldn’t sleep. Towards the end, we looked at each other in despair and lamented “the human body was not designed to endure this”. Final leg from Melbourne Airport to home in Emerald via Uber in a Tesla Model 3, just like ours. We were impressed how the driver managed to fit all our luggage in the boot. Just in time for a well earned sleep 😴. Next morning: removal of the Europe road trip beard.
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UFODRIVE return chaos at Amsterdam airport
Up early (ish) to drive the Tesla to the airport. Luckily we allowed extra time, because a bus breakdown at the airport delayed us by an hour. And then trying to find where to return the rental car took us ages. UFODRIVE needs to improve the airport drop off instructions. But the rest of the return process worked pretty well. All from within the app, take some photos and finalise to lock the car.
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Final night in Amsterdam
Our final night in the Netherlands and Europe, before our long flight home tomorrow.
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Crossed off: an electric hearse
We can cross “electric hearse” off our list of electric vehicles to see 😮. Seems to be a custom converted Tesla.
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Last lunch with cousin Nico in Amsterdam
Our last meet up with cousin Nico, in Amsterdam, for lunch at the Noorderlicht Café. Converted docklands with some interesting large artwork. We’ve spent two months in Europe. We hired a Tesla Model Y from UFODRIVE in the Netherlands, visited Germany for lunch, drove all over the Netherlands, then through Belgium, France and Switzerland, down to Italy, and back. We left Nico with a “gift bag” of all the road tripping gear (cooler bag, utensils etc) that wouldn’t fit in our plane baggage tomorrow. Sad to say goodbye, but lots of great memories.
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Watching out for everything, in Amsterdam
A lazy wander around Amsterdam. Really need to pay attention when crossing the road. Watch out for tiny cars, electric bikes, trams, line marking machines, horses, even stilts.
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Van Gogh and silent canal boats in Amsterdam
A day wandering around Amsterdam, starting at the Van Gogh Museum. Lunch next to the canal. No fumes or noise from the many passing tour boats, because they are all electric. Blissful.
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8000 km later, back in Amsterdam
Full circle through Europe, after nearly 8000km, back to Amsterdam. We checked in at the Clayton Hotel. Parking across the canal at QPark – not cheap in the city, for a few days. Tight fit. Several EV charging points. The nearby Albert Heijn store stocked Australian Lindermans wine.
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France to Amsterdam, via a Lesquin McDonald's
We drove from France, through Belgium, back to Amsterdam. First stop, in Lesquin France, at a McDonalds for lunch. This was our first and only fast food chain stop while in Europe. We were curious to see if it was much different to home. The French fries on the menu are, of course, just called “fries” (or “frites”, in French). They also offer plant based chicken nuggets.
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A restored B&B in Flavy-Le-Martel
We arrived last night in this delightful B&B, in the small French town of Flavy-Le-Martel. Our host shared breakfast time with us, telling us the history. She bought the derelict house, which had been abandoned for thirty years. She moved from Paris, and spent a decade rebuilding it, with help from contractors, but mostly herself, with instructions from YouTube videos. Very impressive. We loved being back on rural roads.
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Goodbye Paris, Indian dinner in Saint-Quentin
Goodbye Paris. A quick wave as we passed the Arc de Triomphe and the Moulin Rouge. Northward to Sant-Quentin, France, for a traditional… Indian dinner.
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Lunch at La Petit Palais
Much more inviting, friendly and accessible than most palatial attractions.
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More Paris architecture
We strolled around Paris, checking out some more of the architecture.
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All sorts of EVs in Paris
November 2-4: The inner region of the city now requires vehicles to register and display an emissions sticker. The less polluting the vehicle, the cheaper the permit. The result: noticeably improved air quality, with obvious benefits to health. There are also many electric charging options. The future is looking good.
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How many photos can we take of the Eiffel Tower?
November 2-4: We tried our best, over a couple of days, while we stayed a few blocks away, in Paris.
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A Paris hotel a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower
We used the last of our Luxury Escapes credit to book a couple of nights at this hotel in Paris, a few blocks walk from the Eiffel Tower and the river. Parking on site, but it was a tight fit. The toilets were in the basement, with an impressive arched roof of stones. Many enticing patisseries nearby, even just outside our window. First task was to buy some croissants to have in our room. Then a walk to the Eiffel Tower, and some dinner out, in Paris. As you do 😉.
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A lazy day after two days of Versailles
A lazy day after two days of tackling traffic to and from Versailles. We drove through some of the poorer high density suburbs around us, stopping in a park with a random ruin. Filled with families playing bocci, other ball games, and just enjoying life. Lunch options were difficult to find. We discovered that it was “All Saints Day”, with many businesses closed. We ate at a pub, still Halloween themed, including dismembered body parts. We opted for vegetarian 😉. Tomorrow we’re heading to Paris.
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Inside the Palace of Versailles
Back to the Palace of Versailles. We got to go inside this time, having finally snapped up tickets. Interior decorating overload. Amazing, ostentatious, a bit crowded. The stairs have a well worn groove from so many visitors. The traffic home seemed busier than yesterday. A long slow drive to get back. We later discovered that tomorrow is a public holiday “All Saints Day”. So, we were driving out of Paris suburbs in peak hour, just before a long weekend. We stopped by Best Wok again for dinner, and snapped a photo with the robot waiter.
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More Versailles mishaps, on the road south
Our Versailles string of mishaps continued. First the good news. We finally got out of Versailles and the busy night time suburbs of Paris, heading south east towards our accommodation. Overdue for some dinner, and the EV needing a charge, we looked on the Tesla’s navigation for a stop along the way for both. We picked one of several options along the way, a bank of “V4” Tesla superchargers. We parked, plugged in, and walked next door to “Best Wok” – an all you can eat buffet restaurant. Once we started talking, the designated English speaking staff member came over to help us. The staff were all lovely. Even the robot that collected the dirty plates and delivered drinks, had a smile. Marvin better lift his game 😉. So many food options. We were overjoyed to have fresh veggies. We plated a pile of ingredients, handed them to the wok cook, and watched him fry it up. Fun and delicious. We didn’t have escargot or frogs legs, but this was such a joyful meal to have in France. Returning to…
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Our second run-in with European police
Our second run in with police in Europe. This time in France. After exploring the gardens around the Palace of Versailles, in the evening we drove through the southern suburbs of Paris towards the accommodation we had booked earlier that day. The navigation said to take an exit in 300m, but there were two close together, and I mistakenly took the one, which took us back in the wrong direction, through a low clearance long tunnel with a €12 fee., adding another hour to our trip. This was not going well. We exited the tunnel, back in the suburbs, driving through Versailles. Slow traffic, single lane in each direction. We could hear a siren somewhere getting closer. Suddenly, there was a police car on the wrong side of the road heading straight for our rental Tesla. In addition to flashers and sirens, they started flashing high beams. We stopped, checked rear vision cameras and mirror, and slowly reversed to the side. Bang! We hit something. We felt and heard it. “Shit shit shit” I said…
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Sold out at Versailles, so we wandered the gardens
We arrived at at the Palace of Versailles, passed the golden gates and the armed guards, only to discover that tickets to the actual palace were completely sold out for today. So, we spent the afternoon wandering the magnificent gardens (which also required tickets). But first, lunch at one of the restaurants, which turned out to be big plate (and bill), small meal. Fancy and delicious, though. We bought tickets to the palace for tomorrow, which means another trip back here from our accommodation on the other side of Paris.
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Laundry, then folding while charging, in France
Having finished the laundry and exhausted our hour of parking, we shuffled our now clean clothes into the frunk, drove to the other end of town, plugged into a destination charger, and proceeded to fold our clothes and pack them into our suitcases. Life in Europe is so glamorous! Next to the charger is possibly Cluny’s main attraction: The Cluny Abbey. We felt obliged to visit it.
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Saint-Clement B&B and a regretted kebab
Inching closer to Paris, we stopped overnight at a B&B in Saint-Clement. Breakfast was a hamper delivery in the morning. Dinner was a regretted kebab from across the road. On the way to Saint Clement, we stopped at a patisserie for lunch, followed by Halloween themed cake.
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.