Variety’s Big EV Adventure concluded last Friday in Forrest Place, Perth, with us donating two Teslas (a Model 3 and a Model Y) on their way to a homecoming party in the city centre.
The speedy journey covered more than 10,000 kilometres in about 13 days, making it one of the fastest journeys ever undertaken by electric vehicle enthusiast and engineer Harald Murphy. Harald is secretary of the Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia (TOCWA) and said the trip was a test of the electric vehicle charging network in Australia’s outback:
“On this trip we covered about two-thirds of Australia alone across Western Australia, the Northern Territory (NT) and even South Australia (SA).
“Some of the challenges that other electric vehicle drivers need to be aware of is that planning for this type of long road trip needs to include some contingency plans.
“On this trip, Variety CEO Chris Chatterton and I discovered some of the challenges of ongoing maintenance and repair of the WA EV network in some of the more remote locations, such as having to make a one-day detour to Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park from Pardoo to find a working charger.
“We have some good foundations in place in terms of charging infrastructure and we have had excellent support from Horizon, Chargefox and Tesla, but there are definitely some tweaks that need to be made to make the journey easier for recreational EV travel.”
Some of the main challenges facing EV drivers in these remote areas include broken chargers or very few fast chargers, which adds a lot of extra time to the trip.
It has been a great blessing to see Australia on this kind of tour and I am so grateful that we were able to visit some of the places where Variety is making a huge impact across Australia.
We have had incredible support from the electric vehicle community and it is my sincere hope that we can build an electric vehicle fundraising tour for electric vehicle enthusiasts in the future.
We encountered some obstacles along the way on this adventure, which required us to think quickly.
Harald’s extensive experience driving long distances in electric cars and his adaptability were invaluable in helping us stay on track.
Wildlife on the road after dark was a real hazard to avoid, as was driver fatigue, which we managed with plenty of breaks and communication.
I would like to thank all of our sponsors who have really supported us, as well as our Variety neighbours in the Northern Territory and South Australia who have just completed their fundraising events for this year.
Also a big thank you to Gateway Printing for the wonderful assorted car wraps and of course TOCWA for all their input and advice as well.
Chris Chatterton is the CEO of Variety WA. Watch Chris’ daily blog for all the highlights and challenges along the way.
Variety’s first-ever Great Electric Vehicle Adventure highlighted the remote and regional communities that receive support each year including schools through the EduKids program, children through the Variety Heart Scholarships and individual families who receive children’s communication devices, mobility equipment and other items to help children live the best lives possible.
