Is an EV the ultimate Australian road trip vehicle? Yes… and no

The bad news: Traffic leaving Melbourne is boot-to-bumper and just barely inching through the rain. The good news: My car is driving itself. Like, literally driving itself.

While technically my hands are resting on the wheel—they must be in contact, otherwise the ghost of Elon Musk bans you from self-drive—the rest of me has been given permission to relax. Go on love, take your feet off the pedals. Heck, even the acquiring of this Tesla was almost too easy—we rented it same-day from a local host on Turo. Pick up, drive away.

While I don’t identify as Type A, I am used to being in control of a few facets of this fleeting human existence, namely my bowel movements on a good day and the operation of any vehicle, heavy or otherwise. So despite a generally steadfast belief in technology, I’m struggling—will the car brake fast enough? How does it read the speed signs? Oh my god, it’s actually merging lanes—to give full control over to this Tesla. 

My co-passenger is a lovely American man. He’s so lovely you might mistake him for Canadian. He made the not-so-short flight down under so I feel a not-so-small amount of pressure to show him a good Australian time (innuendo not intended, but not untrue).

For that we are heading north, out of Melbourne’s southern gray, in pursuit of sunshine. And kangaroos. And a really, really good meat pie.

Blame it on our EVirginity, but we underestimated the prevalence of electric car chargers in remote areas. It’s not that there aren’t any; you just might have to detour inland to find a fast one.

The itinerary is simple, but iconic: Melbourne to Sydney via the east coast. And yep, we’re doing all 1,400 kilometers of it in an electric vehicle. If you chug caffeine with the zeal of a long-haul trucker,  you might complete the journey in roughly 18 hours. We’re taking three days, with charging stops. Because apparently you need those? 

Day one—We don’t make it to Merimbula

Laugh out loud. Or as the youth would say, [skull-emoji]. Through no fault of the car, we don’t make it to our destined overnight stop in Merimbula, a seaside town on the Sapphire Coast. In fact, we fall 250 kilometers short.

Blame it on our EVirginity, but we underestimated the prevalence of electric car chargers in remote areas. It’s not that there aren’t any; you just might have to detour inland to find a fast one. We wind up in a roadside motel in Lakes Entrance—a Victorian holiday town stuck in a ‘70s timewarp. Less sexy, more suspicious bed linen. 

It’s not all bad though. Lakes Entrance is on Gunaikurnai country, home to Australia’s largest inland waterway system running parallel to the Southern Ocean. It’s a kayaking, paddleboarding, coastal camping haven. We drive along a stretch of uninterrupted coast spanning over 150 kilometers. Locals call it 90 Mile Beach—the American confirms the conversion is correct.

Stay: Hillcrest Motel, a retro resort in Merimbula
Eat: Sardine, for Lakes Entrance-caught snapper and prawn oil
Do: Paddle around Raymond Island
Lesson: Need a last minute adventure mobile? Turo’s got you

Day two—Sausage rolls and rock lobsters

We cross the state border from Victoria into New South Wales and—finally—reach the Sapphire Coast. The Sunshine and Gold Coasts are known internationally but Sapphire is a locals’ gem, all emerald hills and cobalt bays speckled with surfers waiting for good breaks. The region is one of Australia’s best for whale watching and seal swimming. And oyster-eating, if you prefer your sea creatures shucked and over ice.

It’s a public holiday so almost every store, in every town, is closed except for a low-profile bakery in Narooma, a small surf spot. I take the opportunity to introduce the American to his first ever sausage roll (pork mince wrapped in pastry, doused in tomato sauce). It’s no meat pie, but it’s a close cultural second.

In Dhurga language, Booderee—also known as Jervis Bay—translates to “bay of plenty”. I’m sure the ancient Indigenous peoples meant ‘plenty good weather’’ and ‘plenty of sustenance’, but it’s also plenty beautiful.

In good news, the self-drive is still self-driving. In better news, EV charging is cheap as chips. It’s not a one-for-one comparison with petrol, but a Supercharge—which gets you between 500 and 600 kilometers of driving—costs between AUD$20-50 (USD$13-34). That’s roughly $0.30 to $0.60 cents per kWh, significantly cheaper than a $2 liter of fuel.

The money we save on petrol, we spend on lobster at Rick Stein’s in bushy Mollymook. Why? Because the restaurant is an institution, and life is all about balance. Still no kangaroo sightings, though.

Stay: Bannisters By The Sea for infinity pool views
Do: Swim with dolphins with Woebegone
Eat: Go on the Sapphire Coast oyster trail
Lesson: EV charging is cheaper than petrol

Day three—A begrudgingly beautiful day

In Dhurga language, Booderee—also known as Jervis Bay—translates to “bay of plenty”. I’m sure the ancient Indigenous peoples meant ‘plenty good weather’’ and ‘plenty of sustenance’, but it’s also plenty beautiful.

Three hours south of Sydney, this region is every Australian beach cliché dialed up to 100. We’re talking snow-white sands, shipwreck coastlines and bioluminescent waters; myriad Australian animals (including the not-so-good ones); and more than one decent pub offering a decent Aussie pint.

We pull into Jervis Bay on relatively low battery. We have enough to get us to a Supercharger, but doing so will mean we have to cull adventure fun, i.e. scrap Booderee National Park from our itinerary entirely. This lack of spontaneity, in preference for finding charging stations, is frustrating. It feels like Elon is in charge of our road trip; I curse him quietly.

We begrudgingly let our car drive itself to the nearest charger where we begrudgingly plug in, begrudgingly realize we’re in a vineyard and begrudgingly admire the view.

And what do we see? A mob of kangaroos.

It appears our EV just drove us right to the final item on our road trip bucket list. Elon works in mysterious ways.

Stay: Song Hotel, a profit-for-purpose Sydney stay
Do: Take a Dijira Waagura cultural tour
Eat: Jervis Bay Brewing Co for pots and parmas
Lesson: Always abide by the car’s Trip Planner, it truly knows best

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The writer was supported by Turo—car rentals supplied by local hosts.

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