Tesla journey through Queensland: Charging up with wind power

On Sept. 16 and 22 we published Part 1 and Part 2 of Marc Talloen’s story how he travelled 9,000kms through regional Queensland with his Tesla Model S, without a super-charger network. This is the third part of the series.

Areas 5) Ravenshoe, 6) Cairns to Cape Tribulation and 7) Kuranda, Atherton Tablelands.

For me, simultaneously charging our Tesla and Nick Wardrop’s Zero SR electric motorbike at Ravenshoe Windy Hill Wind Farm, and advocating the use of renewable energy for Teslas and EVs for local students was the culmination of my self-proclaimed trip mission spreading the word of EVs, Tesla and renewable energy. I wholeheartedly thank the representatives of “Ratch Australia Corporation”, “Transfield Worley Power Services” and “The Missing Link Resource Coordinators” for coordinating this event!
Ravenshoe State School P-12 did send over a bus with students to attend the event, giving them the opportunity to see our EVs life, and listen to the owners advocating the usage of renewable energy to power EVs.
Nick runs a company called Sunergy Innovation and owns a Zero SR that now has completed 17,500 km, around 80% on PV charge.

If you love nature and gardens then the Botanic Gardens in Cairns are a must! Just 3 photos below. Another memorable experience in Cairns, especially for the kids was the Cairns Show with a massive number of attractions, plays, events and of course a variety of food stands.

Out of Palm Cove we did a few day trips with the kids:
Hartleys Crocodile Adventures: This place is good for a half day trip and is absolutely worth a visit. Some short boat trips allow you to see the crocs in a natural environment. Besides you can visit the crocodile farming operations and their zoo where the kids can get close to emus, cassowaries, kangeroos, amphibians etc…Further, they do have their own restaurant facilities. The owners have a big PV system to generate part of their power needs and would be happy to provide some EV charging. For Tesla Motors this place offers great potential for installation of a destination charger.

Daintree National Park and Cape Tribulation.

While walking from the north-side parking to the Kulki lookout platform someone asked me if by coincidence we would be the owner of the Tesla that he saw on the parking. It turned out that Michael was one of the first buyers of a Tesla Model S in Australia. He never expected to see a Tesla that far north…

The next day trip was to Kuranda with visits of the Butterfly Park, Barron Falls etc…and Kuranda Market. We made some tiring walks and were a little over confident about our orientation making a shortcut through the dense forest. Luckily, we figured out that we better used the Tesla App on our phone to find the best path back to our car!

Kuranda offers some great opportunities for Tesla Destination Chargers as it’s a place where most people will easily spend a full day.