Charging into wildflower season in a Hyundai Kona

September is the height of wildflower season in the south-west of Western Australia – globally recognised as a precious bio-diversity hotspot.

Pretty much everything was already booked out by the time we fixed our date and due to the death of an old queen in a land far, far away, the last weekend in September was transformed into a very long weekend!

By mid-week the nightly news was warning of ‘horror traffic jams’ along Bussell Highway, the main road running north to south along the coast of Western Australia.

At this point, the EV driver’s mind turns to chargers. Of course, the Environmental Warrior in me wants every car on the road to be an EV, but, then again, no one wants to line up behind three cars; and who knows how long they will take!

To roof-rack, or not to roof-rack?

With us are Eastern states relatives, who are here specially to see our world-famous wildflowers. So, with four adults in the car and grumbling on social media about the lack of boot space in the Hyundai Kona, we fix a roof-rack and borrow a pod from a friend, who warns us that the pod might reduce range by 10 to 15 percent – which could mean more time spent charging.

EV road-trippers quickly find out that not all chargers are equal. In provincial WA, including the most popular tourist areas in the southwest, ‘fast’ means a DC charger which at its best will give you 50 kw/hour, nothing like the super-fast 350 kw/h chargers that are common along the main highways between Sydney and Melbourne. And, inevitably, some chargers will be out of action
exactly when you need them!

So, in the end, we jettison the pod, to restore the aerodynamic efficiency of the car and with some judicious packing under the bonnet and in the boot, the Hyundai Kona proves to be quite comfy for four adults, albeit with one very short driver (yours truly is only 5 ft 1), so that there can be plenty of room behind the driver’s seat.

Charging hits and misses

On Day 1 we are taking a scenic route to Manjimup, truffle country by winter and wildflower land by spring. On the Plugshare app, Collie, about half-way to Manjimup, looks perfect for top-up stop, with a DC charger not far from the Karak (Red Tail) Trail where our guests can take in the kangaroo paws.

The world is not perfect: the Collie charger has been having ‘hardware issues’ (i.e. broken) since late August! Nor is Day 2 at Pemberton looking that promising as several cars have reported failure to charge there as well.

However, RAC WA has installed plenty of other charging stations all along their recommended Jarrahland Wildflower Trail (check out https://rac.com.au/travel-touring/info/wildflower-drives). And as it turns out we get no competition from other EVs.

There are opportunities galore, to drive down isolated karri-lined forest paths, try out delicious truffle-flavoured delicacies in Manjimup, fill up on beer and roast lamb at the historic Pemberton pub.

The wildflower season in the south is running a little late this year. In the 12 hectare garden in the Manjimup Heritage Park, the kangaroo paws were just starting to emerge at the end of September; the floor of the forests we meandered through were just turning to yellow and pink.

There are weeks still left to enjoy WA’s wildflower season. And if charging slows you down a little, all the better to smell the roses – or in this case the orchids, the yellow buttercups, the white candles, the pink fairies, and all those others whose names don’t
even appear in the tourist brochure.