Variety kicks off “Big Electric Adventure” with 10,000 km EV drive through outback

Australian children’s charity Variety has kicked off its ‘Big Electric Adventure’ which will feature two Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) travelling more than 10,000 kilometres through regional towns in Western Australia, Northern Territory, and South Australia.

Variety’s Big Electric Adventure launched from Forrest Place in the heart of Perth last Friday, and will spend the 13 days travelling a loop north to Carnarvon, Port Headland, and Broome, east to Fitzroy Creek and up to Darwin, down through the heart of Australia with stops at Uluru and Alice Springs before travelling down through South Australia from Cooper Pedy to Adelaide. The journey will then head back to Perth along the Nullarbor and through Kalgoorlie.

Two EVs are making the trek – a Tesla Model Y and a Tesla Highland Model 3 – and will stop off at towns along the route to recharge the batteries and take time to recognise the regional impact Variety has on kids who live with disabilities, serious illness, or disadvantage.

The two cars will be driven by Variety WA CEO Chris Chatterton and Harald Murphy, the current secretary of the Tesla Owners Club of Western Australia who has already made multiple laps around Australia in his EVs. Read about his latest lap: Record broken as EV enthusiast charges around Australia in just 10 days

“Each region has unique challenges for kids who have disability or who may be experiencing disadvantage,” said Chris Chatterton.

“I have been fortunate enough to visit many of these communities and I am really looking forward to catching up with them again.

“Variety provides support Australia-wide and next year we will be celebrating 50 years of Variety in Australia. Variety’s Big Electric Adventure is the first of its kind by Variety, and we will be covering about two-thirds of the country this time, with more to come later in the year.”

Murphy says the biggest challenge will be not knowing exactly what you might find when you arrive at the next charging station

“If the next planned charge point isn’t viable, the worst-case scenario would be a standard power point charge, which could add a day to the itinerary,” he says. However, that’s the fun of the trip – the need to think on your feet and adapt. The unknowns of such a long trip mean the most useful commodity is flexibility.”

The planned stopovers are as follows:

“The biggest challenge for this trip will be not knowing exactly what you might find when you arrive at the next charging station,” Murphy.

“If the next planned charge point isn’t viable, the worst-case scenario would be a standard power point charge, which could add a day to the itinerary. However, that’s the fun of the trip – the need to think on your feet and adapt. The unknowns of such a long trip mean the most useful commodity is flexibility.”