On 28 July Premier Roger Cook reminded us ‘how lucky we are to live in Western Australia….’ adding that ‘our EV network was just recognised in Time Magazine’s Top 100 World’s Greatest Places 2024.’
And it provided a map to “prove” it.
Indeed if this picture was current reality, with 14 DC charging stations in the 1800 kms between Karatha and Kununarra, the road would have have been sweet indeed for any EV. However, I suspect, that these days even Time Magazine depends on government press releases for its click bait and puff pieces.
Had a real journalist done even the most cursory checking on-line, or even just on the Plugshare app, they would have found that some of the chargers on the map above, have been installed but not yet ‘commissioned’, others have been broken for months, others still, commissioned or not, are whimsical and will work some of the time and not others.
Northern W.A
We left Perth on our lap around Australia aware that the roll out of the WA EV Network in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions was having some difficulty, but hopeful that reality could not be running too far behind that fabulous bit of publicity in a world-famous magazine.
We took some precautionary action as well. We wrote to the the man in charge of the WA EV Network project, the Environment Minister, congratulating him on the successful Time Magazine PR and alerting him to some problems with the Network.
In particular we noted that the EV charger in Port Hedland was inaccessible due to construction being undertaken by the Port Authority and those at Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek, needing urgent repairs, having been vandalised several weeks prior.
As we drove slowly north, the problem loomed larger. We emailed and called pretty much everyone who could possibly have any influence on any charger and probably many who had none!
Briefly the issue is this: between Karatha and Broome, a distance of over 800 kms, there are currently no consistently working DC chargers, even though there are at least three chargers along the way, which have been functional from time to time.
Nor is there a dependable fast charger between Derby and Warmun – a distance of over 700 kms – as the one in Halls Creek has been broken for many weeks now and at Fitzroy Crossing things are, well, a tad mysterious…
Chargefox
Here is what happened. Having failed to get the vandalised charger at Fitzroy Crossing to cooperate, we rang Chargefox, the provider in this instance. But the Chargefox operator could not locate its serial number on her documentation. Nor could she find Fitzroy Crossing on her map!!
I offered to send her photographic evidence to prove that there was indeed a place called Fitzroy Crossing in WA, and that it contained all the material signs of a charging station with a Chargefox logo on it. But to no avail.
However, a little after hanging up on the Chargefox lady, our persistence was rewarded. After about half an hour of holding the card this way and plugging the car in that way, with advice from an ‘EV-angelic’ friend, who has driven more miles in his EV than anyone else in Australia, the whimsical charger suddenly roared into life and delivered as fast a charge as our Kona is capable of taking!!
Chargefox continued to be unhelpful. At Kununurra, they did eventually find the relevant charger, but it took a good quarter of an hour to locate the charger, as Chargefox had registered it under a wrong serial number! They were, in any case, unable to help much beyond agreeing that there was indeed a charger where we said it was.
You would think the Kununurra charger would be hard to misplace as it is located right in front of the office of Horizon Power, the WA state-owned company responsible for building the WA EV Network.
The location that turned out to be a boon for us, as were able to walk into Horizon, find Ron-the-Mechanic, who was able to call people who actually knew what they were doing. In a little while someone who might be called Archangel Michael, was able to do some magic from a long way away and bingo, the charger was back in action.
Once we had finished charging, however, Chargefox had no difficulty locating the charger and sending us the bill within 30 seconds! ‘Curiouser and curiouser’ (to quote Alice in Wonderland).
Grateful for the help from Horizon, we were able to make the most of our time in Kununurra, our final stop in WA, taking in the massive Lake Argyle, just 70 kms from the fast charger and the Mirima National Park, which some say is like the Bungle Bungles in miniature.
Like much of the Kimberley, the Bungle Bungles are beyond the reach of a 2WD car. But Mirima, the secret valley, 10 minutes drive from Kununurra town centre, is quite a wonder.
For me the rocks in Mirima are reminiscent of the Ellora temples in India, carved out of caves, and dating back to 1000 CE, some centuries before the birth of Greek civilization, but barely the blink of an eye compared to these rock temples belonging to the Miriwoong people, made in the earth’s own time.
Yes, Minister
In Broome, on 15 August, after we had badgered the Minister’s office, and called anyone in Horizon who would listen, we got a lovely letter signed by the Minister.
He confirmed what we knew: that some chargers had been vandalised and others though built (and some even connected to a power source) were ‘yet to be commissioned’. He was, he concluded ‘very proud of the work his government had done.’ Yes, Minister. But Minister…
‘Slow is in my blood’
Faulty Fast Chargers should not prevent anyone going to most places where cars can take you at the top end of WA. Anyone road tripping with an EV knows the work-around: slow down!
Drop your speed and you can do longer distances per charge. And when faced with undependable fast chargers be prepared to stop overnight at caravan parks to charge up on their powered sites.
Speed, in any case, is nobody’s friend. All along Highway 1 around Western Australia, messed up cars and carcasses remind you to take your time, slow down.
Kimberley, the remote far north of Western Australia, where we have been driving in the last week or so, is one of the most sparsely populated places on earth, with less than 1 person in 1000 sq kms. Even Mongolia has more than twice that density of population!
When you think about how few people live here, the consequent skills shortage, the distances that any equipment has to travel to get here, it is a wonder that we have any specialised, uber-modern technology of speed, at all.
Here, on this road, on the edge of a vast wilderness, surrounded by rocks formed by the slow rhythm of geological time, there are so many reasons to go slow!
As Leonard Cohen says ‘I always liked it slow/ Slow is in my blood.’
Originally published on Reading the Road. Reproduced with permission.
Hurry Krishna is Indian by birth, Australian by accident and a slow traveller by choice. She is an occasional travel blogger and has recently joined The Driven’s team of writers. She speaks a number of Asian languages, including English, and hopes to walk, cycle or drive her trusty Kona EV far and wide around the world. Under a different name she is a professor and has written many academic books and papers in her areas of specialist research in Media and Cultural Studies.
There needs to be 3 phase AC chargers in remote towns that are vandal proof until such time the DCs are made vandal proof. The vandalism and chargers braking down will continue to happen so, please back up AC chargers and plenty of them.
12 attempts at recaptcha.
Probably a good idea. But most of the town’s with DC chargers also have some slow charging facility – usually at caravan parks. We are quite enjoying stopping in these little towns and charging up overnight😊
……and if you see the dust of a road train catching up……park for a cuppa.
About 50 metres off the road if you can find a place. Otherwise the dust and stones will make your journey less enjoyable.
Drinking tea in the face of a road train? Not recommended.
I am happily overtaking the road trains. So no problem😊
Exactly the opposite of the point of David’s post.
In the 1970s I drove from Adelaide to Alice Springs. About 600 ks of dirt road back then. Got stuck behind a road train, wind blowing the bulldust onto the right hand side. Had to wait quite a while until it was safe to overtake. My little engine not really designed for zooming away from other traffic.
Times have changed.
Some roads barely.
What has dramatically changed is the degree of smugness some road users possess.
Especially those who are towing and overtaking trucks / road trains.
Leonard Cohen?
Surely the quote should read ‘murder is in my blood’
Why would you deliberately alienate people?
Driving around Australia in an electric vehicle.
Try Tasmania. Never far from a tow truck.
You’re living in la la land.
Your expectations are so far ahead of reality that you inadvertently make yourself look ridiculous.
And then have the gall to blame the ‘government’!
Since when did the government become a reliable source of information?
New Zealand promised to have chargers every 75km on main roads. Care to estimate how much that would cost here?
The only reason I would need to be towed would be if another driver was stupid enough to go over speed limit or ignore road rules and run into me😏 I am not stupid enough to run out of charge😇 Finally, not blaming the government – praising Horizon Power (WA govt owned) for the amazing job they are doing, against the odds.
Which hater camp are you in?
Probably a hater of fun, life, joy, adventure. You pick
I’ll give you a clue, because you seem to be bereft of them.
Not a fan of social media starlets invading every other forum to shamelessly promote themselves in their vain efforts to attract kisses from the equally vacuous.
Clear enough for you or do you need an explainer?
I count that you can’t decide as a victory.
Have a nice day.
“made in the earth’s own time” – I loved that.
🙏
Probably ‘borrowed’ from someone with a poetic (ie Trixiebelle) nature.
My money’s on Stevie Nicks.
I put quotation marks around any line I borrow.
Hi Hurry, don’t give John the time of day.
Quite right too.
I have no need for a speaking clock.
😇
Thx for another enjoyable article, even though the bit about the vandals, did get my blood boiling.
Wish I was up there as I was last year in April watching the Solar Eclipse.
Thanks as always for reading 😊🙏
“Archangel Michael, was able to do some magic from a long way away and bingo, the charger was back in action” To quote The IT Crowd he tried (remotely) turning it off and turning it back on again!
😁 perhaps I am easy to impress.
I thought I saw a white Kona EV zoom past me in Broome the other day!
Quite likely!
Thanks Hurry, I always enjoy reading your stories. Well done.
thank you🙏🏽 – so nice of you to say that😊
“He was, he concluded ‘very proud of the work his government had done.”
Revealing the actual main skill of being a modern politician – being proud of mediocrity
Do chargers actually need charging cables?
Vehicles could easily carry their own cable and plug in where ever. The socket on the charger would be less vulnerable to damage. Also do away with the LCD screen unless behind a cm of perspex and soley use a phone app or V2X comms to set up and pay for the charging.
As for governments overstating their achievements in the face of objective observation? Sad.
The BYO cables that you can buy are for AC charging. DC charging doesn’t use that portion of the plug (CCS2) that an AC cable has (except to stabilize the connection). Then there is a different cable that plugs into a standard power point one end and the EV the other end. It’s like the 3-phase plug for a caravan is different from a 10amp or 15amp plug. The more powerful DC chargers are water cooled.
Last week Wednesday [14/8/2024] I returned home in CQ after doing a “big lap” in EV. Not a full lap around, because I’ve done east coast repeatedly from Mossman QLD to Adelaide, and back. So, this trip Is Central Qld to NT, Katherine, Kununarra , and WA coast towns, and then across the Nullabor back to Adelaide before heading through Alice Springs, to Tennant Creek and then back to CQ, via Townsville and Atherton tablelands.
My first planning steps were to investigate the feasibility by planning a tentative route on Google maps, with distances and charging options drawn from Plugshare. This mapped to Excel spreadsheet.
Our departure date was June 30th, and we arrived home again on August 14th.
The drive was comfortable and effortless., though charging was always front of mind.
The so called “QESH” [Queensland Electric Super Highway] was less than “super” though met all expectations. Alas, past Mount Isa there are very limited charging options, hence a stop at a 32 amp charger listed on PlugShare hosted by the local RACQ depot. Unfortunately, the connection was poor and current varied markedly so that after more than 4 hours we aborted with a plan to charge at Barkly homestead, to gain enough charge to get to Three Ways [Warumungu] where we again accessed the 32amp charger just a day before the NRMA fast charger was activated. Further chargers on 32 amp plugs through NT slowed us down due tothe slow charging rates. We also slowed our own speed to maximise our range. Travelling at 80-85kmh in 110 [Barkly 130] zone seemed to annoy most others coming up behind us.
The charger at Kununarra on July 6th gave us no trouble at all. Similarly Warmun worked nicely.
Around Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing two of the new [ish] Horizon chargers were out of action, and others not yet activated. So, slow charging at motels and accommodation became necessary, but made for reduced costs. We checked whether the charger at Ngumban Cliff Rest Area was activated but alas not working when we came through.
From Derby south along west coast we had no problems with charging stations per se, but mobile phone connections caused problems in activating a charge. Even though we have both Telstra and Optus networks, I’m told that only Telstra network with Telstra Account will work in many places.
Fortunately, we have RFID card, however even this failed at a couple of sites, particularly Pardoo, and required call to ChargeFox, using wifi-calling at roadhouse to arrange remote activation. The Chargefox staff were very helpful and understanding, and remotely activated the charge.
The lack of mobile service made it difficult to cross-check information on Plugshare, Chargefox, and Google apps
My take home messages: don’t presume remote stations will work as expected; don’t rely on mobile signal in remote areas.
My recommendation: use the CEO rule – Charge early and often. Don’t let a charge option pass by.
Is a trip “around” in an EV do-able? Yes definitely. Just do your homework and plan stops with flexibility. Just be patient, and allow more time than you might in an ICE vehicle.
I remain in awe of Harald Murphy [Secretary of the Tesla Owners Club WA] doing his lap in just 10 days. [https://thedriven.io/2023/12/15/record-broken-as-ev-enthusiast-rocks-around-australia-in-just-10-days/ December 15, 2023]
Our daily drive averaged around 450km per day [Harald – 1355km] to allow time for charging stops and for my eyes to recover.
My advice again:
P L A N !!! Know where the chargers are, have it written down, don’t rely on internet.
Make sure you have a selection of plugs and leads – 10 amp, 15 amp, 32 amp are all useful. Also Type 2 as well as your UMC. We used all of these.
Remember these acronyms = CEO and ABC. Charge early and Often and Always Be Charging.
Never let a charging opportunity go by, especially in more remote areas. We charged to 100% in most instances. We only shared with other drivers on 4 occasions, once we had to wait.
Take your time. Reduce speed. Even though your EV might easily overtake that roadtrain, just sit back and lit him draw you along in his slipstream.
So far entirely doable and more than that – very enjoyable😀 A few failing chargers just adds colop to the journey. Are you in QLD? Any advice on must-vist national parks gratefully received🙏
Travelling at 80-85 kmh in a 130 kmh speed zone you are a serious danger to other road users, including the numerous road trains that cannot slow down on a dime and the nomads towing their big caravans.
Roads are a shared resource.
Road trains are blight and an accurate reflection of the failure of the railway network.
Yes, because at 80 clicks you’re more likely to simply injure a stray animal.
At 130 kph you’ll create something far more useful.
Mince.
Agree. there were risks, and when were need to slow unreasonably we used hazard lights to inform those behind us to use caution. Still there are those who just wanted to make a point and try intimidation tactics. We made it home without incident, some of those were found later with bonnet up. Just karma.
No, have not needed o do tha most of the time. Been doing 110 happily most of the time. And in NT where we first came into the 130 stretch, the roads were so patchy hardly anyone seemed to be doing 130. We have been spending a lot of time inside national parks, where the speed lmit is mostly less than 100k. And road trains have a speed limit of100k in most of NT, When you have to stop and charge for an hour or more at road houses, you get lots of chance to talk to truckies and fellow nomads😇
Another tip. We plan our trips (sometimes we are towing a small van) with plugshare and wikicamps. In places or routes we plan there may not be a charger. Wikicamps has downloadable maps so even if there is no internet our planned route is still available. It will also show a number of accommodation sites and camping spots. At caravan parks you can usually charge and for us if we are towing when can just stop at a free campsite for a couple of days and get an extra 80-100km of range if we need to from our solar and batteries in the van.
thanks Tom, will check out wikicamps🙏
Great to hear about these journeys.
But in Northwest WA, if a charger is inoperative, getting into a caravan park for a slower charge is not straightforward as many of them are booked out days or weeks in advance.
Nevermind, the US have been ‘invited’ to set up a huge base there. They will no doubt be happy to lend you, and your vee hickle, some of their nuclear energy should you stray onto their property.