As we all know, the Princes Highway through East Gippsland is a wasteland for fast charging. Tesla has promised a Supercharger at Bairnsdale for years and the latest update pushes it forwards yet another quarter to Q1 2023.
So, we rely on other charging networks instead. I attended the AEVA Conference in Canberra last Friday and decided to take the scenic route back to Melbourne via Cooma and Cann River so that I could take a look at the sites recently added for a series of Evie CTR chargers at Cann River, Orbost and Bairnsdale. The progress was interesting. Before we get to that, it is worth noting that through efficient driving, I was able to drive my Tesla Model 3 Performance from Cooma (@ 100%) to the Port of Sale Evie charger arriving with 7% left, a distance of some 406km and the longest single run I have done, even with my Outback travels. The Port of Sale charger gave me a very solid 70kW, maybe peaking at 72kW for a while, making a very quick charge to get me to Moe.
All photos were taken on Saturday 6th August, 2022.
So, starting with Cann River. As has been discussed, the site is on Ward St, near the Skate Park. No progress is observed. I expect that the eventual location will be very close to this pole-mounted transformer, but who knows. That is my Model 3 in the background, note the aftermarket ROH wheels which I am sure impact my range slightly.
Moving on to Orbost, we have a much more promising scene in the Wolseley St Car Park, with trenching, foundations and protective bollards complete! Note the proximity to public toilets which Evie do so well. Tesla, take note! Also interesting is that this is at least a two stall, and that it looks like you could, when the carpark is not too full, pull a trailer through the near charger and charge without unhitching.
Finally, on to Bairnsdale, where the charger is supposed to be going into Nicholson St Carpark behind the McDonalds. Once again, no works were observed. There are a number of possible locations and the site is very well located to shops and services.
UPDATE: As per @RichardV comment below, you can see white bollards and protective fencing in front of a white van in the background that is likely the site of the charger. This will be nice and visible from the street!
So, there you go, an update on progress. It looks like Orbost will go in first, which will allow for a very manageable 239km to the NRMA 50kW charger at Bega, or even an also reasonable 313km to Narooma.
So, we rely on other charging networks instead. I attended the AEVA Conference in Canberra last Friday and decided to take the scenic route back to Melbourne via Cooma and Cann River so that I could take a look at the sites recently added for a series of Evie CTR chargers at Cann River, Orbost and Bairnsdale. The progress was interesting. Before we get to that, it is worth noting that through efficient driving, I was able to drive my Tesla Model 3 Performance from Cooma (@ 100%) to the Port of Sale Evie charger arriving with 7% left, a distance of some 406km and the longest single run I have done, even with my Outback travels. The Port of Sale charger gave me a very solid 70kW, maybe peaking at 72kW for a while, making a very quick charge to get me to Moe.
All photos were taken on Saturday 6th August, 2022.
So, starting with Cann River. As has been discussed, the site is on Ward St, near the Skate Park. No progress is observed. I expect that the eventual location will be very close to this pole-mounted transformer, but who knows. That is my Model 3 in the background, note the aftermarket ROH wheels which I am sure impact my range slightly.
Moving on to Orbost, we have a much more promising scene in the Wolseley St Car Park, with trenching, foundations and protective bollards complete! Note the proximity to public toilets which Evie do so well. Tesla, take note! Also interesting is that this is at least a two stall, and that it looks like you could, when the carpark is not too full, pull a trailer through the near charger and charge without unhitching.
Finally, on to Bairnsdale, where the charger is supposed to be going into Nicholson St Carpark behind the McDonalds. Once again, no works were observed. There are a number of possible locations and the site is very well located to shops and services.
UPDATE: As per @RichardV comment below, you can see white bollards and protective fencing in front of a white van in the background that is likely the site of the charger. This will be nice and visible from the street!
So, there you go, an update on progress. It looks like Orbost will go in first, which will allow for a very manageable 239km to the NRMA 50kW charger at Bega, or even an also reasonable 313km to Narooma.
Last edited:
