The McLennan family’s Electrek has hit the six month and 24,000km mark, and they’re busy exploring what New South Wales and Canberra have to offer.
Six months and 24,000km into our all-electric Big Lap adventure, and believe it or not, we’ve yet to hear a single “Are we there yet?” from the backseat! The secret weapon? The kids are completely hooked on the Wings of Fire audiobook series by Tui T. Sutherland. It’s made the road trips enjoyable for everyone!
Exploring Sydney and beyond with an EV and camper trailer
Heading south towards Sydney we stopped at an ultra-rapid (350kW) charger in Tindale and went from 20 per cent to 90 per cent in under 15 minutes — quicker than it took us to grab a bite from the bakery. While charging, a family in an older Nissan Leaf EV rolled up. The four-year-old Leaf battery technology didn’t have active (water) cooling, so it had a hot battery. Given that batteries don’t accept a high charge rate when too hot or too cold, the Leaf was only able to draw a maximum of 40kW from the charger and therefore was much slower to charge. It was a perfect example of how far battery technology has come in just a few years.
New South Wales’ national parks treated us to some stunning free camps. Nothing beats setting up among the trees, with only the sounds of nature and no need for noisy generators. It’s pure peace and tranquillity, exactly what we love.
Our short stop in Sydney was jam-packed with visits to iconic tourist spots. While in their home city, we also met up with the Jacka team. This family-run Australian business developed the innovative electric roof lift system that has made our travel setup so much quicker and safer. Its electric system is a great aftermarket improvement for pop-tops with a cable winch roof and has operated flawlessly despite the intense work out we have given it. Reflecting its commitment to quality, Jacka was keen to analyse our system while we were in town, given its tougher than average workload, to ensure that its product is of the highest standard and reliability.
Jacka’s Electric Roof Lift System which replaced the original pop-top wind-up cable winch, has made our setup much quicker and safer.
The Jacka electric roof system in operation
Into central west NSW
We ventured out to Dubbo and spent a couple of amazing days at Taronga Western Plains Zoo. It’s a fantastic facility with passionate staff and enclosures designed to give the animals plenty of space to roam, mimicking their natural habitats as much as possible. And a great bonus — the zoo is one of the multiple places in NSW where we’ve been able to charge the EV for free, powered by clean energy. Taronga is leading by example, sourcing all its power from a local solar farm.
Being fans of Working Dog Productions, we couldn’t resist a visit to the CSIRO Parkes Observatory — the real star of the Aussie classic film The Dish. This massive radio telescope helped beam the Apollo 11 moon landing footage back to Earth in 1969. And even after all these years, the dish is still a powerhouse in space exploration.
While we were in the area, we had to stop by Bathurst’s iconic Mount Panorama Circuit racetrack, where a new course record was set for the fastest ‘EV Towing a Camper’ (OK, maybe that isn’t really a thing, but still, it was a fun moment).
EV towing through the Blue Mountains
The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains Area was nothing short of spectacular with breathtaking scenery including the famous Three Sisters. Riding on the world’s steepest railway, a flood-lit night walk to Katoomba Falls, spotting wild lyrebirds and watching flocks of sulphur crested cockatoos spiral diving through the valleys were among the magical experiences.
A Blue Mountains lookout
We spent a couple of days meandering down the coast from Sydney to Canberra, taking the scenic route with a detour through the beautiful Kangaroo Valley. We’d been looking forward to visiting Canberra, and there was much excitement when the bush capital suddenly emerged from the farmlands we’d been driving through since leaving the coast.
Exploring the best spots in Canberra
Back in 1912, a competition was held to design the nation’s capital, and the prize went to American architect Walter Burley Griffin, who envisioned a truly modern city that blended with its natural surroundings. Today, Canberra is still fulfilling that vision, particularly in sustainability — it now sources 100 per cent of its electricity from renewables.
Canberra has topped our list of favourite cities to visit on this trip with so many interesting cultural experiences for everyone to enjoy. The kid’s ‘home schooling’ was on steroids, learning an enormous amount about our country in the five days we were there.
Floriade, Canberra
Adventure awaits beyond the Snowy Mountains
After saying goodbye to Canberra, we headed up to the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park where the kids had a ball experiencing snow for the first time. Despite being spring, there was still plenty of snow at Perisher to have fun tobogganing down the slopes. As a bonus, we were able to charge the EV for free at Thredbo while we played in the snow, thanks to power supplied by the Snowy Mountains Hydro.
On the alpine coaster at Thredbo, Kosciuszko National Park
Next up, we’re heading to Victoria, where we’ll be taking the scenic coastal route, winding our way towards Melbourne. We can’t wait to see what surprises this leg of the adventure has in store.
Plug in to our electric adventure on social media:
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Campsite FAQs
How does the Kia EV handle towing?
With 280kW of power and 700Nm of torque from twin electric motors, the Kia EV9 Earth has more grunt than a V8 LandCruiser. Since electric motors deliver full torque from 0RPM, it’s ideal for towing. Smooth, quiet and powerful — it handles the two-tonne New Age camper like it’s not even there.
What kind of range do you get?
We’re clocking around 280–300km towing. Unhitched, we’re hitting about 480km on the highways, and up to 550km cruising around town.
Can you find enough chargers out there?
With EV infrastructure rapidly expanding across the country, like the WA EV Network and the NRMA Electric Vehicle Fast Charger Network, we’re never far from a power-up. We’ve only had to wait once for a charger across 24,000km! Even in remote areas, there’s always the trusty power outlet at caravan parks, roadhouses or station stays.
THE NEXT STEP
If you want to learn the latest caravan news, find the most innovative new caravans and camping gear or get inspired to plan your next adventure in the Aussie great outdoors, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. We promise to send you only the best content.
Related articles:
1. Heading off on an EV Big Lap | A family road trip adventure
2. All Electric Big Lap | The electrek begins
3. All Electric Big Lap | Powering through the Pilbara
4. All Electric Big Lap | Exploring the Kimberley with an EV, Western Australia
5. All Electric Big Lap: A Kia EV adventure in the Northern Territory
6. All Electric Big Lap: Electrekking Queensland
All Electric Big Lap: Exploring the best of NSW and the ACT