Wagga Wagga 2024
-
We checked in at The Australian Homestead Motor Lodge in Gumly Gumly, a suburb of Wagga…
…rb of Wagga Wagga. They name everything here twice 😉. Cute, friendly motel, with on site restaurant, good value meals. The motel backs into a paddock of cows that were quite curious and came to say hello, looking like a band cover photo. We visited the RAAF base to watch one of our kids graduate after nine weeks of intensive training. Impressive synchronised marching and the sounds of a fly by overhead. The car that brought the dignitaries was unfortunately not an EV, so dowsed the crowd in fumes as it drove off. Charging: The motel has no EV charging or car access to power points. But there are several public charging options in Wagga. We only stopped briefly in Holbrook on the way here, so just charged for a few minutes, which was fine.
-
We left the graduation ceremony at the RAAF base, turned right, when we should have…
…turned left. This gave us an unexpected 40km half hour exploration of the back suburbs, Gobbagombalin (where our RAAF graduating son and young family are moving), the Murrumbidgee River, Gumly Gumly (our motel), plus the local EV chargers. Charging: On the way from Emerald to Wagga Wagga yesterday, we only charged when we stopped anyway for rest breaks. So, we arrived with only about 25% charge. We figured we’d charge up today while exploring the local area. We stopped briefly at the ultrafast Tesla v4 superchargers. It charged us at 153kW, close to our car’s maximum of 170kW. The charger is capable of twice that speed. It’s out the back of a hotel in a car park with a locking gate. The Tesla navigation tells you the gate access code, in case you need it. It’s a short walk across the road to fast food such as Macca’s, but the area is pretty suburban, rather than a nice rest stop. We moved on to the 50kW NRMA charger next to a park on the Murrumbidgee River. Slower than the Tesla…
-
One of our favourite places to stop for lunch: Marmalades in Yea.
Home made pie and sausage roll, with salad and rosemary chips. All delicious. After our morning loop-de-loop of the Dandenong Ranges, we only got as far as Yea by lunchtime, on our way to Wagga Wagga. Charging: The Tesla’s navigation to Wagga Wagga planned for us to charge at Wangaratta. But when our stomachs said “lunch time”, we tapped the charger icon, tapped Yea supercharger, then add to trip. The Tesla adjusted course and started to precondition the battery for faster charging. The charging was so fast that it was done when I was only half way through my lunch. So, I had to duck out to quickly move the car out of the charging bay.
-
Heading home to Emerald from Wagga Wagga.
A quick wee stop in Swanpool and again in Yea. We really should synchronise bladders. Toilets seem to be the greatest need on a road trip. Apple Maps only shows public toilets up the other end of town in Yea, but we discovered one at the (appropriately named) Yea Wetlands Discovery Centre. The guy at the counter was very friendly and helpful, answering questions about the place. The walk around the wetlands is about half an hour – perfect while parked at the Tesla Superchargers 80m away. We’ll be back to check it out, but we only stopped this time for five minutes. Charging: No charger in Swanpool. The Tesla Superchargers in Yea are great. Right near cafes, and as we discovered this time, the Wetlands centre. We just charged while plugged in for the five minute toilet break. That gave us more than enough fuel to get home, where we plugged in for free solar charging. Total time holding the “pump”: ten seconds.