We have recently found that towing a trailer with the Hyundai Kona EV is not allowed. In the year since we last posted on this blog, we continued to enjoy travel with our camper trailer to various locations in South Australia, and six weeks travelling in Tasmania. We have felt the Kona tows the trailer very well. However, in May a question was raised as to whether the Kona was allowed to tow a trailer in Australia, and the potential legal and insurance implications of that led us to investigate this more deeply than we had previously. This post outlines what we have learnt, and there’s a twist ..read more

We really enjoyed our 10 weeks and 10,000 km of EV and camper trailer travel. Here we discuss things we have learned about power consumption, trip planning and charging. Our Trips From March to July 2021 we clocked-up over 10 weeks and 10,000 km of travel with our Kona EV and Little Guy teardrop camper from South Australia to the Eastern states. This included a 2500 km trip from Adelaide to the Otways and Great Ocean Road in Victoria, and a 7700 km trip to Canberra, NSW and southern Queensland. See our trips page for details. Map of our March to July 2021 trips When we first set out towards Vi ..read more

A visit to the scenic Myall Lakes area, including day trips, walks and birdwatching. Due to flood damage in March, all of Myall Lakes National Park was closed. Instead, we chose to stay at the Sandbar and Bushland caravan park which was close by, in a nice lakeside setting and close to the coast. This also provided a powered site for charging the car. The unsealed road in was muddy following heavy rain before we arrived. Campsite in the very quiet Sandbar and Bushland caravan parkSmiths Lake near the campsite Smiths Lake near the campsite Melaleuca wetland behind the campsite, following heavy ..read more

We walk among Antarctic Beech trees and around an old goldmine site which is being reclaimed by the rainforest. Gloucester is the gateway to the Barrington High Tops National Park, which like Springbrook and the Border Ranges is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. Although we would have preferred to camp in the national park, the forecast of inclement weather and need to charge the car meant we opted for the caravan park in the town of Gloucester. Plus, flood damage that occurred in March resulted in the indefinite closure of the Barrington Tops Forest Road, which meant a lot of the ..read more

The Solitary Islands Coast is a unique and naturally diverse area north of Coffs Harbour. We visited national parks and culturally important sites along the coast. A visit to the Solitary Islands Aquarium at the Southern Cross University in Coffs Harbour exposed us to the diversity of marine life off the coast. The explanations given by the staff there gave us a deeper appreciation of the uniqueness of this area, where the warm waters of the East Australian Current meet cooler ocean currents from the south. This results in a biologically diverse area, which is protected as the Solitary Islands ..read more

Walking in Springbrook and Border Ranges rainforests which are part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. The northern-most destination of our trip took us into the SE corner of Queensland, to the Springbrook National Park. From there we drove west to visit the Border Ranges National Park. Both these parks are part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, and are stunning examples of subtropical rainforest. We enjoyed some rewarding walks in these areas. Since there are no fast chargers in these areas, we needed to stay in campgrounds to charge our car from a powerpoint. Near the Natural ..read more

The Bellingen Shire includes three main towns, the small friendly township of Dorrigo in the highlands (762 m above sea level), the main town Bellingen at the bottom of the mountains, and Urunga on the coast. The area includes both farmland and national parks. We arrived from the west and used a Dorrigo campground as a base for a few days. Cattle grazing next to the campground, with Junuy Juluum National Park in the backgroundA community art mosaic in Dorrigo depicting the area A steep, winding road takes you from Dorrigo down to Bellingen. The regenerative braking in our Kona EV resulted in t ..read more

We travel the Waterfall Way from Armidale to Bellingen with overnight stays in National Parks at Dangars Gorge, Wollomombi, and then a campground at Dorrigo. The Waterfall Way runs between Armidale in the west through to the Pacific Highway in the east. As the name suggests, there are several waterfalls along (or not far off the route). The only EV fast charging currently on the Waterfall Way is at Armidale and Coffs Harbour, about 190 km apart, which is the upper limit of our comfortable range when towing the Little Guy camper with our Kona. We were planning some bush camping (unpowered camps ..read more