Richard Gould, February 2026
Note by editor
Crossing the Nullarbor is an important and iconic journey on Australian roads. We welcome articles which provide general advice to EV owners on how to cross the Nullarbor with minimal risk. This article was written by Richard Gould, commented on by Chris Johnson and Rob Dean, and edited by the AEVA National Secretary.
Your attention is also drawn to this road trip report by Chris Johnson.
Introduction by Richard Gould
My partner and I drove from Melbourne across the Nullarbor in December 2025 to meet family near Perth for Christmas. We own a 2022 Kia EV6 GT-Line AWD. During the journey we stayed in motel or roadhouse rooms.
A Melbourne-to-Perth trip is normally around 4,000 km, but we did 5,000 km because of side trips. We have also done Melbourne-to-Darwin trips (roughly the same distance) which we do in six nights. We allowed 14 nights for the Nullarbor trip because there’s lots to see in those side trips.
These long trips are interesting, and they are easy to do if you prepare for and pack for them – but you will regret it if you don’t!
Photo: Our Kia on the Eyre Highway, Nullarbor Plain (courtesy Richard Gould)
What planning should I do in advance?
Obviously you will plan an itinerary based on your available time and your interest, if any, in side trips. At the western end of the Nullarbor, you could venture north to visit to mining sites like Kalgoorlie. You can also choose to go directly to Perth, or go south to Esperance then west along the coast to Perth.
It is recommended that you avoid driving at either dawn or dusk, due to the high risk of accidents with wildlife, including wombats and camels.
Decide which fast chargers you’ll stop at (to avoid time wasted at the many slow ones). Take into account your EV’s highway-driving range, and how much tourist activity you’ll do. You must also have a “Plan B” for every rural charger because you’ll encounter several non-functioning ones, and it’s sometimes 150 km to the next one. Your Plan B will sometimes need to be the slower speed AEVA or caravan park 3-phase sites.
The WA EV network chargers on the Eyre Highway, east of Norseman to the SA border, have experienced multiple problems with reliability and charging speeds since their installation. It is essential to check a day or two ahead on Plugshare and Chargefox, as well as on the day, to plan your charging. The network operator has plans to upgrade several chargers but there are ongoing maintenance issues resulting in chargers being out of service for weeks. Note that the network west of Norseman (and including Norseman) is fine.
The crowdfunded 20kW Delta DC chargers installed on AEVA 32A sockets at Balladonia and Cocklebiddy remain the most reliable chargers currently on the route, although there is a possibility that ARENA may fund a private, battery based fast DC charging network in 2026. The distances between chargers are under 200 km, so range is not usually an issue.
How far ahead should I book accommodation?
For the more remote sites between Norseman and Border Village, book at least a week ahead. For other sites in WA, book at least a day ahead. Elsewhere, it should be OK to book each night’s accommodation that morning.
The demand for accommodation in WA is higher because their residents travel locally a lot. Putting aside school holiday surges, there’s a large number of tradies and infrastructure folk, some permanently occupying rooms at towns and roadhouses. A one bedroom Donga room without en suite, or sleeping in your car, aren’t fun.
If you are a coffee drinker, consider bringing a coffee plunger and ground coffee. The rooms in your accommodation will only have instant coffee.
What clothing should I bring?
Bring clothing to suit a wide range of conditions: hot, cold, wet and dry. On our trip we encountered 10oC to 44oC, wet weather and dry weather, in December. Winds can be high at or near the coast. Humidity ranges from high to low, accentuating the feeling of hot or cold. It’s a nuisance to have clothing to cope with such a wide range of conditions, but necessary.
Should I bring a spare wheel?
It is certainly wise to carry a full spare wheel or space saver, and to have the means to change it yourself. One of our commentators has experienced two unrepairable side wall penetrations in the middle of nowhere, saved by a spare. The roadhouse operators are always short-staffed and there is no guarantee that a tow truck will be readily available. It will also take several working days to get the replacement tyre or wheel to whatever remote location your car had decided it needs the new tyre or wheel.
What kind of vehicles will I be sharing the road with?
The Nullarbor is used by a lot of vehicles, all day and all night. My sense is that the traffic is fairly equally split between cars, caravans and trucks. So you won’t die of thirst in a desert if you break down.
And “trucks” includes a lot of huge trucks. They fill the highway lane envelope and travel at the 100 km/hr maximum speed. We overtook some of these, and encountered hundreds coming the opposite way. Those were untroublesome. We also faced another couple of dozen of these monsters that travelled more slowly and were preceded by pilot cars with flashing yellow “Wide Load” signs. About six of them intruded into my lane and forced me to move onto the dirt beside my lane to avoid a collision. You don’t know from the “Wide Load” sign, which may be a kilometre or two before the load-carrying vehicle, whether you’ll be forced onto the dirt, so you need to be wary.
One of our commenters suggests that a cheap CB radio is a simple way to get advance information about wide loads and general road conditions.
Will I get my normal range?
Because of the rough chip surface, prepare to get about 20% less range than you would on (say) the Hume Highway. Unpredictable wind can reduce your range even more. A similar range deficit will occur on the Stuart Highway. If you plan your charging stops based on your normal interstate highway experience, you’ll run out.
What charging cables should I bring?
You should bring:
- Your granny charger to use at ordinary (10 amp) sockets. It would be wise to also bring a 10 amp heavy duty extension cable for the granny charger.
- A Type 2 to Type 2 cable (amperages up to 32 amps) for use at “Bring Your Own” (BYO) cable charging stations. This is just a cable – it doesn’t have a charging controller.
- Portable chargers to support charging - both 32 amps and 15 amps, along with heavy duty extension cables. Note that AEVA has installed 32-amp 3-phase chargers (5-pin plugs) along the route. But some sites are limited to 20 amps, and the roadhouses may impose a fine if you create a blackout by using a 32 amp plug on a 20 amp breaker. The 15 amp portable charger (3-pin plugs) will also be useful at the 15 amp caravan park outlets.
You need the above because, if you drive directly between Melbourne and Perth, you’ll charge about 25 times at public chargers, about half a dozen times on the granny charger or 3-phase, and maybe once at a BYO cable site. But based on my experience in South Australia, there may be many occasions when you need the BYO cable – especially in the smaller towns. Your exact route will alter these numbers and the types of cables used.
Photo: Charging at Madura Roadhouse, WA. (Courtesy Richard Gould). Like all Nullarbor roadhouses, staff here are mainly friendly young backpackers from overseas.
Will I need to change anything on my phone?
Have Telstra or a Telstra eSIM. I have no beneficial interest in Telstra! But in some places, you won’t be able to call charger help lines or anyone else without Telstra. And there is a good chance that you will need to call a charging point operator’s help line one or more times.
On our recent trip, we helped a Tesla driver at a Nullarbor Roadhouse who only had an Optus account. He needed to call for help when he found that the 4 NRMA plugs weren’t working.
Before you start your journey, ensure that your phone has these charging apps:
- Chargefox, NRMA and Tesla (essential)
- Ampol, BP and Evie (highly recommended).
Test that each app is logged on the day before you go – you don’t want to stand in the hot sun or the cold rain trying to remember and enter your probably long login password.
In addition, instal Plugshare on your phone, check it at the start of each day, and make a practice of checking in. This can provide useful information to other drivers that a charging site is operational (or not).
You may also consider installing A Better Route Planner (ABRP).
What about RFID cards?
Bring your AEVA RFID card, and ensure that its card number is entered into your Chargefox app and the apps for any other charging point operators that you plan to use.
Internet in the bush is often unreliable, so there may be several times when you won’t be able to charge without this card.
Reflections on longer term improvements in charging
Should AEVA advocate for mandatory, public, real-time reporting of charger performance? In other words, of data about whether each charger is working, and its speed? The charging companies have this data, so it would be technically possible to make their performance public. A related question: is there a need to widen the range of charger brands at particular locations, in order to ensure better competition based on charger performance?
There are many charging sites with only two plugs. Given that Australia is adding 100,000 EV’s annually to our roads, should there be a mandate to provide a minimum of (say) six plugs per site? That would cater for demand growth and would reduce the impact when specific plugs at a site are not working.