If you’re a Tesla car driver on the road between Coffs Harbour and Brisbane, stopping off at Macadamia Castle at Knockrow is a must-do in your travel plans.
Since opening just after Christmas last year, the power station has seen up to 60 cars a week stop in for an electric powered refill of at one of the Castle’s six Tesla power ‘pumps’.
The Tesla chargers can power up a car very quickly as they are massively powerful. At 120,000 watts per transformer, a Tesla driver can charge in 20 to 30 minutes and then get close to 500 kilometres travel.
The cars are using 25 percent of the fossil fuels of a regular vehicle and they create zero emissions.
Castle owner Tony Gilding says that the opening of the facility at Knockrow means that drivers can now travel from Brisbane to Melbourne on electricity with each charge delivering between 450 and 500 kilometres of travel.
‘They also like that here is something to do here and somewhere to have a coffee,’ says Tony. ‘We also love that they are a different type of tourist to the area – people who might not have otherwise stopped in the region, now are. They are getting off the highway and exploring.’
As most Tesla drivers power up at home, Tony says the chargers are attracting out-of-town visitors. ‘They are mostly travellers – if you live in the area you have power at home so it’s a unique driver coming in to charge up.’
And an added bonus for those who purchased their cars before the end of 2016: free charging for the life of the vehicle.