"THE EV3 IS STABLE ON THE FINE SILTY DUST"

Josh, the Tesla owner, wants to be home in Alice Springs 120 miles north of here tonight. I explain we need an hour’s charge to make it to the same destination tomorrow.

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Charge rage? Not here. Josh exudes ‘no worries mate’ vibes and spends his delay offering EV wisdom. “What you're doing, this highway, this part of ‘stralia - single worst section in the country. They build chargers in direct sunlight then wonder why they bake at 46°C.” I set a dawn alarm to top up the Kia, but I’m foiled: the charger’s totally bricked. Blank screens, and no amount of dusting helps. Weird, Josh didn’t seem like the sabotaging type.

We have 110 miles of range and a 125 mile trek to the next stop. The EV3 once again becomes a slow moving slow cooker, arriving in Alice Springs - capital of Australia’s ‘red centre’ - with four per cent battery and “reduced power CHARGE NOW” warnings emblazoned on its multiplex screens. The charger is NRMA again, and doesn’t work until a local suggests trying to activate it with the Chargefox app. Ah, the cameraderie of EV ownership. Her Tesla looks familiar... turns out our saviour is Mrs Josh. Small world.

Alice Springs is a bustling metropolis in these parts. Its 25,000 residents are 10 per cent of the entire Northern Territory’s population and the single biggest settlement we'll see for the next 900 miles. I'd have loved to visit the road train museum, but you know the drill. Charge, rehydrate, drive.