Going on a road trip can be a physically taxing experience, but it is a good traveling format for people who need a meditative, easygoing experience with a lot of room to improvise. When it comes to the issue of room, Australia is your best bet for the ultimate road trip, since it offers incredible open vistas and a well-connected web of diverging roads. If you are excited by the idea of heading into the sunset in the Land Down Under, here are the most exciting road trips in Australia.
SYDNEY TO BRISBANE
The east coast of Australia is a hedonist’s playground – it has everything from exclusive restaurants in Sydney and incredible vineyards and beaches on the coastline to luxury resorts in Byron Bay and neon-inflected glow of Gold Coast’s casinos, aqua parks and yacht parties. If you are in love with fast and glitzy lifestyle, this stretch of highway should be a perfect backdrop for your road trip.
Of course, if you are in the mood for bucolic landscapes, clean mountain air and the rustic charm of wineries and the surrounding restaurants, you can travel from Sydney to Brisbane by delving further inland – it will be a 1100 km long ride that can take around 14 hours if you drive non-stop, but if you are not in a hurry, you can split it in two by sleeping over in one of numerous accommodations along the way. Surrounded with nothing but pine trees and the chirping of birds, you are bound to have the rest of a lifetime.
However, most travelers opt to drive along the coastline and enjoy spectacular sceneries. It’s a shorter drive for sure – the highway is around 930 kilometers long. Along with the Great Ocean Road of Victoria, it is one of the most traveled road trips on the continent due to the breathtaking scenery –it is also known as the Legendary Pacific Coast.
If you find it to be too short, you can resupply at your destination. Furthermore, if you plan to travel further north, it would be wise to employ the highly professional service of a mobile mechanic from Gold Coast to do a general checkup and some tweaks and repairs if necessary.
RED CENTRE WAY
The Red Centre Way is a complete change of pace and atmosphere when compared to coastline-bound road trips. It starts on the tip of the Northern Territory – in the renowned city of Darwin, and heads southwards, straight into the heart of the continent. It’s a 1500 kilometers long road to your destination – Alice Springs, so make sure you are packed well and prepared to drive across the spellbinding desert and through lush, nearly alien-looking national parks.
The topography of this region is incredible – spectacular canyons, gorges and magical highlights such as Uluru and Kata Tjua. Uluru is by far one of Australia’s most famous natural landmarks – a magnificent rock of vibrant red hue that stands 350 meters tall is a perfect spot for watching the sunrise. Also, make sure you stop by Henbury to see 4,700 year old meteor craters before you head to Alice Springs to rest for the day.
LAUNCESTON TO HOBART
Board a seafaring vessel to reach Australia’s most southern state – the beautiful island of Tasmania. Once you finally get there, rent a car in Launceston and begin the most surprising road trip of your lifetime. Most people are swept off their feet when they finally start travelling across Tasmania, mostly because they do not expect such lush and diverse landscapes.
It will be a 560 kilometers long drive of twisting and turning around awe-inspiring vistas that brim with endemic biosphere, before you finally arrive to the south-eastern tip of the island and rest in Tasmania’s capital Hobart. The city on the banks of cozy Storm Bay is a panorama of well-preserved Victorian facades that are bound to excite history buffs. It’s a perfect city for rest and recreation before you return home.
The beauty of a simple road trip lies in the fact that it’s such a broad canvas. You can turn this travelling session into whatever you like – an adventure, a culture trip, a relaxing vacation, a journey of self-discovery – the “genre” is yours to choose. Australia is a lush continent that covers pretty much all sorts of landscapes and vistas you can possibly imagine. This is what makes it such a chameleon destination for road trip enthusiasts from all around the world.
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