Paul Harding - Lonely Planet Australias Best Trips 3 (Road Trips Guide)

WELCOME TO AUSTRALIA

Australia is big and diverse and is custom-made for some of the best road trips on the planet.

From the sea cliffs of southern Tasmania to the rainforests of the tropical north, from stirring coastal odysseys to the lonely outback, Australias paved roads take you on journeys that showcase the extraordinary beauty of this vast continent.

The 38 trips in this book will take you to sunsets at Uluru and reef trips on the Great Barrier Reef, deep into the heart of Kakadu, the rainforests of Tasmania and the wine country of South and Western Australia, and along winding and world-famous routes such as the Great Ocean Road or the pilgrimage from Sydney to Byron Bay.

Whether your dream is a transcontinental epic or a more intimate loop along quiet country roads, weve got it covered from coast to coast. And if youve only got time for one or two trips, make it one of our eight Classic Trips, which take you to the very best of Australia. Turn the page for more.

Driving the Pinnacles Desert, near Cervantes, Western Australia
ANEK.SOOWANNAPHOOM/SHUTTERSTOCK

AUSTRALIA HIGHLIGHTS

Australias best sights and experiences, and the road trips that will take you there.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is a jaw-droppingly beautiful underwater world rich in marine life and ripe for exploration. The reef extends almost 2000km along the Queensland coast, and youll often find yourself within snorkelling, diving or scenic-flight distance of the reef and its extraordinary coral and colourful sea creatures. Trip 16: Queensland Coastal Cruise shadows the reef pretty much all the way.

Trips

Great Barrier Reef 2000 miles of breathtaking marine-life encounters
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Kakadu National Park

One of Australias most remarkable wilderness areas, Kakadu National Park is a wild and elemental place. As youll discover on Trip 29: Darwin & Kakadu , the park is a land of saltwater crocodiles lurking in postcard-pretty waterholes filled with birdlife, of Indigenous rock art sheltered under jagged escarpments, and of flaming sunsets.

Trip

Twelve Apostles

These craggy rock formations jutting out of wild waters on Victorias southwest coast are vivid sights, and theyve come to symbolise this stunning corner of the country with long and lonely Bass Strait beaches and dramatic rock formations. Trip 10: Great Ocean Road is one of the worlds great coastal drives, that doubles their impact.

Trip

Twelve Apostles Victorias iconic coastal landforms
KAMALA SAKORNMANEESUP/SHUTTERSTOCK

Byron Bay

Up there with kangaroos and Akubra hats, big-hearted Byron Bay (just Byron to its mates) is one of the enduring icons of Aussie culture and its the main aim of Trip 5: Sydney to Byron Bay . Families, surfers and sunseekers from across the globe gather by the foreshore at sunset, drawn by a chilled pace of life, an astonishing range of activities and, above all, an utterly splendid coastline.

Trip

Daintree Rainforest

Lush green rainforests tumble down to a brilliant white-sand coastline in the World Heritagelisted Daintree Rainforest. The reef and rainforest meet on Trip 19: Cairns & the Daintree . This is an ancient world, home to crocs and cassowaries, and theres no better way to explore it than in the company of the indigenous Kuku Yalanji.

Trip

Daintree Rainforest Queenslands ancient forest
RON CHAPPLE STUDIOS/GETTY IMAGES