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There’s something about the warmer months that makes you want to leave town for a while. Not just for a night, either. We’re talking about a proper road trip.
And we have just the one…well, actually, ten.
New research from car rental company Redspot has evaluated 25 of Australia’s major touring routes to find the ones with the most nature along the way. The study looked at ten measures, including ecosystem diversity, wildlife, coastline, protected land, native vegetation, elevation, water features and access to campsites. The data came from environmental and geographic records, including Geoscience Australia and the Atlas of Living Australia, giving the rankings a pretty solid data set behind them.
Taking out the top spot is the Grand Pacific Drive in NSW. The 158.8-kilometre route from Sydney towards the Shoalhaven scored 68.69 out of 100, making it the highest-ranked nature road trip in the country – and the shortest route in the study.
It’s a lot of scenery for 158km. Almost 60 per cent of the route sits within 5km of the sea, while there are roughly 19 campsites and 30 named water features for every 100km. It also passes an internationally recognised wetland and features two natural heritage-listed places. In other words, pack snacks. You’re going to be stopping a lot.
Queensland’s Great Tropical Drive comes in second, scoring 64.56. The 556.3km route takes you through rainforest and native vegetation, with an 877m elevation range along the way. Almost a third of the route sits within protected land, while 61.4 per cent of its native vegetation remains intact.
In third place is Tasmania’s Great Eastern Drive, scoring 61.66 across its 199.9km. If your ideal road trip revolves around stopping to stare at the ocean, then this is the one for you. Some 75.7 per cent of the route sits within 5km of the coast – the highest proportion of any drive in the study. It also has the highest proportion of native vegetation among the short routes, at 81.1 per cent.
The surprising thing is how short these road trips are. And here we thought we needed a remote stretch of red dirt or a cross-country itinerary to see some epic scenery.
So, where should you point the car? Here are the ten road trips that came out on top.
Australia’s 10 most scenic road trips for nature lovers:
- Grand Pacific Drive, NSW
- Great Tropical Drive, QLD
- Great Eastern Drive, TAS
- Western Wilds, TAS
- Waterfall Way, NSW
- Legendary Pacific Coast, NSW/QLD
- Great Alpine Road, VIC
- Sydney to Melbourne Coastal Drive, NSW/VIC
- Kosciuszko Alpine Way, NSW
- Pacific Coast Way, QLD