There’s nothing like packing up the car and heading on a road trip. What’s not to love about cruising the open road with the windows down, your favourite songs playing and the anticipation of an adventure ahead. With international travel still not on the cards, 2021 is shaping up to be the year of discovering our great big Aussie backyard. You could go on a winter adventure atop snow capped mountains, trek across the desert, explore the sparkling beaches, or traverse through lush tropical rain forests and rolling green pastures. There are tons of great Australian road trip itineraries that you can choose from (or even create your own). A driving holiday gives you the freedom and flexibility to choose your own adventure, and discover hidden gems along the way.
At O'Brien, we’ve pulled together the below list of iconic Australian road trips to help with your holiday planning. How many will you tick off your bucket list this year? And why not start this Easter holidays!
The Big Lap
The Big Lap is a 14,500km long trip that circumnavigates Australia following State Highway 1 which is the longest national highway in the world. The trip tops many road trip bucket lists and bypasses capital cities such as Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Darwin, also stopping in other areas of interest like Cairns, Broome, Esperance just to name a few. The Big Lap will show you everything that’s amazing about driving Australia in one continuous road trip. This is a trip for people with time on their hands as it takes approximately 7 ½ days of non-stop driving.
The Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road in Victoria features one of Australia’s most scenic coastlines. This drive offers incredible views stretching along the southern coast – from the surfing town of Torquay to the 12 Apostles, ending in the historic fishing town of Port Fairy. Along the drive you’ll see cliff tops, natural limestone and sandstone formations, surf beaches, and rainforests. You can even take some time out of the car and climb a volcanic crater at Tower Hill. The Great Ocean Road is an over 600km stretch of road that takes approximately 9 ½ hours to drive non-stop.
The Nullarbor Plain
The Latin term “nullarbor” means “no trees”, which pretty much sums up this road trip. The Nullarbor Plain is a wide almost treeless plain of vast outback across the southern edge of Australia, between the West Australian goldfields and the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is the longest, straightest and flattest road in the country. This driving route travels across remote areas with plenty of wildlife, such as wild camels, kangaroos, emus, and dingoes. Travellers can drive across the Nullarbor Plain through the Eyre Highway. This is approximately 1,675 km long and can take 2 days to cross. This trip requires extensive planning as the Nullarbor Plain is a very remote area.
The Grand Pacific Drive
The Grand Pacific Drive is a 140km coastal drive that starts at the Royal National Park just south of Sydney, and travels over the iconic Sea Cliff Bridge and via coastal cities and townships such as Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and the Shoalhaven. This road trip offers an adventure for everyone. You could opt for a relaxed tour of the local wineries, orchards, numerous beach cafes and fine dining dotted along the route. Or partake in activities such as hand gliding, beach skydiving or ziplining along the way. If you have kids on board, you could stop at one of the wildlife parks or any of the beautiful beaches along the way.
Planning a driving holiday, or even just trip a few hours away from home? Make sure you’re all ready to go.
Aside from the practical things you’ll need during a road trip, a good idea is to get your vehicle checked by a qualified mechanic prior to traveling. This way, you can fix any existing issues, avoiding any possible vehicle failures or setbacks on your itinerary. As much as you try to prepare your vehicle before you set off, there can also things that happen unexpectedly too. The most common issues we see at O'Brien are stone chips in windscreens flicked up by other cars or trucks on the roads. In the event this does happen we recommend you fix it as soon as possible as it could turn into a crack at any time and then you could be up for the cost of a new windscreen.
Here is a list of some of the other possible issues that you may experience on your road trip which we recommend you fix immediately:
If you do have any of the above issues you can call O'Brien on 1800 059 829. We’re available 24 / 7 to take your call and can help to book in an appointment for your windscreen repair or vehicle glass replacement. O'Brien® AutoGlass services 99% of the Australian population so can help from almost anywhere in the country, simply call today to speak to one of our experts.
