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Looking for a quick-escape-from-your-city break, but want to be back in your hotel come nightfall? Look no further than these great drives that you can do in just one day.
If you subscribe to the 'it's not a real Aussie road trip without a big thing' school of thought then you'll love the Dandenong Ranges a little less than an hour's drive east of Melbourne – the area is home to forests of the tallest flowering plant on the planet, the mighty eucalyptus regnans, or mountain ash. Some are more than 100-metres high. Spend the day visiting gardens and browsing boutiques and antique stores in the mountain villages, exploring nearby wineries in the Yarra Valley and driving the Black Spur from Healesville to Marysville through Yarra Ranges National Park. Although the area was affected by the 2009 bushfires, the forest is recovering and it still rates as one of the country's best day drives. www.experienceyarravalley.com.au
The Great Ocean Road, with its cliff-hugging curves, sea-forever views and famous rock stacks is Melbourne's most popular scenic drive, and while it is possible, in theory, to do the whole 250-kilometre drive and back in one very long day (like the tour buses do), taking your time and stopping at all the lookouts and wandering through the seaside towns is what makes it so much fun. Aim instead for Lorne, about 140km (two-hour drive) south-west of Melbourne via Geelong. You might not see the Twelve Apostles which are a two-hour drive further down the road (there are only eight left anyway) but it is in the middle of some of the most scenic coastal stretches, has some great food and shopping options and makes for a much more relaxing day's drive. www.visitgreatoceanroad.org.au
Melbourne might think it has the 'best scenic drive by the sea' thing nailed, but Sydney's Grand Pacific Drive gives the Great Ocean Road a run for its money, particularly if you are short of time – the star attraction, the cantilevered Sea Cliff Bridge that curves around the cliffs 50 metres out to sea just south of Stanwell Park, is only half an hour from the city's southern suburban fringe. Keep going until you get to Wollongong, take a dip or a stroll at one of the many beaches along the way and visit Nan Tien Temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. www.grandpacificdrive.com.au
Heading up to the Blue Mountains for a cool change has long been a favourite one-day escape for Sydneysiders but it can be a long haul up the highway when everyone else has the same plan. Take instead the much less trafficked Bells Line of Road, from Richmond, through Bilpin, where orchards of apples and cool-climate gardens thrive. Make a loop of it by circling home via Katoomba and the Cliff Drive to Leura and Katoomba – with a stop for a selfie with the Three Sisters, of course. greaterbluemountainsdrive.com.au
If Canberra's daily politics are grinding you down head out of town on the Poachers Way. It's a themed driving route through Hall, Murrumbateman, Gundaroo and Yass that links together several wineries, pubs, restaurants and art galleries. It's named after the Poachers Pantry, a local foodie landmark near Hall that serves great smoked foods from their cellar-door farm shop and cafe, but the idea is to spend the day grazing as you go. thepoachersway.com.au.
Most day-trippers from Brisbane (or even the Gold Coast) seldom get further than the rainforest hinterland on and around Tamborine Mountain, but if you keep following the road west for a little while (half an hour should do it) you'll find a much less touristy collection of quaint country towns interspersed with rainforest that's just as lush as the Lamingtons but without the tour bus crowds. They call this region the Scenic Rim, and you'll soon understand why on this one-day circuit of the area. Good stops to stretch the legs include Boonah, Kalbar and Warwick with their classic architecture, picnic-perfect Lake Moogerah and Queen Mary Falls. www.visitscenicrim.com.au
You can motor up the Bruce Highway from Brisbane to Noosa in a little less than two hours, but to be honest it's not the most inspiring drive. Make a day trip of it and take the green, winding back roads of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, meandering through the Mary Valley. Good stops include the late Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve – a patch of rainforest on the edge of the escarpment overlooking the rocky volcanic peaks that Captain Cook named the Glass House Mountains – the mountain-top village of Maleny (more art galleries, boutiques and second-hand books shops than you count, as well as a great selection of cafes) and Kenilworth, which also has some good galleries and cafes and a cheese factory where you taste test the range of hand-made cheeses. www.australiasnaturecoast.com
Planning the perfect day drive from Adelaide is no easy thing, particularly if you're partial to a gourmet experience, unless of course, you have three days up your sleeve, because choosing whether to spend a day in the Barossa, the Adelaide Hills or the Clare Valley, all equally renowned for their epicurean excellence, is an almost impossible choice. The Adelaide Hills (aim for Hahndorf and then get lost on any back roads you like the look of) is just 30 minutes from the city centre, the Barossa, with Angaston at its heart, is about an hour further up the road to the north, but even the furthest, the Clare is just a two-hour drive from the city centre. www.southaustralia.com
One of the best things about Tasmania is that almost everywhere on the island, apart from the more far-flung northern extremities and the west coast, is an easy day drive from Hobart. First timers head to the convict ruins at Port Arthur, stopping en route to marvel at the Tasman Peninsula's dramatic rock formations, sea cliffs and coastal ranges. But if you're looking for something a little more wild and lush, head inland from Hobart instead to Mt Field National Park, Tasmania's oldest national park, about an hour west of the city. Home to a staggering array of wildlife and vegetation, including towering swamp gum forests and immense tree ferns, pandani groves, sphagnum bogs and alpine tarns at Lake Dobson, which often gets blanketed by snow in winter. If you don't feel like driving up the winding mountain road there are some fantastic walking trails in the lower section – a highlight is the beautiful three-tiered Russell Falls. www.portarthur.org.au and www.parks.tas.gov.au
Not all deserts need a four-wheel drive. Australia's most accessible desert is a two-hour drive north of Perth and makes a great day trip. Part of Nambung National Park, the Pinnacles Desert near the seaside town of Cervantes is one of the places that you really can't leave Perth without seeing. Thousands of huge limestone pillars rise out of drifts of yellow sand forming a surreal but spectacular lunar-esque landscape and the 4km Pinnacles Loop Drive that winds around them is fine for conventional 2WD cars. It's the last thing you expect to find within a stone's throw of the sea. www.visitpinnaclescountry.com.au
