Greatest Scenery While Travelling Around Australia
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is a trip in itself. The winding road hugs the rocky, spectacular coast of southwest Victoria an offers amazing views at every turn out over the often turbulent Bass Strait.
Stop off at one of the many small villages along the way, such as Lorne, or head for Apollo Bay, the largest town in the region (but still no metropolis), where you’ll find a community of artists and craftspeople by the scenic little harbour.
To the north of the road, the land rises steeply to form the Otway Ranges, worth a detour for the magnificent rainforest scenery and its many walking trails.
Bungle Bungles
Strictly speaking, this astonishing series of sights is called the Purnululu National Park.
Located in northeast WA, it can be reached from the nearest town, Kununurra,to the north, or from Halls Creek to the south. Purnululu is an Aboriginal name meaning sandstone; the highlight is a range of spectacular sandstone domes, unique in their appearance and striped with alternating orange and grey bands.
These massive rounded rock formations are best viewed at dawn or sunset when they seem to glow with an eery and mysterious light as if speaking of their history. The Bungle Bungles form part of the Kimberley region, the most truly remote wilderness area of all Australia.
Flinders Ranges
This mountain range in the continent’s southeast corner is the largest in Australia. This is magnificent outback Australia at its best, with skyscapes in every direction featuring razor-edged cliffs and rocky peaks, populated mainly by wildlife such as emu or kangaroo.
If you love birdwatching, this is paradise, while on the ground there are countless species of lizard unique to the Flinders Ranges. A highlight is Wilpena Pound, where millions of years of erosion has created a vast natural amphitheatre, surrounded by the ancient mountain ranges. It’s a place of calm which speaks nevertheless of its incredible history.
Fraser Island
At 120km in length and up to 22km wide, Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and a gorgeous place for a four-wheel drive adventure the only way to see this World Heritage site.
It’s one of Queensland’s top destinations but it remains a true nature paradise, with its network of lakes where you can either take a refreshing dip or study the marine creatures in the water.
Go whale watching at Hervey Bay, or enjoy the unique sight of rainforest stretching down to the sands.