Around Australia and the World

• California's Death Valley - California

• Iceland's Ice Ring Road - Iceland

• Ruta Del Che - Bolivia

• Morocco's Atlas Mountains - Morocco

• Route 66 - Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica,California

• 1,000 Lakes - Finland

• Blue Ridge Parkway - Virginia to North Carolina

• The Alaska Highway - British Columbia to Alaska

• Africa: Coast to Coast - South Africa

• Mourne Mountains - Ireland

• The South Island - New Zealand

• Nurburgring - Eifel Mountains, Germany

Australian Road Trips:

1. The Savannah Way

The Savannah Way travels coast to coast from Cairns, in Queensland on Australia's east coast, to the historic pearling town of Broom on the west coast, covering nearly 4,000 kilometres or 2,485 miles. The best way to travel is in a four wheel drive vehicle. The route takes in 15 national parks, including Kakadu. You'll also see five Unesco World Heritage sites, including the spectacular Bungle Bungle rock formations in Purnululu National Park, salt pans, the world's longest volcanic tubes, hot springs and mile upon mile of sun-baked landscape.

http://www.savannahway.com.au/site/default.asp?pageId=23

2. The Great Alpine Road

The Great Alpine Road extends from Wangaratta in the north-east of Victoria to Bairnsdale in the heart of Gippsland. The route covers 290 kilometres or 191 miles. The road is Australia’s highest year-round accessible sealed road and winds past lofty mountains, valleys, forests, rivers, vineyards and farms. Sample local food and wine, and fish, cycle, climb or ride along the way.

http://www.visitvictoria.com/displayobject.cfm/

3. The East Coast of Tasmania

This drive is a spectacular 252 kilometre or 156 mile coastal journey from the Bay of Fires, to the spectacular Freycinet Peninsula and historical Maria Island in the south. The journey is along one of Australia's most magnificent coastal stretches and is easily accessible from both Hobart and Launceston. The route takes in national parks, wildlife, Flinders island at the nothern point down through the Bay of Fires, river gorges, waterfalls in the Douglas-Aspley National Park, Oyster Bay, Wineglass bay and Swansea,

http://www.discovertasmania.com/destinations/east_coast

4. The Red Centre Way

The Red Centre Way drive navigates through Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Kings Canyon, the West MacDonnell Ranges and Alice Springs. The route covers a distance of 620 lilometres or 385 miles. The best way to travel the route is in a four wheel drive. The trip takes in some of central Australia's most spectacular landscapes. Along the way you can learn about the traditional aboriginal land owners, the Arrente people’s, connection with this area on a guided tour. There are an abundance of natural and aboriginal attractions including red desert sands, spinifex and mulga forest, sacred sites and rock paintings.

 http://en.travelnt.com/experience/driving/red-centre-way.aspx

5. The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road follows some of the most dramatic coastal scenery found in Australia including including rugged cliffs, exquisite small sandy coves, spectacluar rock formations. The drive officially starts at Torquay and finishes at Warrnambool. Often people drive on to the histroic fishing viallage of Port Fairy. The route covers 247 kilometres or 153 miles. The highligt is the magnificent 12 Apostles which are a unique group of 12 rock formations in the Campbell National Park that jut out of the sea. 

http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/Highlights.aspx

6. The Darling River Run

The Darling River Run is one of Australia's great driving adventures. The 'Run' starts at Walgett and follows the course of the Darling River through Brewarrina, Bourke, Louth, Tilpa, Wilcannia, Menindee, Pooncarie and then on to the confluence with the mighty Murray River at Wentworth. The route covers 960 kilometres or 596 miles in length. The Darling River forms the spine of the journey as there are a vast amount of options for the traveller in the surrounding area. Unique towns (Lightning Ridge and White Cliffs), wonderful National Parks (Paroo-Darling, Gundabooka, Mutawintji, Kinchega, and Mungo), and not forgetting the jewel of Western NSW, Broken Hill.

http://www.darlingriverrun.com.au/

7. The Great Green Way

The Great Green Way makes it way through includes two World Heritage listed Wet Tropics Rainforests going from Townsville to Cairns in far north Queensland. The drive covers 640 kilometres or 397 miles. THere are rain forests, pristine beaches, coral seas, wild rivers, wildlife reserves, and sugar cane plantations to see. It has over 25 tropical islands off its coast, over 12 mainland National Parks, and it is the closest mainland access in Queensland to the Outer Great Barrier Reef.

http://www.greatgreenway.com.au/

8. The Everlastings Trail

The Everlastings Trail stretches inland along the Coral Coast of Western Australia and is a showcase of colour in Springtime, contrasted against the parched red soils of the area. The route and covers 1,050 lilometres or 652 miles if taken as a loop drive from Perth. The Everlastings Trail makes its way past the Pinnicles, a unique limestone formation, sea lions at Fisherman's Head, National Parks, Lake Indoon. Mullewa and the Chittering Wine Valley. Some of the areas are ablaze with the colour of the wild flower display. This drive is also an opportunity to experience the Indian Ocean Drive that meanders up the coast from Perth to Cervantes, Jurien Bay and Leeman.

http://www.australiascoralcoast.com/Coral_Coast/Everlastings_wildflower_trail.aspx

Road Trips around the World:

1. California's Death Valley

California's Death Valley National Park is nearly 100 miles (165 km) long and varies in width from 6 miles (10 km) to over 15 miles (25 km). It is sheltered on both the East and the West by 5,000 (1500 m) to 10,000 foot (3000 m) high mountains. It is one of the hottest places in North America. The best season to visit Death Valley is in December or January when daytime temperatures are typically a very pleasant 65 – 70 degrees (18 – 21 C). One way to take this trip is to travel from 10,000-foot deep Owens Valley, at the base of the Sierra, through the Inyo Mountains to Eureka Valley, in the remote yet magnificent northern reaches of Death Valley National Park. Along the way you can take a side trip to 700-foot-high Eureka Dunes, the Great Basin’s highest sand dunes. Then you will cross the Last Chance Range, deep in the inspiring vastness of basinandran. A small Shoshone Indian Reservation is currently located at Furnace Creek.

http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/directions.htm

2. Iceland's Ring Road

Iceland's Ring Road is a 1450 kilometre or 900 mile road that encircles Iceland, considered to be one of the most desolate and scenic routes in the World. The ring road includes a lot of the beautiful places, such as the mesmerizing waterfall at Skogar; Dyrholaey in the south, a magnificent rock with a hole in the middle; Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull; Lake Myvatn, with many of the strangest landscapes in Iceland surrounding it; or Akureyri, the romantic town in North Iceland.

http://www.icelandtouristboard.com/index.php?page=Destinations

3. Ruta Del Che

Ruta Del Che is for the adventurous taking in the spectacular scenery of  Bolivia, stretching from Santa Cruz to Sucre. The route covers 970 kilometres or around 600 miles. Although this is a twisty drive, it offers a fantastic experience. When Che Guevara tried to mount a revolution in Bolivia, the CIA and Bolivian army chased him through the Andes in 1967, until he was shot in the hill village of La HigueraMorocco's Atlas Mountains , near Sucre. This drive allows you to retrace his last steps.

http://bolivia.embassyhomepage.com/santa_cruz_holiday_map.htm

4. Morocco's Atlas Mountain

Morocco's Atlas Mountain chain separates Marrakech from the arid plains and semi-Saharan dunes to its south. Rugged peaks rise to over 4,000m (13,000 ft) and are usually snow-or ice-covered from November to April. The Marrakech - Taroudant route covering 265 kilometres or 164 miles is Morocco's most spectacular road is the R203 which goes over the Tizi'n'Test pass(2,092m) linking Taroudant to Marrakech. The pass itself is about 100km from Marrakech, after Asni (near the Kasbah de Toubkal) and Ouirgane. The breathtaking mountain scenery is reason alone for taking this route, but try and include time to visit the historic mosque of Tin Mal (lies on the Marrakech side of the pass), one of only a handful which non-muslims can visit (except Fridays).

http://www.visitmorocco.com/index.php/eng/I-am-going-to/Marrakech/Unmissable

5. Route 66

Route 66 was made world famous by the song and has been featured in many movies. It goes from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California.The route covers just over 3,870 kilometres or 2,400 miles. Route 66 is a window on the American heartlands - the road to freedom for Americans in search of a new life out west. The scenery changes from the Great Lakes to plains to desert to California coast.

http://www.usatourist.com/english/destinations/arizona/Route66-Main.html

6. 1,000 Lakes Drive

1,000 Lakes drive is through central Finland going for 325 kilometres or 200 miles around Jyvaskyla. The lakes and forests are spectacular, as is the  stunning wilderness. Everywhere you look you'll see shimmering lakes, broad rivers and tinkling streams. Birch trees, rocky crags, wild flowers and moss.

http://www.visitfinland.com/W5/index.nsf/(pages)/Touring

7. Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway is one of America's favorite drives. It winds its way 469 miles or nearly 760 kilometres through mountain meadows, endless vistas, Split-rail fences, old farmsteads, historic structures, and spectacular views of distant mountains and neighboring valleys. The Blue Ridge Parkway was America's first rural parkway, connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

8. The Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway starts from Dawson Creek, British Columbia,then goes via Yukon Territory to finish at Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Alaska. The route covers 2,290 kilometres or 1,422 miles. The Alaska Highway was built in the Second World War to get troops and munitions to Alaska, when a Japanese invasion was imminent. The highlights include possible sightings of bears and other wildlife, sub-Arctic terrain and natural hot pools.

http://www.travelalaska.com/Regions/TipsDetail.aspx?TipID=168

9. Africa: Coast to Coast

Africa: Coast to coast drive runs from Richard's Bay to Cape Town in South Africa. The route covers 1,785 kilometres or 1,100 miles. From South Africa's far south-east on the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic; this is the only way to cross Africa in anything less than a Land Rover. The coast is your boundary on one side, on the other the lush KwaZulu Natal, then the towering Drakensburg Mountains and the famed Garden Route.

http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/au/

10. Mourne Mountains

Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland provide a backdrop and landscape for an exhillerating experience. The 165 kilometre or 100 mile route goes in a loop from Belfast via County Down. On the coast road to Newcastle from Belfast are some of the best beaches in Ulster. At Kilkeel, the road rises into the Mourne Mountains, where there is great driving and invigorating walking.

http://www.mournemountains.com/

11. The South Island of New Zealand

The South Island of New Zealand provides stunning scenery from Queenstown to Christchurch. The route stretches for 480 kilometres or 300 miles long, Queenstown to Christchurch. It includes some of New Zealand's most jaw-dropping scenery, including Mount Cook and the locations for "Lord of the Rings". Around Queenstown, NZ's adventure capital, are a network of mountain roads to old gold mines, vineyards and ski slopes.

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/queenstown-mt-cook-christchurch.cfm

12. Nurburgring, Eiffel Mountains, Germany.

The chance to test your car on a real circuit. The route stretches for 22 kilometres or 14 miles, including 73 bends. The old Nürburgring hosted the German Grand Prix until Niki Lauda's famous crash in the 1970s. Known as the 'Green Hell', the circuit was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg, itself around 70 km south of Cologne.

http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/infocenter/9553_9199.htm

For assistance with your Road Trip preparation, please go to our fact sheets located on the Travel page:

http://www.babyboomers.com.au/travel-brochures-holidays/road-trip-preparation-fact-sheet.html

We hope this article has been of interest to you. Please feel free to print a friendly copy, email to a friend or relative, or download the PDF article for your reference.

Download Free Adobe Acrobat Pdf Reader
If you don't already have Acrobat Reader, you can download it here for free:

Disclaimer: The information contained in this section should not be used for individual travel or medical advice. Please see your Doctor if you have concerns or specific questions relating to your health or seek professional advice as required.