Short breaks in your state

If there is one thing that recent lockdowns have taught us, it’s that we have often short-changed attractions in our home state when it comes to touring holidays.

Instead of visiting destinations, we have seen our highways as corridors to rush to somewhere else, seeing only refuelling stations, fast-food and impatient interstate truckers.

But with unpredictable border closures, we are now discovering our own backyards and how our byways and the towns along them are ideal for short breaks. 

Coast-hugging touring routes, rainforest-clad paths and inland adventures showcasing everything from our pioneering past to waterfalls and wineries, can be the focus of an overnight break, or the theme of a fascinating long weekend.

Victoria

Have you every really explored Ballarat? This vibrant Goldfields city with its beautiful botanical gardens and annual Begonia Festival is an easy 115km drive up the Western Highway from Melbourne, or a more scenic trip if you take the many alternative routes via the historic Goldfields towns such as Daylesford, or the spa centre and hot springs of Hepburn Springs.

Once there, you can re-live Ballarat’s pioneering gold-rush days at places like Sovereign Hill, appreciate the influence of its early settlers and visit the Ballarat Aviation Museum, before enjoying many upmarket dining options.

It’s also a great base to visit nearby historic towns like Clunes, with its glorious historic streetscape, while many of the outlying areas have thrived in recent years by growing distinctive regional products.

Dotted with heritage buildings, Port Fairy is an attractive seaside village with a relaxed ambience that allows visitors to unwind with ease.

There’s a choice between two direct inland paths of about 280km or the more spectacular 370km route that encompasses the stunning scenery of the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge.

Port Fairy is a time-warp town, with many of its historical buildings intact and well preserved, while its popularity has ensured many excellent dining possibilities.

Top attractions in Port Fairy include Griffiths Island, where there is a nice walk to the lighthouse, East Beach, Pea Soup Beach, which is popular with families, while the Port Fairy Golf Links offers visitors a spectacular layout.

Heading away from the coast, the Great Alpine Road that a stretches 340km from Metung in Gippsland to Wangaratta in Central Victoria delivers an abundance of stunning, diverse alpine scenery.

Drive it and you’ll traverse majestic mountain and pass colourful vineyards, with the route slicing through vibrant towns like Bright and sleepy townships that add to its rich allure. 

New South Wales

The alluring south coast hamlet of Bawley Point is sandwiched between beaches and sprawling national parks, south of Sydney, making it ideal for a quick getaway from the city. 

The 260km southbound drive from Sydney never strays too far from the coast, with various ‘distractions’ along the way including Nan Tien Buddhist temple at Wollongong, the ferocious blowhole at Kiama and the nearby Saddleback Mountain Lookout.

Also south of Sydney is the spectacular Grand Pacific Drive which runs 180 km from the Royal National Park to Jervis Bay.

With sparkling coastal vistas that begin in the world’s second-oldest national park contrasting with towering coastal cliffs, this is a trip that can be driven quickly, but is best savoured slowly.

A visual highlight is the iconic Sea Cliff Bridge, which exemplifies the road’s breathtaking coastal beauty for 665m, while time-honoured holiday hotspots are dotted along the way. 

North of Sydney, the Waterfall Way from Coffs Harbour to Armidale is bursting with spectacular scenery.

Expect to encounter World Heritage national parks, seemingly never-ending rainforest, and a handful of enthralling waterfalls between the two cities that mark the route’s start and end.

As the route’s name suggests, the 210km drive takes in the Dorrigo National Park’s Skywalk lookout and Crystal Shower Falls, the massive Wollomombi Falls in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, Ebor Falls in Guy Fawkes River National Park and Dangar Falls near Dorrigo, so allow plenty of time for photo opportunities.

South Australia

Spanning 400km, the Epicurean Way that loops from Adelaide via four prominent wine regions – McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa and the Clare Valley – deserves at least a long weekend to indulge. Prepare for a taste of the good life.

Must-see attractions, aside from the many iconic cellar doors in each wine region, include Port Willunga Beach, the German-themed town of Hahndorf, the Mt Lofty Botanic Garden and Mt Crawford Forest Reserve.

Heading south down the Fleurieu Peninsula, the Southern Ocean Drive from Adelaide to Mt.Gambier takes in two treasured regions – the Fleurieu Peninsula and the Limestone Coast – with its mix of dramatic landscapes.

Long stretches of coastline and glistening beaches, captivating caves, and vivid lakes, punctuate the drive, with side trips from Mt Gambier to the Coonawarra wine region and the Naracoorte Caves both highly rewarding.

Western Australia

There’s no shortage of spectacular scenery in our largest state, with the ‘Best of the South West’ drive from Perth to Albany and back one of the very best.

This drive offers visitors a first-class mix of coastline, dramatic formations, towering trees, stunning caves and the fabulous wine regions of Margaret River are included in the many highlights of this trip.

Must-see attractions include Busselton Jetty, Walpole-Nornalup, Leeuwin-Naturaliste, Torndirrup, and William Bay national parks and the National Anzac Centre in Albany.

North of Perth, the 1780km return trip from Perth to Kalbarri takes in quite different WA scenery.

This great road trip encompasses a raft of scenic wonders from colourful rock formations to a mesmerising coastline, where amazing sunsets are the order of the day.

Must-see attractions include many national parks such as Pinnacles Desert in Nambung, while the blaze of colour that accompanies the annual spring wildflowers explosion in Lesueur, the limestone caves in Stockyard Gully, Nature’s Window in Kalbarri and Hutt Lagoon (Pink Lake) are not to be missed.

Northern Territory

If you never go, you’ll never know how good the Northern Territory really is. The ‘Nature’s Way’ loop from Darwin via Litchfield, Nitmiluk and Kakadu national parks takes much of this in. 

Linking this trio of national parks, it takes in unique scenery, with visits to significant townships like Jabiru, Pine Creek and Adelaide River, with refreshing springs, termite mounds and unexpected Top End ‘locals’ along the way.

There are no bad drives in Tasmania, but the 175km from Orford to St Helens is one of the best.

Embracing Tasmania’s tranquil east coast, the drive incorporates great scenery from beautiful beaches to majestic mountains, rows of vineyards, quirky rock formations and iconic national parks, with Freycinet National Park a hero attraction.

Meanwhile on the ‘wild west’ coast, the route encounters some of Tasmania’s most fiercer and spectacular scenery, including sections of the enormous Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area.

Towering peaks, rainforest lakes and rivers all feature alongside captivating heritage towns, with highlights including the Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair and Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers national parks, the timeless streetscape of Zeehan, the West Coast Wilderness Railway and the ‘moonscape’ scenery around the former mining town of Queenstown.

To plan your next getaway get all the information you need from BIG4 Holiday Parks.