Who doesn’t love a good road trip? We’ve got one like no other: hop into a 4×4 and venture on the Great Beach Drive, one of Australia’s most iconic drives, as found by ROLLiN’s analysis of the best 22 Aussie road trips.
With its endless stretches of coastline, World Heritage-listed landscapes and colourful towns, Queensland is worth taking one’s time, and what better way to see everything than taking the long way, aka a 5-day, 380km off-the-beaten-track adventure from Noosa to Hervey Bay?
Now, 5 days may seem like a lot — and it can be done in fewer — but if you get a good group together you can always take turns driving and picking the tunes or, if you really just want to kick back, relax and take in the views, you can always take a tour and leave the driving up the professionals.
And because, as cliché as it may sound, it’s all about the journey and not — at least entirely — about the destination, there’s several breathtaking stops you can make along the way. First stop: Noosa National Park, a pocket-sized paradise of epic coastal and clifftop views only a short stroll from Noosa Heads.
You can then catch the vehicle ferry from Tewantin to Noosa North Shore, and enter the UNESCO-protected Great Sandy Biosphere, where you can stop and marvel at the coloured sands of Teewah Beach. This unique and lush habitat is home to over half of Australia’s bird species!
From there, drive until you get to Double Island Point, where you might even catch sight of a dolphin or two, and choose whether to surf at one of the world’s longest right-hand surf breaks, go on a more chill swim or climb the hill to the lighthouse for a stunning view that spans from Noosa to K’gari.
Finally, you’ll reach the aptly-named Rainbow Beach with its multi-coloured sand dunes — over 70 different hues! — where you can put your feet up and take a break from the wheel.
Make a quick stop at Carlo Sand Blow, the awe-inspiring 15-hectare sand dune, whose scale will leave you wonderstruck and offer panoramic views of Rainbow Beach, Coloured Sands, Double Island Point, K’gari, and Inskip Peninsula. It’s in this last one where you’ll board the barge over to K’gari, the perfect place to spend a night.
If you’re getting tired by day 3, worry not! The island has what amounts to a natural jacuzzi bath in the Champagne Pools. Have a soak before heading up to Indian Head for yet more sweeping views. You can then catch the barge from Kingfisher Bay to River Heads, which is only a half hour’s drive to the seaside town of Hervey Bay.
Having reached your destination, why not make the most of it and spend a day there? After all, Hervey Bay is known for being the first ever World Whale Heritage Site thanks to their commitment to the conservation and protection of these wondrous creatures. If you go between July and October, you may be able to witness these gentle giants!
The drive back home on the final day may be back on sealed roads, but there will still be plenty of picturesque landscapes to admire, not to mention memories to look back on!