Red Centre Way, Northern Territory
So-named because of central Australia’s striking red sand, the Red Centre Way is a six-day, 700-mile loop that takes in the best of the desert – from flower-dotted valleys to gorges, swimming holes, canyons and towering monoliths.
Part 1: Alice Springs and the West Mac Ranges
Fuel up for the journey in the historic outback town of Alice Springs – now a lively urban centre – with breakfast at Page 27 Cafe. Wander around the beautiful Olive Pink Botanic Garden, and drop in on dingoes and princess parrots at Desert Park before journeying on to the West MacDonnell Ranges.
En route to Glen Helen Lodge, set beside an ochre-coloured gorge within the ranges, stop for a freshwater dip in Ellery Creek Big Hole, and soak up dramatic natural vistas at Simpson’s Gap and Standley Chasm.
Part 2: Kings Canyon
Squeeze in Ormiston Gorge’s pound walk and white-sand swimming hole before picking up the 140-mile Mereenie Loop 4WD track into Watarrka national park. Four-and-a-half bumpy hours later you’ll be among Kings Canyon’s cornucopia of birdlife, verdant gardens, soaring pink cliffs and marine-fossil rocks.
Bed down in a spa room at Kings Canyon Resort before waking early for the canyon-rim walk, a four-mile trail with sweeping views of the Lost City, a series of beehive-like domes, and the cycad-filled Garden of Eden.
Part 3: Uluru and Kata Tjuta
Travel 200 miles south to reach a monolith simply known to most Australians as The Rock. Uluru rises 348 metres into the sky and burrows 1.5 miles underground. This atmospheric site is sacred to Uluru’s traditional owners, the Anagnu people, who consider Uluru and nearby Kata Tjuta to be living maps of ancestral heroes’ births, battles and deaths.
Stay at Sails in the Desert, and make the most of your desert surroundings by hiring bikes out to circumnavigate Uluru, then enjoy dinner held under a canopy of stars. On your way back to Alice Springs, visit the Henbury Meteorites and Rainbow Valley reserves.
Great Barrier Reef Drive, Queensland
Stretching from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, the Great Barrier Reef Drive is an 87-mile feast for the retinas – flanked by the mountains to your left and the coral-studded Coral Sea to your right. What it lacks in length, it makes up for in scenic switchbacks, panoramic lookouts and tropical towns worth savouring.
You can do the drive in a few hours, but that would be missing the point. Split it up with stints in Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge and take advantage of the plethora of ways to explore. You know you’ve arrived at your final destination when you can walk the seam where two world heritage-listed areas collide – the Unesco-listed Daintree Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef.
Part 1: Cairns to Port Douglas
Kick off at Cairns, the gateway to the reef. Up here the locals are friendly, the beaches are plentiful and the vistas are some of the prettiest you’ve ever clapped eyes on.
After staying at Cairns’ new, very chic, Riley hotel, drive north 30 minutes to the resort town of Palm Cove, where palm trees and paperbarks line the esplanade. Have lunch here or in nearby Ellis Beach (hello, $1 oysters on Sundays) then get ready for the road trip headliner as you continue to Port Douglas, hugging the coastline.
Pull over at Rex lookout to drink in the view, then time your arrival to the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina for sundowners.
Part 2: Port Douglas to Mossman Gorge return
While the ocean plays host to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, it’s worth driving inland to the sacred waters of Mossman Gorge – pure freshwater flowing over smooth granite boulders, shaded by a blanket of tropical greenery. If the magic of Mossman Gorge captures your heart, book into Silky Oaks Lodge.
Take a guided walk with a Kuku Yalanji elder to learn the Dreamtime stories, take a dip, and join an Indigenous art class at nearby Janbal Gallery.
Part 3: Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation
Cross the Daintree River on the car ferry, about an hour north of Port Douglas, and enter another world. With its thick rainforest canopy, and the gradual fading of phone signal, Cape Tribulation welcomes you in its balmy embrace. If you want to stay in the rainforest, Daintree Ecolodge makes for a good base; otherwise stay in Cape Trib to get out to the reef, go horse riding along the beach, or test out your “jungle surfing” skills as you zipline through the world’s oldest rainforest.
Don’t leave before spotting a croc (safely aboard a cruise), tasting tropical fruit ice-cream, or cooling off in a pristine local swimming hole.
To find out more about booking your Australian adventure, visit Flight Centre or call 0800 082 5922
