My best adventure yet was definitely driving 4,000 kilometers from Melbourne to Perth, which included 2,000 kilometres across Australia’s outback. The drive took me from the busy metropolis of the state of Victoria’s largest city, past the beautiful ocean in Victoria and South Australia and to the somewhat underrated city of Adelaide.
Visiting Adelaide
Adelaide is a small and often forgotten Australian capital, but it is well worth visiting for the scenic parks, historic buildings and beautiful beaches. We then entered the outback and drove from Ceduna in rural South Australia over the Nullarbor Plain.
What is the Nullarbor Plain?
The Nullarbor Plain is a barren stretch of nothingness across Australia’s bottom. Nullarbor literally means ‘no trees’ and the name is quite accurate; not much grows there! There’s not many attractions on the Nullarbor, but they include roadhouses with eccentric museums and huge figures of objects or animals (such as a kangaroo holding vegemite at the South Australia/ Western Australia border!), the jaw-dropping Great Australian Bight which is literally the edge of the continent, where cliffs fall straight into the sea, and the ’90 mile straight’ – Australia’s longest straight road. Turning my steering wheel after this was a very surreal experience
Despite it being a barren land without much going on, driving across the Nullarbor was a fantastic experience. It was fantastic to experience so much space and the novelty of knowing I was driving across an entire continent did not wear off.
Southwestern Australia
But favourite part of the Melbourne to Perth drive was the south western corner of Australia. The first place we reached was Esperance, which has beautiful beaches and crystal blue waters. We then journeyed to Fitzgerald River Park and saw dozens of emus. Next was the beautiful town of Albany and after, the Margaret River wine region. Seeing the lush vineyards after the barren stretch of the Nullarbor was fascinating and reminded me of the diversity of nature!
Finally, we travelled north to Fremantle, a quirky town just half an hour south of Perth and eventually drove into Perth city centre – where I put the handbrake on my car for a little while!
Claire is a British travel blogger and freelance writer currently exploring Australia. She focuses on overland adventures and getting to the heart of places through ethical travel. Claire’s a savourer of authentic experiences, tasty food and meeting locals. Read more about her Australian adventures on Claire’s Footsteps and visit her on Facebook and Instagram.
For more Australia road trips, check out An Australian Road Trip from Sydney to Cairns.
Have you visited Australia? What is your favorite part? Please let us know in the comments.