Australia contains six states and two mainland territories. Victoria and Tasmania drive on the left. New South Wales and Queensland drive on the left. South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory drive on the left. The Australian Capital Territory drives on the left. All Australian jurisdictions require left-side driving, following the pattern established under British colonial administration from 1788.
The Great Ocean Road stretches 243 kilometers along the Victorian coast from Torquay to Allansford. Construction began in 1919 with returned soldiers from World War I forming the majority of the workforce. The road opened to traffic in 1932. The Twelve Apostles limestone stacks stand offshore near Port Campbell, formed through erosion processes spanning approximately 10 to 20 million years. Eight stacks currently remain visible. The road passes through Port Campbell National Park, established in 1964 across 1,750 hectares. Loch Ard Gorge commemorates the 1878 shipwreck of the Loch Ard clipper, which killed 52 of 54 passengers and crew.
The Stuart Highway connects Port Augusta in South Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory across 2,720 kilometers. The route follows the path explored by John McDouall Stuart during his 1862 expedition from south to north across the continent. Paving of the entire highway completed in 1987. Alice Springs sits 1,499 kilometers from Darwin at the road's approximate midpoint. Coober Pedy lies 846 kilometers north of Port Augusta, with approximately 1,500 residents living in underground dugout homes due to summer temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius. The town produces approximately 70 percent of the world's opal supply.
Uluru stands 348 meters above the surrounding plain with a circumference of 9.4 kilometers. The Anangu people hold custodianship through continuous occupation spanning at least 30,000 years. The Australian government returned ownership to the Anangu in 1985. Climbing closed permanently on October 26, 2019. Kata Tjuta lies 25 kilometers west of Uluru, comprising 36 domes across 21.68 square kilometers. The tallest dome, Mount Olga, rises 546 meters above the plain, 198 meters higher than Uluru. The sealed road from Alice Springs to Uluru covers 462 kilometers.
The Nullarbor Plain stretches 1,200 kilometers from Norseman in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. The Eyre Highway crosses the plain following the route traced by Edward John Eyre during his 1840-1841 journey. The longest straight section of road in Australia extends 146.6 kilometers east of Balladonia. No fuel stations exist between Balladonia and Caiguna, a distance of 181 kilometers. Between Caiguna and Cocklebiddy no services operate across 64 kilometers. The plain sits atop the world's largest single piece of limestone, formed as a seabed approximately 25 million years ago. Annual rainfall averages below 200 millimeters across most of the plain.
The Pacific Highway connects Sydney to Brisbane across 954 kilometers, running through New South Wales and entering Queensland near the Tweed River. The route traces the coastline through Coffs Harbour at 540 kilometers from Sydney. Byron Bay lies 772 kilometers north of Sydney, marking Australia's most easterly point at Cape Byron. The Cape Byron lighthouse commenced operation in 1901, standing 74 meters above sea level. Upgrading the entire highway to dual carriageway standard completed in 2020 after work beginning in 1996. The final section between Woolgoolga and Ballina opened December 21, 2020.
The Gibb River Road crosses the Kimberley region in Western Australia for 660 kilometers between Derby and Kununurra. The unsealed road requires four-wheel-drive vehicles, particularly during the wet season from November through March when sections become impassable. Manning Gorge lies 283 kilometers from Derby, requiring a one-kilometer walk and river crossing to reach the waterfall. Windjana Gorge cuts through the Napier Range with limestone walls rising 100 meters, formed from a Devonian reef system 350 million years old. Bell Gorge sits 268 kilometers from Derby with a swimming hole at the base of a tiered waterfall. The road opened to public traffic in 1964 after construction for cattle transport.
The Great Dividing Range extends 3,500 kilometers from Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to the Grampians in Victoria. The range divides rivers flowing east to the Pacific Ocean from those flowing west toward the interior. The Snowy Mountains form the highest section, with Mount Kosciuszko reaching 2,228 meters. The Alpine Way connects Jindabyne to Khancoban across 131 kilometers, climbing to 1,582 meters at Dead Horse Gap. Snow typically covers sections of the road from June through September. The Snowy Mountains Scheme constructed between 1949 and 1974 created 16 major dams, seven power stations, and 225 kilometers of tunnels, diverting water from the Snowy River westward for irrigation.
The Savannah Way spans 3,700 kilometers from Cairns in Queensland to Broome in Western Australia. The route crosses Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia through Gulf of Carpentaria lowlands. Portions remain unsealed, particularly the 393-kilometer section between Normanton and Borroloola. Karumba sits at the Gulf of Carpentaria mouth 71 kilometers from Normanton, supporting a commercial prawn fishing fleet. The road passes through Lawn Hill National Park 395 kilometers west of Burketown, containing Lawn Hill Gorge cut through Cambrian limestone deposited 500 million years ago. The park contains Indigenous rock art sites dated to at least 17,000 years ago.
The Hume Highway links Sydney to Melbourne across 880 kilometers, forming the primary land route between Australia's two largest cities. Construction began in 1928, with the final section completing duplication to four lanes in 2013. The highway passes through Goulburn 195 kilometers from Sydney, established in 1833 as Australia's first inland city. Albury sits on the New South Wales side of the Murray River at 554 kilometers from Sydney, with Wodonga directly across the river in Victoria. The highway crosses the Great Dividing Range twice, reaching 678 meters elevation near Berrima. Hamilton Hume and William Hovell traced the route during their 1824 expedition from Sydney to Port Phillip.
Tasmania contains 3,882 kilometers of sealed roads across 68,401 square kilometers. Bass Strait separates Tasmania from mainland Australia by 240 kilometers at the narrowest point. Vehicle ferries operated by Spirit of Tasmania connect Melbourne to Devonport across 429 kilometers in approximately 9.5 hours. The ferry MV Spirit of Tasmania I entered service in 2002 with capacity for 1,400 passengers and 500 vehicles. The Midland Highway connects Hobart to Launceston across 198 kilometers, following the route used since the 1820s. The road climbs over the Central Plateau, passing through Oatlands 84 kilometers from Hobart. The town contains 87 buildings constructed before 1837, more Georgian architecture than any other Australian town.
Cradle Mountain stands 1,545 meters high in Tasmania's Central Highlands, forming the northern end of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. The park covers 161,000 hectares, established in 1922. Austrian immigrant Gustav Weindorfer lobbied for park creation after settling near Cradle Mountain in 1910. The road from Devonport to Cradle Mountain covers 85 kilometers. Lake St Clair at the park's southern end extends to 200 meters depth, making it Australia's deepest lake. The Overland Track hiking trail connects Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair across 65 kilometers, typically walked over six days.
The Princess Highway runs 1,124 kilometers from Sydney through Victoria to Adelaide in South Australia. The section through Gippsland in eastern Victoria passes through forests supporting tall mountain ash eucalyptus trees, with the tallest recorded specimen measuring 99.6 meters in 2008. The road enters South Australia near Mount Gambier, built on volcanic cones from eruptions occurring 5,000 years ago. The Blue Lake within one crater shifts from grey to vibrant blue each November due to seasonal changes in calcium carbonate crystal formation, reverting to grey in March. The lake reaches 77 meters depth. The highway passes through the Coorong National Park, protecting 130 kilometers of coastal lagoons separated from the Southern Ocean by sand dunes.
Fraser Island, officially K'gari from 2021, extends 123 kilometers in length with 1,840 square kilometers of area, making it the world's largest sand island. The island lies off Queensland's coast near Hervey Bay. Only four-wheel-drive vehicles can traverse the sand tracks. Seventy-five Mile Beach forms a registered highway on the island's eastern coast. The Maheno shipwreck sits on the beach, a New Zealand-built passenger liner wrecked during a 1935 cyclone while under tow to Japan for scrapping. The ship served as a hospital ship during World War I, operating in the English Channel. Lake McKenzie on the island perches 100 meters above sea level, containing only rainwater within a sand bowl sealed by organic matter, with visibility exceeding 40 meters depth.
The Flinders Ranges in South Australia extend 430 kilometers north from Port Pirie. Wilpena Pound forms a natural amphitheater with 800-meter high quartzite walls enclosing 80 square kilometers. The Adnyamathanha people recognize the formation as representing the creation story Ikara, meaning meeting place. The pound contains no outlets, with water draining through sinkholes. St Mary Peak rises to 1,171 meters on the pound's southern rim, marking the highest point in the Flinders Ranges. The road from Adelaide to Wilpena Pound covers 429 kilometers. Brachina Gorge cuts through rock layers spanning 130 million years of geological history from 640 to 510 million years ago. The Ediacara fossil beds within the ranges preserve soft-bodied organisms from 555 million years ago, representing some of the earliest complex multicellular life forms.
Western Australia covers 2,646,000 square kilometers, comprising one-third of Australia's land area with 2.7 million residents. Perth sits 2,104 kilometers from Adelaide by road, with no cities of comparable size between them. The Indian Pacific railway covers this distance in 38 hours. The Eyre Highway forms the road connection, passing through Norseman 721 kilometers from Perth. Gold discoveries at Norseman in 1894 established the town. Kalgoorlie lies 595 kilometers east of Perth, founded after Paddy Hannan discovered gold in 1893. The Super Pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie extends 3.8 kilometers long, 2 kilometers wide, and 600 meters deep. Esperance sits 721 kilometers southeast of Perth on the Southern Ocean coast, with the offshore Recherche Archipelago containing 105 islands.
The Tanami Desert covers 184,500 square kilometers in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The Tanami Road connects Alice Springs to Halls Creek across 1,044 kilometers, with approximately half the distance unsealed. The road passes through Yuendumu 293 kilometers northwest of Alice Springs, an Aboriginal community of approximately 800 people. No fuel stations exist between Rabbit Flat Roadhouse at 527 kilometers from Alice Springs and Carranya Station at 751 kilometers, a distance of 224 kilometers. Rabbit Flat operates irregularly. The Tanami gold mine lies 537 kilometers northwest of Alice Springs, producing approximately 490,000 ounces of gold annually. The desert receives average annual rainfall below 350 millimeters.
Cape York Peninsula extends 660 kilometers north from Cairns to the Torres Strait. The Peninsula Developmental Road connects Lakeland to Weipa as a sealed route covering 534 kilometers. The Telegraph Track from Bramwell Junction to Bamaga covers 180 kilometers, requiring four-wheel-drive vehicles for numerous creek crossings including Gunshot Creek, Canal Creek, Cockatoo Creek, and Nolan Creek. The track follows the route of the overland telegraph line completed in 1887, connecting Thursday Island to the Australian network. The Jardine River at the peninsula's northern end requires vehicle ferry crossing, with the river rising rapidly during wet season flooding from December through March. Cape York represents the Australian mainland's northernmost point, 151 kilometers from Papua New Guinea across Torres Strait.
The Birdsville Track stretches 517 kilometers from Marree in South Australia to Birdsville in Queensland. The track follows routes used for driving cattle from western Queensland to rail connections in South Australia. Harry Redford pioneered the route in 1870 by stealing 1,000 cattle and driving them south, leading to a trial where he was acquitted despite clear evidence. The track crosses 12 sand dunes, with Big Red dune near Birdsville rising 40 meters. No permanent water sources exist along the track. Birdsville contains approximately 120 permanent residents, increasing to 10,000 during the annual Birdsville Races held each September since 1882. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius.
The Mereenie Loop Road connects Hermannsburg to Kings Canyon across 211 kilometers through the western MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory. The unsealed road requires a permit obtained from Central Land Council, as the route crosses Aboriginal land. Palm Valley lies 17 kilometers from Hermannsburg via a four-wheel-drive track, containing approximately 3,000 Red Cabbage Palms existing as a relict species from 10,000 years ago when central Australia experienced wetter conditions. Kings Canyon cuts through Watarrka National Park with sandstone walls rising 100 meters, formed from sediments deposited 440 million years ago. The Garden of Eden waterhole lies 6 kilometers around the canyon rim walk.
The Great Northern Highway extends 3,200 kilometers from Perth to Wyndham in Western Australia's far north. The highway passes through Port Hedland 1,665 kilometers from Perth, the world's largest bulk export port with 507 million tonnes shipped in 2019. Iron ore from the Pilbara region comprises the majority of exports. The Hamersley Range in the Pilbara contains banded iron formations deposited 2.5 billion years ago when oxygen produced by cyanobacteria combined with dissolved iron in ancient oceans. Karijini National Park protects 627,442 hectares of the range, with gorges cutting up to 100 meters deep through layered iron ore and shale. The highway continues through Broome at 2,239 kilometers from Perth, established in 1883 as a pearling port. At its peak in 1910, Broome hosted 400 pearling luggers employing 3,000 workers, predominantly Japanese, Malay, and Filipino divers.
The Blue Mountains rise 1,215 meters at their highest point 65 kilometers west of Sydney. The Great Western Highway crosses the mountains via a route established in 1815 by Gregory Blaxland, William Wentworth, and William Lawson, solving the problem of crossing that had confined Sydney settlement to the coastal plain for 27 years. The mountains' blue appearance results from Mie scattering of light by oil droplets from eucalyptus trees. The Three Sisters rock formation at Katoomba rises to 922, 918, and 906 meters respectively. Aboriginal Dreamtime stories identify the sisters as Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo, transformed to stone to protect them from marriage outside their tribe. The Jenolan Caves southwest of the main ridge contain calcite formations in nine show caves, with the Lucas Cave stretching 390 meters in length.
The Murray River flows 2,508 kilometers from the Australian Alps to the Southern Ocean near Goolwa in South Australia, forming the world's third longest navigable waterway in a single country. The river forms most of the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Captain Charles Sturt explored the river's lower sections in 1830, reaching Lake Alexandrina near the ocean. Paddle steamers operated commercial services on the Murray from the 1850s through the 1920s, with approximately 300 vessels working at the trade's peak. The PS Murray Princess currently operates five-night cruises from Mannum in South Australia, measuring 67 meters in length with capacity for 120 passengers. The Murray-Darling Basin covering 1,061,469 square kilometers supplies water to 2.3 million people and 75 percent of Australia's irrigated farmland.
The Plenty Highway connects Boulia in Queensland to the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory across 743 kilometers. The unsealed road crosses the Simpson Desert's northern edge. No fuel stations exist between Boulia and Tobermorey Station at 347 kilometers, and none between Tobermorey and Gemtree at 658 kilometers. The Jervois Range midway along the route contains Aboriginal rock art sites. The highway crosses Hale River, Woodforde River, and Plenty River, all typically dry. Flash flooding during summer thunderstorms can close the road for days. The Gemtree area 85 kilometers from the Stuart Highway contains deposits of garnets, zircons, and quartz crystals, with commercial fossicking permitted under license.