One thing tourists often fail to take into account when travelling through Australia is the sheer enormity of the distances between its cities. For example, it’s fourteen hours’ drive from Sydney to Brisbane, and twelve from Melbourne to Sydney. That’s just between the three capital cities of Australia’s Pacific coast – trying to travel from one side of the continent to the other is a trip that must be divided across several days. The benefit of traversing these vast, daunting distances is that you get to experience farmland, wilderness, and territory that most people ignore. For those who crave an authentic, memorable Australian travel experience, tackling one of the paths less travelled promises to provide exactly that.
Melbourne to Adelaide
Melbourne and Adelaide, the capital cities of Victoria and South Australia, respectively, are prime tourist destinations. Both have sparkling, gorgeous beaches and thriving nightlife. Their surrounding regions are lush with wineries, farmland, and the beating heart of Australia’s mighty agricultural industry. Between Adelaide and Melbourne, you’re likely to find dense forests, scrubby bushland, countless beautiful coastal towns, and the breathtaking Grampians, Victoria’s rugged mountain range. If you’re looking to get the most out of your experience in Australia, Melbourne to Adelaide backpacker tours take all this in and more over the course of several days, allowing you to experience Australia’s unique wildlife and ecosystems for yourself, forging memories that will last a lifetime.
What Is There to Do Between Melbourne and Adelaide?
For city-dwelling people who’ve never left a metropolitan area, spending a few days many hours’ drive from the nearest capital city might present a challenge. However, it’s precisely this relative isolation – coupled with the expertise and gentle guidance of an experienced tour guide – that makes the Australian wilderness so special. Few countries in the world still have massive swathes of bush, forest, or mountain ranges unoccupied by urban sprawl. Immersing yourself in the Australian wilderness is a very real possibility if you embark on the right backpacker tour. To really maximise your experience, you want to leave the city as early as possible. Generally, that means being picked up for the tour between six and seven in the morning from Adelaide, for example, and heading out into the Grampians National Park. Australian wildlife, apart from the various reptiles for which the continent is famous, tends to emerge around sunset, so on your first night in a national park you stand a real chance of meeting kangaroos, wallabies, and cockatoos at dusk.
Where you go next is up to you. If you’re taking the Adelaide to Melbourne route (or vice versa) your best bet is probably the Great Ocean Road, sections of which carve their way through Australia’s natural cliffs and rock formations. Enjoying your stay in Australia is a matter of leaving the cities behind and seeing as much of this continent as possible. While Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth all offer their own attractions, you can experience the real Australia by hopping into a vehicle with a backpack on your back and leaving the bright lights of the city behind you.