When I first came to Australia in 1987 my (then girlfriend now) wife drove me from Sydney to Brisbane and the inland route we chose included gravel roads. I was .. amazed. I fell in love with them, and for a few years we could enjoy them close to Brisbane, sometimes within the metropolitan area. The Lyons road, a privately maintained crossing from qld to nsw (throw a coin into a bucket to pay your share of grading cost) was a joy. Now? Sealed and (I believe) adopted by the states. No doubt locals are delighted but I do miss the gravel.
We sometimes find a bit down in Queensland's Granite Belt, and there are thousands of kms left in the real outback, and forested areas. Closer to urban centres like south East Queensland, it's getting scarce.
If it makes you feel better, I recently spent 18 months going around Australia driving as much "remote wilderness" in a big 4x4 as I possibly could. I explored all the corners of Tasmania, Goog's Track, The Flinders, Big & Little Desert, crossed the Simpson Desert on the Madigan line, explored Fraser Island, drove the old Telegraph Track, The Finke River Gorge the Gibb River Road and topped it off with the Canning Stock Route - 1,600 kms without seeing another person or vehicle on the track. It was epic.
Australia still has A LOT of wild places to explore.
If you ever come to New Zealand, we've got some fantastic gravel roads in places, like Skippers Road above the Shotover Canyon, Lake Sumner Road, the road across Mackenzie Pass, and the biggest one IIRC, Molesworth Road through the largest high country station. Lots of the roads between remote bays on Banks Peninsula and in the Marlborough Sounds are gravel.
But the most famous one is probably the Forgotten World Highway. Worth a look!
I'm a bit shocked it says the fastest route from Nelson to Mallacoota is 90% paved.
I've driven every bit of that (not in one go) and I'm 100% certain there is no unpaved roads in there. In fact, it's getting close to a majority being 2 lanes in each direction (or 2+1 at least). It's all highway.
That's very cool...but I wouldn't be trying this one rocking up in Nelson with a gravel/mountain bike and heading off.
Some of those tracks in the mountainous, forested parts of eastern Victoria are in seriously rugged and isolated country, and I'm not sure all of them are even open to the public.
Len Beadell was the bloke who surveyed and built many of the outback roads in Oz, including the Gunbarrel Highway. His books about doing so are terrific and very entertaining..... he was one of the last of the worlds 'true' explorers, going alone into undiscovered country.
These things are fun to find. I've found local routes like this in the western US, and ridebdr.org has a number of them... They tend to have more pavement than 30 km, though!
> Ever dreamed of riding a bike down winding gravel roads without ever having to pedal along a paved road again?
Does Australia mean something else by gravel road than what I'm thinking as a US person?
Biking on gravel roads is unpleasant compared to paved or dirt IMHO. Gravel is unsmooth, loud, and can be loose. I certainly have the wrong tires for gravel, but even with wider tires, I don't think I'd dream of riding on gravel.
As far as I know we both mean the same thing: loose gravel that has a grader and maybe a roller run over the surface every now and again. Surfaces in even worse condition that are basically wheel ruts filled with gravel with grass growing out the middle might called either gravel or dirt road/track, and those without gravel are just dirt roads/tracks. People use the words interchangeably at times.
I grew up around them and they were fine to ride on. They're usually so low traffic that there aren't many corrugations, though outback gravel roads like the Tanami Track are an exception, and you don't ride (or drive) too fast on them. The noise isn't really an issue for me, it just sounds crunchy in a way that blends into the background. If you're riding on one lane country roads, you're probably already used to a bit of gravel on the surface.
I think the appeal is that you're sharing the road with 30km/h tractors and 60km/h utes, not 100km/h SUVs.
I'm in Australia and have driven on many gravel roads. It always means those small grey/gray stones that are spread on the road after grading, but not sealed. The article really does seem to be calling dirt roads gravel for some reason. I'm confused as a gravel road has a very specific meaning to me.
Every time I've tried to use Google maps to take me across Vic, between capital cities, it has always taken me down unsealed single lane roads. Despite there being a very well established highway system. It's fun to see what shenanigans it comes up with each time.
No stress for your average country driver but negotiating right of way on a single track road used by heavy freight is not something you get taught at drivers ed! You would also be surprised at just how hilly and windy Victoria can be, and that at some point you will be driving through a rainforest.
Like most states here, it's huge, so if you do venture on an unsealed road adventure just be mindful of your fuel.
I wouldn't call those shenanigans fun, just frustrating. I know exactly the roads you're referring to. We drove that pass between SA and Vic a good 10 times in just the past 2 years and Google just couldn't figure out that it took far longer by those roads because you can't safely go at speed. There's just too many blind hills.
There's something increasingly messed up with Google's algorithm lately and there's little control. We've recently just been going up and down the east coast and it's idea of "eco" or "short" is just wild. There was an unsealed 15% grade climb over a freaking mountain, it just refused to think of a better way (the motorway that went around it).
I'd be less upset if there was more control over the options. Like a "prefer motorways" or "less turns" or "less hills". Even a "I'm towing" option.
I know it has that data to do it, why not let us use it? Hell I might even pay for it.
macintux|1 year ago
For the U.S., there’s a curated route nearly coast to coast for dirt and gravel roads. Maps for sale at https://www.transamtrail.com/.
I’ve written about various curated routes in the U.S. here: https://opposite-lock.com/topic/12190/u-s-adventure-trails
Angostura|1 year ago
ggm|1 year ago
We sometimes find a bit down in Queensland's Granite Belt, and there are thousands of kms left in the real outback, and forested areas. Closer to urban centres like south East Queensland, it's getting scarce.
grecy|1 year ago
Australia still has A LOT of wild places to explore.
Here's a small highlight reel of the drone footage from each state - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmmbpjMgFqY
EdwardDiego|1 year ago
But the most famous one is probably the Forgotten World Highway. Worth a look!
Oh,
grecy|1 year ago
I've driven every bit of that (not in one go) and I'm 100% certain there is no unpaved roads in there. In fact, it's getting close to a majority being 2 lanes in each direction (or 2+1 at least). It's all highway.
rgmerk|1 year ago
Some of those tracks in the mountainous, forested parts of eastern Victoria are in seriously rugged and isolated country, and I'm not sure all of them are even open to the public.
unknown|1 year ago
[deleted]
defrost|1 year ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunbarrel_Highway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL44EAyz8Qc
GJim|1 year ago
Len Beadell was the bloke who surveyed and built many of the outback roads in Oz, including the Gunbarrel Highway. His books about doing so are terrific and very entertaining..... he was one of the last of the worlds 'true' explorers, going alone into undiscovered country.
Books can be found here: https://www.lenbeadell.com.au/
beej71|1 year ago
toast0|1 year ago
Does Australia mean something else by gravel road than what I'm thinking as a US person?
Biking on gravel roads is unpleasant compared to paved or dirt IMHO. Gravel is unsmooth, loud, and can be loose. I certainly have the wrong tires for gravel, but even with wider tires, I don't think I'd dream of riding on gravel.
strken|1 year ago
I grew up around them and they were fine to ride on. They're usually so low traffic that there aren't many corrugations, though outback gravel roads like the Tanami Track are an exception, and you don't ride (or drive) too fast on them. The noise isn't really an issue for me, it just sounds crunchy in a way that blends into the background. If you're riding on one lane country roads, you're probably already used to a bit of gravel on the surface.
I think the appeal is that you're sharing the road with 30km/h tractors and 60km/h utes, not 100km/h SUVs.
infradig|1 year ago
dmm|1 year ago
technion|1 year ago
ip26|1 year ago
Angostura|1 year ago
ehnto|1 year ago
No stress for your average country driver but negotiating right of way on a single track road used by heavy freight is not something you get taught at drivers ed! You would also be surprised at just how hilly and windy Victoria can be, and that at some point you will be driving through a rainforest.
Like most states here, it's huge, so if you do venture on an unsealed road adventure just be mindful of your fuel.
gwillz|1 year ago
There's something increasingly messed up with Google's algorithm lately and there's little control. We've recently just been going up and down the east coast and it's idea of "eco" or "short" is just wild. There was an unsealed 15% grade climb over a freaking mountain, it just refused to think of a better way (the motorway that went around it).
I'd be less upset if there was more control over the options. Like a "prefer motorways" or "less turns" or "less hills". Even a "I'm towing" option.
I know it has that data to do it, why not let us use it? Hell I might even pay for it.