5 road trips to do on NYE

Last-minute trip planner? Working the morning of New Year’s Eve but eager to escape out of the city in the afternoon? Here are five road trips easily accessible from major cities you can do on New Year’s Eve to see out the year marvelling at the grandeurs of Australia.

Getting there: 1 hr 45 mins, 112km northwest of Sydney.

If there was ever a time of year to reconnect, slow down and take a look back at the year that was, New Year’s Eve is it. Pack your hiking boots and set your GPS for Blackheath. With nearby neighbours including Wolgan Valley, located between Wollemi National Park and the Gardens of Stone National Park, the Greater Blue Mountains is at your fingertips here.

Your road trip takes in the drama of this World Heritage-listed region, where waterfalls tumble from escarpments into deep rainforest-laced gorges webbed with hiking trails. It’s the place to come if your year has been chaotic and you desire space and clarity to reconnect with nature, breathe in un-polluted air, and to discover valleys few others have ever been.

Getting there: 3hrs, 210km southeast of Melbourne

White beaches so soft the sand squeaks; friendly kangaroos, emus, echidnas and wombats at every turn; rugged granite mountains; swimming and surfing in a marine reserve – Victoria’s largest coastal wilderness area dials up the natural drama. Covering the state’s southernmost peninsula (which is also the most southerly point of mainland Australia), Wilsons Promontory National Park’s 50,000 hectares host an array of walking tracks, some taking you to that Squeaky Beach, and others leading through dense native forest to mountaintop lookouts.

Getting there: 30 mins, 20km southeast of Adelaide

You don’t need to leave work at lunch when your New Year’s Eve base is just a 30-minute drive from Adelaide. Whether you stay the night or take the drive out to pick up provisions for New Year’s Eve nibbles, the experience will be well worth it.

Adelaide Hills is home to some of South Australia’s top makers, bakers and growers, and exceptional wine, cheese and charcuterie abounds. There are also restaurants aplenty, such as Hardy’s Verandah restaurant at Mount Lofty House, which offers fine dining with glimpses of the manor’s own grapes. The perfect way to end the year, in true style.

Getting there: 1.5hrs, 85km southwest of Brisbane

There was only one Australian destination in the top 10 of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel for 2022, and you’re about to see out its final day on the list. Welcome to the Scenic Rim, a beguiling pocket of Queensland in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, surrounded by World Heritage-listed national parks.

There are plenty of diversions when you get close to the Scenic Rim, which make the road trip from Brisbane all the more worthwhile, from camel farms where you can order a camel-milk cappuccino to pottery studios, fingerlime orchards and antique stores. But it’s the vista that steals the show, with long shadows changing the landscape around Lake Wyaralong.

Accommodation options in the region include retreats, lodges, cottages, farm stays, camping and glamping, so you’ll be spoilt for choice with somewhere to stay to ring in 2023.

Getting there: 3hrs, 270km south of Perth

Few places in the world afford the opportunity to sit on the sand watching surfers navigate waves one minute, then the next you’re speaking with a vintner about their premium sparkling wine at a cellar door. Margaret River is one.

Taste your way around award-winning wineries in search of the perfect New Year’s Eve bottle – sip top drops amid rose gardens at Voyager Estate, perhaps, or ensconced in Vasse Felix’s lounge, or throughout the epic five-course degustation at Hay Shed Hill’s on-site restaurant, Rustico. Be sure to arrange a designated driver ahead of your tasting experience so you can enjoy the region responsibly.

Much of the accommodation in the Margaret River region is bounded by outrageously beautiful beaches and a craggy limestone coastline, so you really can’t go wrong with where you decide to rest your head if staying the night.

^Disclaimer

^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}