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.
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.
There's some fantastic dirt roads here in Australia ... just watch those lesser tracks of the Gunbarrel Highway network.
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.
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.
Ah, a wonderful article. I’ll definitely be looking at how to mine this data for my Jeeping needs.
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