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Three drives every Australian should make once

Limestone, red dirt and the longest straight road in the country.

Photograph: Wee Ping Khoo / Unsplash. Illustrative.

The Great Ocean Road, Victoria. Built by returned servicemen after the First World War and dedicated to those who died, it runs about 240 kilometres from Torquay to Allansford. It passes the Otway rainforest and the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles. Allow at least two nights.

The Gibb River Road, Western Australia. A former cattle route of roughly 660 kilometres through the Kimberley between Derby and the Wyndham–Kununurra area, with gorges, swimming holes and station stays. It needs a four-wheel drive and is best driven in the dry season.

The Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor. The crossing between South Australia and Western Australia includes the 90 Mile Straight, about 146 kilometres without a bend and the longest straight stretch of road in Australia, with the Bunda Cliffs dropping into the Great Australian Bight.

Check road conditions and closures before you set out, particularly in the north during the wet season.

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