Gulf Savannah

The epic Savannah Way runs all the way from Cairns to Broome, skirting the top of the country. The Queensland section, linking the east coast with the Gulf of Carpentaria, from Cairns to Burketown, is one of the state's great road trips.

The world has a different tint out here: the east coast’s green, cloud-tipped mountains and sugar-cane fields give way to a flat, red dust–coated landscape of sweeping grass plains, termite mounds, scrubby forest and mangroves engraved by an intricate network of seasonal rivers and croc-filled tidal creeks that drain into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The fishing here is legendary, particularly for barramundi ('barra' season is February to September).

With detours to Karumba, Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park and Burke & Wills' northernmost campsite, this is a real outback adventure, and you don’t even need a 4WD to explore most of this route in the Dry.