books & apps

Available from all good bookstores or www.explore.net.au

40 great road trips. Each trip has information on the best time to travel, itinerary options, attractions in towns, national parks, potential side trips, food and accommodation listings and a ‘kids’ spot’ for family road trippers, as well as a map marking out the route. Published by Explore Australia, rrp $39.95.

Red Dust & Wanderlust: tales of travel in Australia
Is Temora really the friendliest town in Australia?  Can a rank amateur find fame in Tamworth? How hard is it to win an outback rodeo? These are just some of the questions members of the Australian Society of Travel Writers (ASTW) have tried to answer as they’ve traversed this vast continent.   In the society’s second anthology of travel stories, edited by Lee Atkinson and Lee Mylne, some of Australia’s best travel writers share some of their favourite places and most memorable experiences on home turf. Published November 2010. Available from the ASTW, rrp $20 +$6 p&h.

Australia's Best National Parks: A Visitor's Guide
Australia's Best National Parks showcases the best 150 parks in Australia. In an easy to read format, you'll find out how to get there, the best time of year to visit and what each one has to offer, as well as all the best picnic areas and walking tracks – all accompanied by beautiful photographs. Published by New Holland, October 2009.

Caravanning Australia: 50 great destinations
Caravanning Australia profiles 50 great caravan and camping destinations across all states and the Northern Territory. Full of colour photographs and helpful maps, it also looks at all aspects of touring including planning your trip, profiling different types of caravans and motor homes, tips on towing and a chapter on doing the loop – driving around Australia. Published by New Holland, August 2008.

The Australian Adventure Atlas
A holiday adventure guide for those that want to get out and get amongst it, snorkelling and diving the waters, tackling the outback tracks, paddling the waterways, climbing the peaks, trekking through the rainforests. Forty comprehensive chapters, each with detailed maps, cover every region across the country in depth, with information on the best national parks in the area, where to camp, the best bushwalks, scenic highlights and attractions and adventure tours. Published by New Holland, March 2007.

Best Foot Forward
Sit back, relax and follow in the footsteps of 40 of Australia’s best travel writers as they circumnavigate the globe in this anthology of 30 years of the best Australian travel writing. Published to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Australian Society of Travel Writers (ASTW) this engaging collection of stories will take you on armchair ride from the clutches of Afghanistan and Ethiopia to the carnival fever of Rio and the kitsch of Las Vegas and beyond. Armchair travel at its finest. Published by Lothian Books, August 2006.

On the road: 40 great driving holidays in Australia
40 classic car routes in Australia; from the Great Ocean Road in the south-east to the Savannah Way in the Kimberley and across the Nullarbor. Each route comes with maps, distance charts and lists of things to see and do on the way. Covering every state and territory, On the Road includes places to eat, historic places to visit and a selection of the best hotels, guesthouses, caravan parks and camping spots along the way.  There’s even information on accommodation that will welcome your pets. Published by New Holland, September 2005. (out of print)

Smartphone & iPad apps

Australia on the Cheap: 450 free and cheap attractions, scenic wonders, camping spots and good value accommodation. Published 2013, no longer available for download.

Australian Road Trips: classic Australian driving holidays - winner, Best Travel App, Australian Society of Travel Writers Travel Journalism Awards for Excellence 2012. Published 2011, no longer available for download.