Two Tasmanian road trips have ranked among Australia’s best for nature lovers, with the Great Eastern Drive and Western Wilds both making the national top four.
The Great Eastern Drive ranked third with a score of 61.66 out of 100, just ahead of the Western Wilds in fourth on 61.63.
The Southern Edge was Tasmania’s third-highest ranked route, scoring 36.08.
Car rental company Redspot assessed 25 major touring routes promoted by state and territory tourism bodies against 10 nature measures, including protected land, wetlands, native vegetation, wildlife, terrain and campsite access.
The Great Eastern Drive was found to be the most coastal route in the country.
Of its 199.9km stretch from Orford to St Helens, 75.7% runs within 5km of the sea.
The drive has 21.51 named natural water features per 100km, along with 18.01 listed campsites per 100km, both ranking fifth nationally.
The Western Wilds had the highest proportion of protected land and the most named natural water features of any route in Australia.
Some 41.2% of its corridor is protected land and it has 34.14 named water features per 100km.
The 544.8km route from Hobart to Devonport, via Queenstown, Strahan and Cradle Mountain, runs 65.6km inside the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The Southern Edge runs 283km from Hobart to Southport via Mt Field National Park and has an elevation range of 739m.
Redspot head of operations Yasmyn Schneps said the findings showed how much was packed into the drives themselves.
“It’s easy to plan a road trip around where you’ll end up, but the real magic often happens along the way,” she said.
The rankings come as Bicheno was voted best town in Australia in Australian Traveller’s 100 Best Towns list in May and Tasmania recorded a record 1.404 million visitors in the year to March, up 4.8%.
Spending rose 7.8% to $3.791 billion, with Queensland the standout growth market at 259,600 visitors.
Tourism Minister Roger Jaensch said the results showed the strength of the state’s visitor economy.
“Tasmania continues to prove it is one of the world’s must-visit destinations,” he said at the time the figures were released.
