Road trips around Australia: The 12 best Aussie shortcuts for driving

Heading even further north to the tropics? Take the back way through western NSW and Queensland. The Great Inland Way from Sydney to Townsville via Dubbo, Lightning Ridge, Roma, Emerald, Carnarvon Gorge and Charters Towers is about 200 kilometres shorter than the well-travelled coastal route (aka the Pacific and Bruce highways) and is fully sealed, but be warned, the small towns along the way are so full of fascinating things to see and do that it will probably take you twice as long as you think.

Great Beach Drive: Noosa to Rainbow Beach

You'll need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to travel the Beach Highway between Noosa and Rainbow Beach on the Queensland Sunshine Coast, and you'll need to time your drive to coincide with low tide, but as far as shortcuts go, this is one of the very best. It's a 70-kilometre run along the beach (that's on the beach, not beside it), so, of course, it's scenic, and it's about an hour quicker than the Bruce Highway. What's not to love about that? See australiasnaturecoast.com.

The Bloomfield Track: Cairns to Cooktown

You'll also need a 4WD for this (in)famous shortcut through the Daintree Rainforest between Cape Tribulation and Cooktown, and although the building of a new bridge across the Bloomfield River in 2013 has made it an easier run than it used to be, it can still be a challenging and sometimes slippery drive. It's about 20 kilometres shorter than the all-sealed Mulligan Highway alternative, and will probably take twice as long, but you're guaranteed to have a whole more fun.

Tanami Road: Alice Springs to Broome

The quickest way to get from the Red Centre to the Kimberley, the Tanami spears through the desert from Alice Springs to Halls Creek, where you can hook up with the Great Northern Highway to get to Broome. It's mostly gravel and is very remote, so carry extra water and a jerry can of spare fuel. It's 1046 kilometres from Alice to Halls Creek – 1000 kilometres less than if you take the black-top alternative via Katherine and Kununurra​.

Gibb River Road: Kununurra to Broome

Shorter doesn't always mean quicker. The Gibb River Road is almost 130 kilometres shorter than Great Northern Highway alternative, but will take you twice as long. Yes, there's plenty to see and do along Highway 1, and yes the Gibb's a bit rough and dusty in places, but it's the Gibb that will lead you to all the Kimberley's best bits.

Balladonia Track: the Nullarbor to Esperance

If you don't mind a bit of rugged deep sandy adventure, the rough 4WD track from Balladonia Roadhouse on the western end of the Nullarbor down to the southern coast is almost 150 kilometres shorter than sticking to the main road through Norseman to Esperance. It's also a great way to get to the white sand beaches of Cape Arid National Park, one of the unsung wonders of the deep south.

Googs Track: Ceduna to Coober Pedy

A fantastic shortcut from the western top of the Eyre Peninsula to the Trans-Australia Railway Line near Tarcoola, which then links up to the Stuart Highway 200 kilometres south of Coober Pedy, Googs Track is a 150-kilometre-long desert adventure drive across more than 360 sand dunes. One for experienced four-wheel-drivers only.

Western Explorer Highway: Strahan to Stanley

Most tourist maps don't even show the Western Explorer Highway that runs north from Strahan to Stanley on Tasmania's wild west coast, but it's a fantastic alternative to the 100-kilometre-longer A10 route that almost everyone mistakenly thinks is the only way to drive between the two tourist towns. It's unsealed, but you don't need a 4WD, and it spears though the heart of the Tarkine, the world's largest remaining stretch of temperate rainforest. More than just a shortcut, it's one of the Australia's best wilderness drives.