Brisbane to Sunshine Coast - Britz

Six nights and 810 kilometres in a loop from Brisbane in a campervan, taking the slow way north through the hinterland rather than the motorway.

Karoomba comes first, a vineyard and lavender farm outside the city, then Fernvale and Kilcoy in the Brisbane Valley, where the dams are stocked for fishing and the rail trail runs for over a hundred kilometres along an old branch line.

Maleny and Montville follow up in the Blackall Range, looking across at the Glass House Mountains, a line of volcanic plugs named by Cook in 1770, with galleries, cheese and a great deal of cake. Imbil comes next in the Mary Valley, then Noosa, and Habitat Noosa on Lake Cootharaba, the gateway to the Everglades, one of only two such systems in the world, where the water is stained dark by tea trees and reflects like a mirror. Beerwah closes the loop.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Seven days for 810 kilometres is an easy pace and the whole route is sealed. The hinterland is the point of it: twenty minutes inland from the coast, several degrees cooler, and almost no traffic. The Everglades are best taken by kayak or electric boat, both of which can be hired at the lake. Seven days also leaves room to sit still, which is unusual in a Britz itinerary and suits this stretch of country better than covering ground would.