Quintessential Aussie road trip movies

As we eagerly await Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin, we take a look back at some of the road trip stories that we’ve all come to know and love.

Last Cab to Darwin (2015)

This stage-to-screen adaptation starring Aussie legends Michal Caton, Jacki Weaver and Ningali Lawford-Wolf plus up-and-comers Mark Cole Smith and Emma Hamilton, tells the story of private man Rex, who, having found out he doesn’t have long to live, decides to drive from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms.

In cinemas nationally from 6 August 2015.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Our beleaguered hero Max (Tom Hardy) takes the backseat in this high-octane cross-country car chase, now the top grossing Australian film internationally, that sees Furiosa (Charlize Theron) risk it all to return to her homeland in the bleak dystopian future.

Available for DVD pre order.

These Final Hours (2013)

With just a few hours until the world ends, James (Nathan Phillips) gets held up en route to a wild party outside of Perth when he decides help a young girl Rose (Angourie Rice) find her family.

Available on Stan and Play Store.

Tracks (2013)

Robyn (Mia Wasikowska) goes on a 3,200 kilometre trek from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean with no one but four camels and her faithful dog. Tracks is based on the real-life experience and book of the same name by Robyn Davidson, who did the nine-month walk in 1977.

Available on Play Store, Quickflix and iTunes.

Charlie & Boots (2009)

Father and son make the journey from Victoria to Cape York to fulfil a long held ambition to fish off Australia’s northern tip. Starring Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson.

Available on DVD.

Wolf Creek (2005)

Widely regarded as one of the scariest movies of its time, Wolf Creek sees crazed pig hunter Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) take two stranded backpackers captive under the guise of fixing their car, which breaks down in remote Australia.

Available on Stan, iTunes and Play Store.

Japanese Story (2003)

Toni Collette and Gotaro Tsunashima star in this story of personal discovery set against the backdrop of Australia’s red centre.

Available on Stan.

Beneath Clouds (2002)

Teenagers Lena (Dannielle Hall) and Vaughn (Damian Pitt) hitchhike to Sydney together to escape the isolated town they’ve come from.

Rabbit Proof Fence (2002)

Two sisters Molly (Everlyn Sampi) and Daisy (Tianna Sansbury), and their cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan), escape their lives of servitude in 1930s Australia, and walk for days and days alongside the landscape’s only marker: a fence.

Available on Netflix.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Arguably one of the most fabulous Australian films of all time, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert follows Mitzi (Huge Weaving), Felicia (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp) on a cross-country cabaret tour in their lavender bus across the harsh Australian outback.

Available on Stan and Play Store.