Australia offers a number of fantastic 4x4 driving experiences in the Outback and in the Northern Territories that are likely to test any driving enthusiast, but for the ultimate 4x4 driving experience, look no further than Queensland's Fraser Island.

Just north of Noosa and the Sunshine Coast, this natural spectacle and world heritage sight stretches for over 120 km and is the largest sand island in the world. For keen drivers, it offers a multitude of different experiences, from driving on beaches to tough, technical inland roads snaking over tree roots and through large ditches.

The roads were originally built by logging companies who were farming the trees for wood on the island, and when you manoeuvre your 4x4 vehicle over them you will struggle to understand how it is possible to drive a long and heavy truck bearing such a large weight over such difficult terrain. The sand is trapped by the tree roots meaning a very bumpy ride, and there are many tight corners weaving amongst the native vegetation on very small roads. After heavy storms, which are fairly common due to the island exposure to the Pacific Ocean, there are often large potholes and puddles which provide a challenge. In drier weather, the main risk is getting stuck in large piles of soft sand.

On the East of the island is 75 mile beach, which is effectively the main highway and drives North to South allowing access to multiple inland tracks up and down the island. When the tide is low, this becomes a very large and wide beach which is very driver friendly, but beware of hazards such as large waves, washouts and dunes. The road effectively changes every single day, so every time you drive on the beach it is a new experience. Along the main beach are multiple stops for fuel and supplies, as well as accomodation for those wishing to stay the night.

With the combination of the wide open beach and the tight technical inland roads, Fraser Island really offers a plethora of different sand roads to tackle that will stretch and improve your offload skills. If that is not enough reason to visit, the nature is truly stunning, offering surreal landscapes of pristinely clear water, aboriginal culture and some rather fascinating animals including snakes, whales and the Fraser Island Dingo; one of the most purebred in Australia.

There are multiple packages which offer beginner drivers the ability to drive the roads and to discover the natural beauty of Fraser Island with a group of others led by an experienced driver. It is also possible to take your private vehicle onto the island via the ferry ports in Rainbow Beach and in Hervey Bay. There are multiple campsites and places to stay, and a good infrastructure for drivers that, with a bit of common sense, will ensure that you don't run out of fuel and have sufficient support in the unlikely event of an emergency.

While there is good infrastructure, that have been several fatal accidents on the island due to reckless driving. Ensure you are familiar with the rules and regulations before you start your trip and always be alert for dangers.

In some of the most iconic movies of our times, sometimes the cars even out-star the lead actors. Here is a quick look back on some of the most influential vehicles we have seen hit the big screen.

1964 Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger

James Bond has always had an impressive collection of cars, many as memorable as the films themselves, but perhaps the most memorable is the DB5. Like many of his autos, the DB5 was kitted out with a whole plethora of different gadgets including machine guns, ejector seats, oil-slick spray, smoke screens and a ram bumper. One of the vehicles used in both Goldfinger and Thunderball was sold at an auction in 2010 for £2.6 million.

The car was originally released in 1963 as a development of the DB4. The DB series was named after the owner of Aston Martin between 1947 and 1972, Sir David Brown.

'32 Ford Coupe from American Graffiti

American Graffiti was directed by George Lucas before the blockbuster Star Wars enterprise. It is a reflection of his memories of the car culture in California in the 1960s. Painted in Canary Yellow and powered by a Chevy 327 V8, the most memorable scene featuring the “Deuce Coupe” is a drag race where it competes against a '55 Chevy and wins.

Originally, when the car was released in 1932, prices ranged between $490 for the standard coupes up to $650 for a convertible sedan. Today, it is a highly collectible car that some people pay thousands to restore to it's former glory.

DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future

This classic movie features a DeLorean DMC-12 car that has been converted by the character Dr. Emmett Brown into a time machine that is very much central to the narrative of the film. The operator of the time machine first selects the dates and destination before accelerating to 88 mp/h which activates the flux capacitor before the car disappears in a blue and white flash, leaving only a pair of flaming tire tracks in it's wake.

The DMC-12 was the only model ever produced by the DeLorean company, manufactured by John DeLorean for the American market between 1981 and 1983. Some of it's more unique features are the gull wing doors that open vertically, it's fibreglass body structure with a steel backbone chassis, and it's brushed stainless steel external body panels.

1968 Mustang GT 390 from Bullitt

Driven by Steve McQueen, the highland green 1968 Mustang from the movie Bullitt has become very iconic. Perhaps the most memorable scene is the chase throughout the streets of San Francisco in pursuit of a 1968 Dodge Charger and are arguably some of the best ever recorded on film. Sales of the car were so good, Ford created limited edition versions of the vehicle not once, but twice.

The 1968 was a development of the 1967 model, and improvements included better safety features such as an energy absorbing steering wheel and shoulder belts. It is one of the First-Generation Ford Mustangs which were manufactured by Ford from 1964 until 1973.

The Japanese motorcycle company Kawasaki is amongst the most famous motorcycle producers in the world. Their first motorcycle engine was developed in 1949 and production started in 1953. Before this, Kawasaki was best known for creating aircraft. They formed a racing team in 2003, and have been involved in the World Superbike Championship since 1990 with a USA based team and have won several super bike racing championships.

Kawasaki bikes are very iconic, and names like the Kawasaki Ninja are recognised globally, but they are perhaps no more iconic than when they are presented in the lime green colour that people often refer to as just “Kawasaki Green”. This was originally initiated in 1969 during Daytona Bike Week as a way of standing out from the crowd and being a little more “in your face” to differentiate from the competition who, at the time, congenitally rode primarily in dull colours or by using red, blue or yellow shades. Nobody was using green to colour their products, and despite some protests from some of the employees at Kawasaki, the go-ahead was given to paint the bikes and to attire the team in green colours for the event. This shock move captured market headlines and grew shares in the US market.

This got people talking and grew a large amount of attention to the Kawasaki brand. The Flying K logo was also penned and debuted at the same event, effectively strengthening the Kawasaki brand in yet another aspect. Later in 1969, the first production motorcycle to be painted in the iconic green, the Kawasaki 1969 F21M “Greensreak” was created. This was a 238cc scrambler, with not too much room for green on the body. Over time, the colour has become more fluorescent and iridescent to stand out even more from Kawasaki's competitor's products, and this defining shade has been introduced the street bikes as well as the products used for racing. The colour is strong enough to effectively create a brand for the company, much like the purple used for Cadbury's products, and is instantly recognisable.

Kawasaki's racing team operates under the name “Team Green” and has been providing support to Kawasaki riders for nearly four decades. They compete in both off-road events and events on tarmac in competitions all over the world.

As well as creating motorbikes, Kawasaki produces jet skis and introduced a production of stand up models. In 1976, they began mass production of the JS400-A which came with a 400cc two stroke engine and dominated the markets right up through the 1990s. They also introduced a two person model with a lean-in sport style handle in 1986 called the Kawasaki X2, and created a seated tandem two passenger model in 1989 called the Tandem Sport. They created the name “Jet Ski” for their personal brand of watercraft, but the name ha since become commonly used to describe this type of water vehicle across the board. The Jet Skis are also usually painted in the trademark Kawasaki lime green colour.

Mercedes Benz is brand that is recognised worldwide, providing luxury automobiles for the top end of the market. Their headquarters are in Stuttgart, the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany under the Daimler AG label, however the origins of the company date back to the first ever gasoline powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, which was patented in 1886. It was first marketed in 1901 by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.

The Benz Patent Motorwagen was built in a tiny garage in 1885 in the German town of Ladenburg, situated in the West of Germany, close to the famous Heidelberg, and it is widely regarded as the world's first automobile. In Mannheim 1886, Karl Benz, a German engine designer, excitedly unveiled his invention to the public.

Unlike most cars that we have today, the Benz Patent Motorwagen only had three wheels. The engine was mounted on the rear and contained many brand new inventions such as steel spoked wheels with rubber tires which were Benz's own design. Parts of the original engine are still seen in modern motor manufacturing today, and pieces such as the pushrod-operated poppet valve for the exhaust still resemble the modern parts that we use.

Bertha, Karl's wife, made an interesting publicity stunt to publicise the Benz Motowagen. She took the car, supposedly not to the knowledge of her husband, and made the first ever long distance road trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back again, covering a total distance of 194 kilometres over three days. The route is signposted and so you can follow the tire marks of this historic journey, and every two years a parade of antique automobiles follows this route to celebrate the journey made by Bertha. Along the way she encountered a few problems - she had to clean the carburettor with her hat pin and to insulate a wire using her garter. She also had to refuel, which she did using ligroin from a pharmacy in Wiesloch which could technically be argued as the world's first gas station, and she accidentally invented brake linings as the original brakes wore down and she asked a local shoemaker to attach leather to the brake blocks to ensure her safe carriage.

Benz set the land speed record with his company's invention of the Blitzen Benz, reaching speeds of 226.91 km/h with its 21.5 litre engine, driven by the French driver Victor Hémrey. This record was not beaten for ten years by any other vehicle.

There is now an auto-museum in Ladenburg in Karl's name, and you can see the building from which the first automobile was assembled in one of the town parks.

The name ‘Mercedes Benz' first appeared in 1926 when Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler merged their companies to create the Damlier-Benz company, and continues to thrive as one of the world's top car manufacturers under the Mercedes Benz name, maintaining a reputation for quality and durability. Their moto is “Das Beste oder Nichts” which translates from German as “The Best or Nothing”, under which they continue to make some of the best automobiles in countries all over the world.