Turn that summer road trip from a groan to a grin

Turn that summer road trip from a groan to a grin.

Summer – long days of relaxing, soaking up lots of sun and sea and just lounging about. Well, hopefully it is, but for many people, the stress of the drive to their favourite holiday spot can take the balance of their holiday just to recover from. And that doesn’t include the return journey!

If you are considering the great Kiwi road trip this summer there are a few things you can count on. The Motor Trade Association (MTA) says prepare for them properly, and they’ll become just part of the journey; just do what you normally do instead, and, well, it’s your holiday you could be ruining.

Every year there are some situations you just know are going to eventuate. Things like long queues of stop start traffic moving ever so slowly to one of this country’s holiday hot-spots. There’s not a lot you can do other than find another route. If you can’t, then accept that this will occur and make sure your car is properly prepared to cope with the additional stress that this sort of driving brings (see www.mta.org.nz for specific checks you can make).

Of course with long queues will come the emergence of drivers in a huge hurry to beat the crowd, whatever the cost. Recognise them; accept they are there and that they pose a risk not just to themselves, but to you and other motorists as well. Sadly New Zealand is legend for this type of summer idiocy. It won’t go away, but you do have a choice to let it irritate you to the point where you start making bad decisions as well. Let them past, or get out of their way if you can.

The biggie for many New Zealanders though is the challenge of children in the car. For many, responding, or not responding, to that age old question, ‘are we there yet?’ is as stress inducing as any other ‘road hazard’. But it’s not that much fun for the kids either if the adults in the car simply set out expecting them to sit there quietly for hours on end. There are lots of things you can do to make the journey easy, for everyone in the car.

• Be realistic – kids can’t stay still or remain entertained by the passing scenery as long as adults can – so be prepared to stop more frequently. Aside from breaking the monotony for them, it’s often a good refresher for the adult driver as well.
• If you have air-conditioning, make sure it works properly; kids are often relegated to the back seats where it’s extra stuffy, so any exposure to a steady flow of cooler air is invariably appreciated.
• Make use of window shades – they’re easy to fit, and can make all the difference for a young one ‘stuck in the window seat position. Besides which, they’ll help keep the interior temperature down if it’s a sunny day.
• Get the kids to bring some of their own entertainment –today’s games are usually quite portable in most cases, so ask them to bring some of their favourites with them in the car.
• Prepare snacks and drinks to take along – as the airline industry has proved – choosing what to eat and then actually munching it down is a great way to keep people, or in this case children, occupied.
• Have a few games that all the kids, and usually the adult passenger can play – and this doesn’t just mean I -spy either. There are websites dedicated to this very subject, they contain a large range of things you can all do together, and they’re easy to find online.
• Bring a variety of music that everyone can listen to – that is if they’re not already listening to their own on a personal audio system.
• Bring a flannel or wipes, just to keep everyone fresh and clean. There’s nothing as irritating (for everyone in the car) as a sticky spill or mess that’s rapidly going solid on a special toy or favourite t-shirt.

Of course, you’ll have the kids securely seated in appropriate and properly installed seating. Try these tips, they’ve worked for plenty of others before, and they might just be the difference between turning the trip from a groan into a grin.
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