Blog

Road Tripping

Spending time in your own country can often top any holiday abroad for its beauty, the vibe and the people you share it with. Here are some great ideas for getting your next road trip up there with some of the best times you have ever had.

Choose the right people

As luck would have it, these hair-brained schemes to drive somewhere miles away just to see the view are normally dreamt up over a drink with friends. This means that you already have the right people to come along on your adventure. On the flipside, if you spent last Friday at home and came up with the incredible idea all by yourself, you now have a couple of important decisions to make, not least of all who to share the experience with. Make sure you ask people whom you don’t mind spending long peaceful miles with but also friends that can guarantee a great conversation and lots of laughs.

Music is the world’s best public transport

Even though you won’t be walking, the music you choose to bring with you on the drive will either make or break the trip. With the advent of iPod connectivity in cars the possibilities are endless and the time spent with friends to come up with various playlists is just a preview of the great times that are yet to come. Take a selection of music for all tastes, not too heavy for early mornings, great sing-a-long oldies and favourites for everyone to enjoy, and don’t forget some well-chosen electronic tracks to keep you going whilst everybody else is having a snooze.

The snack attack

When you’re on the road for hours at a time and with no real place to be anytime soon, you’re likely to get a bit peckish on occasion. Now if you have ever watched an over exuberant puppy eating his supper, you will have an idea of the mess generated when a driver tries to have a bite to eat behind the wheel. Take along easy snacks in manageable portions; dried fruit, trail mix and potato crisps all spring to mind, and a firm favourite is beef biltong (jerky) for that salty fix. Not least at all, nice cold water to refresh passengers and the driver is always a great idea.

The destination isn’t always important

The mistake people often make when planning a road trip is to put all of their focus on the destination and what to do upon arrival. Road trips are the best application of the old adage, It’s not about the destination, but how you get there. Some of the best trips can have no particular place in mind at all but rather a general area that has great roads, interesting scenery and of course the odd fuel station to fill up every once in a while. 

Road trips are a voyage of discovery, they can’t be contained and often stepping out of your comfort zone offers you the best time to grow. So gather up your mates, take a sleeping bag or two, a sense of adventure, and a camera to capture all of the smiles along the way.

Written by – Tristan Sandwith