Road Trips! Who doesn't love a good road trip? I don't know what it is, but us Aussies, we love to drive. Maybe it's because nothing beats a bit of Car-a-oke while cruising through the bush, getting annoyed at the car in front that sits on 90ks in a 110 zone, then suddenly discovers the accelerator for a brief period, because there's an overtaking lane! Yep, you’re all sitting there shaking your head with a smirk on your face because you know what I'm talking about.
Living in a regional area and it being 200ks just to get to the closest shopping centre, we do a lot of driving. With kids in tow now there’s a few things I always have in the car, especially for longer road trips, as anyone who has done a lot of driving in Australia would be aware, it can be long distances between proper places to stop, or long waits due to accidents, floods and fires.
Check out my list of things to keep in the car on your next road trip, you know for just in case;
1. Water – we have a full water bottle for each person in the car and 2-3L of water spare, this isn’t a huge amount of water, but it’s enough to get us between major stops and in the event of an emergency or unplanned stop, such as a breakdown, some water is better than none.
2. Toys – We have a number of toys that we only bring out for travel, this way they keep the little people in the backseat entertained for longer than toys they see and play with all the time. I do find the older they get the harder it is to use toys as a distraction; I do miss the period when an empty water or soft drink bottle provided an hour of entertainment. Fidget toys, and pocket or compact travel games are great for when they move past the soft toy and rattle stage. We try to limit screen time, but we do have the tablet charged and loaded with shows, movies and educational games.
3. Downloaded music – We live in Australia and let’s face it our internet and mobile coverage is crap, no matter how many service “upgrades” they do, so we always have music downloaded for those areas when there’s no radio or mobile coverage.
4. Picnic Rug – there isn’t always lush green grass or seating at rest stops and parks so the picnic rug provides a nice place to sit. It also doubles as shade when hung between open car doors if you breakdown or get stuck at a road closure.
5. Fridge/Esky/Cooler Bag – something to keep snacks and lunches cold while travelling. Note if you are using ice bricks in a cooler bag, like the ones you get from Coles and Woolies, if you double them up it makes a huge difference to how long things stay cold for. Also, an ice brink or two in the fridge if you have one, helps keep everything cold when you stop, that’s if you don’t have a second battery setup to keep the fridge running when the ignition is off.
6. Snacks – We also have some cut up fruit and other low mess snacks, and of course a couple of road trip must haves, like chocolate bars, lollies and chips. We often buy bread rolls, ham and cheese, or a roast chook (meat removed from bone for easier travel), to have for lunch when travelling, it’s a lot cheaper that buying crappy servo or fast food along the way and it solves the issue of the kids deciding they want lunch when there isn’t anywhere to buy lunch for another hour.
7. Ball or frisbee – Chasing a ball or frisbee around is a great way to get the kids burning off some energy. I remember Dad telling a story from a trip we did from southern NSW to Mackay as kids, and how at one of the rest stops a family pulled up, the dad got out with a footy and just kept kicking it in opposite directions so the kids had to run after it. My Dad thought it was a great idea!
8. Sick bag – I started keeping a sick bag in the car during my first pregnancy thanks to the morning sickness, but it’s something that has stuck and just makes sense to me.
9. Toilet paper – We keep a roll of toilet paper in the car for those times there’s no toilet paper at the rest stop toilets.
10. Tissues – for some reason travelling always gets one of us sneezing.
11. Lip balm – self-explanatory really!
12. Baby wipes – I never realised how essential baby wipes are to life until I had a baby, they have so many uses, and not just for babies. I now understand why so many ADF members have them in their rucksacks.
13. Dettol wipes – Ever seen a dirty picnic bench or rest stop toilet? Although sometimes simply burning the picnic bench or toilet would be a better option. (Note I do not condone the burning of public picnic benches or toilets – I’m just simply trying to get my point across)
14. Hand sanitiser – for when the dirty rest stop toilet doesn’t have soap. Thanks, COVID for this one!
15. Phone charging cable – streaming music and constantly searching for network chews through the battery.
16. First Aid kit – a small first aid kit for just in case, the car size ones are great as they tuck in to small spaces out of the way.
17. Panadol – for both the kids and the grown-ups, you just never know when you’ll need it.
18. Rennie – we started carrying Rennie around after our trip to the USA, when the change in diet to all the yummy but fatty and salty food (may be all the cocktails as well – Coronarita anyone?) started giving us heartburn.
19. Blanket – a small pram size blanket comes in handy as usually me or one of the kids gets cold in the car on long trips. Ok, yes, it’s usually me!
20. Change of clothes – an easily accessible change of clothes for the kids, if you don’t already have some in the nappy bag or are past the nappy bag stage, without fail one of them will need a change of clothes on a long road trip
21. Umbrella – just in case it’s bucketing down and you have a bit of a walk from the car. It’s also another form of shade if you breakdown or get stuck somewhere.
Everyone’s needs are a little different, but hopefully reading through this list you find a couple of items that will be handy for your next road trip.
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