Travelling around New Zealand is fairly enjoyable for most adults as our scenery is pretty spectacular and varied. However, little ones in the back don’t seem to have the same attraction to these outdoor scenes. If you are faced with the prospect of a long car journey with the kids these school holidays we have just the thing – tips and great games to entertain the kids and keep them distracted long enough to stop asking, “how long ’til we get there?”
1. Map Your Journey
Plan your route before you leave ensuring timely stops for toilet, food and stretching. And let the little ones know when these will be coming up.
2. Comfort is Key
Get your kids ready for a road trip the same way you’d get them ready for a long haul flight – make sure everyone’s in comfy clothes and footwear that isn’t too tricky to take off. For evening road trips, think about including blankets or pillows.
3. It’s Game Time
Playing games during long rides can be a great way to challenge your children and keep the whole car entertained. The only real limit to road trip games is imagination, so here’s a few to spark your creativity:
- Musical statues – Turn your car into a private party and play some fun music for your passengers to dance to in their seats before hitting pause. Whoever freezes the best before the music starts again wins that round.
- I Spy – the old favourite. If your little ones are too little they can play the colour way – so “I spy with my little eye something with the colour orange”
- Curious quizzes – Bring along some treats as prizes for a general knowledge quiz. You can tailor car quizzes to any age group with questions from “what sound does a cat make?” to “what’s the capital of Canada?” and everything in between.
- ‘Who am I?’ – Pick a category like ‘animals’, ‘fruit’ or ‘movie characters’ and get the whole car to guess what you’ve chosen from a set of clues. “I’m small, cats chase me and I like cheese” could be clues for a mouse while “a wizard with a scar like a lightning bolt” could be Harry Potter.
- Memory Game – One passengers says “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing…” followed by whatever item comes to mind. The next player has to remember that item and add something else to the story. Getting a part of the story wrong means that player has to sit out the next rounds until there is only one left – with the best memory!
- Would You Rather – Would you rather put your hand in a bowl of huhu grubs or dance while cockroaches are poured over your head? Neither option is particularly pleasing, but you’ve got to pick one: that’s the premise of this travel game. Everyone takes a turn choosing between a rock and a hard place.
4. Use Technology to Your Advantage
As the hours roll by energy levels often drop and even the best of games can come to a natural close. Consider bringing a few gadgets along for the ride too. Tablets can be used for movies or games or download audio books or kids music for their ipod or your phone. These will minimise disputes in the backseat – as long as there is concensus on movie or book choice.
If you travelling from overseas or in from a different city by plane – don’t worry about bringing a car seat with you as our branches at Pegasus Rental Cars have baby seats and booster seats available for hire.
