31 Jan 2020

Road trips are, for the most part, the grooviest experience on the planet. Nothing can beat pumping funky tunes with the windows down on your way to a gnarly waterfall or beach.

But sometimes things go wrong. Very wrong. Here is what probably went wrong during your summer road trip.

 

1. You didn’t plan enough

It’s kind of an unwritten rule that road trips are supposed to be spontaneous. But like you probably learnt, things can go south real quick if you don't have a rough idea of where and what tf you're doing.

You may have been absolutely stumped as to where to go next, screwed up the dates or missed some sweet spots accidentally because you didn't do your research. That's a summer bummer.

2. You got lost

Chances are you missed an exit or got absolutely lost in the middle of nowhere with no service or maps. But hello, who needs a map these days? It's the 21st century! 

Betcha a lot of petrol was wasted on getting lost too. Oh well, it's all part of the adventure.

3. You got fined

Since you're not at home, you're not in your element with road rule knowledge. So things can go a little haywire. Maybe you parked where you shouldn't. Perhaps you were caught speeding. Or you may have hit someone elses car whilst trying to park in what seemed like a pretty decently sized spot at the time. Been there, done that... she'll be right, mate.

It sucks. Next time, constant vigilance. 

4. You didn’t plan accommodation ahead of time

Spontaneity gets old real soon when you're constantly left with no accommodation for the night. Campsites and hostels can fill up pretty quickly, especially over summer.

So, then what? Do you keep trying to look for somewhere available? Do you go to the next town over? Whatever you did, all you knew is that all you wanted was a shower and yet you were stuck calling campsite after campsite in hope for a vacancy.

Next time you'll probably book some accommodation beforehand, even if it's the day before. It'll save you being stuck in the mud again so you're smooth sailing when you reach your stops.

5. The car screwed up

On my summer road trip, I had to call NRMA in Byron Bay because the car was making suss sounds and wouldn't start. Classic.

Whether you just needed the car to be jumpstarted or to replace a tire, something probably went wrong.

Get your car checked before you go away... I learnt this the hard way.

6. Someone got an injury

My friend screwed up her ankle. We both cut up our feet walking barefoot everywhere. 

But the real stinger was that I got stung by the gnarliest blue bottle whilst snorkelling and had stings all up my arm. As I came out of the water, a guy said "if you feel faint in half an hour, go straight to the hospital because there are jellyfish in this water that can be mistaken as bluebottle stings." 

"What happens if it's the jellyfish?" I asked. He replied nonchalantly as if he was talking about the weather, "you'll be dead".

Awesome.

Can confirm that it was just a bluebottle sting, thankfully. He almost gave me a panic attack though.

7. You got bloody tired

A lot of the time, you want to conquer EVERYTHING whilst road tripping but rest and relaxation time is essential to get your energy levels back up. If you weren't getting enough sleep, you probably didn't appreciate the surreal sights as much as you should because you were probably stuck yawning the entire time.

But hey, things go wrong. That's life. We roll with the punches and see our cups as half full rather than half empty. I still had an amazing summer road trip. Did you?