The bags are packed, the long weekend is finally here, and the only thing between you and the bach is the drive. Here’s a small thing that makes that drive a whole lot better: a really good audiobook.
Long stretches in a hot car can test the best of us, and reaching for the devices is the obvious fix. But we always found screens left our kids more wound up, not less, by the time we arrived. A shared story is a different thing entirely. It’s calm, it’s screen-free, and it quietly turns the journey into the first nice part of the holiday: everyone listening, nobody squabbling, the kilometres slipping by. You’ll know all of these already, but they’re worth a reminder, because they’re the ones that worked for our family.
1. How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
Start here. The audiobooks are narrated by David Tennant, and his performance is genuinely award-winning, a whole cast of brilliant Scottish voices that pull everyone in within minutes. Funny, fast, and adventurous, and as any fan will tell you, far wilder and better than the films.
2. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The slow magic of a hidden, neglected garden coming back to life. Gentle and atmospheric, it’s the one for settling everyone down and lowering the temperature in the car as the miles tick over.
3. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anne’s endless chatter, big feelings, and well-meaning scrapes are wonderful company on a long drive. Warm, funny, and timeless, it makes the trip fly.
4. Anything by Roald Dahl
You can’t go wrong here. The BFG, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were our family’s favourites: all mischief, marvels, and just the right amount of naughtiness to keep a carful of kids gripped.
5. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
A wardrobe, a lion, and a whole world on the other side. The sweep of the adventure holds a wide range of ages at once, so the big kids and the little ones are equally hooked.
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
The wildcard, and a more recent one. A warm, funny, big-hearted fantasy about an unlikely found family. It skews a touch older, so it’s the pick when you’ve got teenagers, or simply for the grown-ups up front once the little ones have nodded off.
Almost there
Pop one on as you pull out of the driveway and there’s a good chance you’ll arrive in better spirits than you left, just in time for the best bit of all: that first flash of blue as you come over the hill.
One Fyfe Beach Bach is waiting at the other end of the drive, a short flat walk from the sand. Check the dates you’re driving down for
The drive over the hill goes quicker with a good story on. Queue one of these up before you lose signal.
Warmly,
Becki
One Fyfe Beach Bach, Waihi Beach
Where you’re headed: our Waihi Beach holiday home.