The Long And Winding Road: Road Trip Your Way To A Better State Of Mind

We get it. It’s a crazy old world out there, and the urge to hire a car and take a break from it all isn’t the worst idea you’ve ever had. You can jump in a car from Sydney, Brisbane or any other main city and find yourself enjoying fresh, new and spectacular sights only an hour after you left. If life’s a pressure cooker, and you feel like you’re about to blow a gasket or six, consider a mini-break from it all. There’s nothing like the open road to help you feel relaxed, recharged and ready to take on the world, now that you’ve seen a little bit more of it.

Let’s start by considering the impact just planning your road trip can have. As soon as something special gets booked in the calendar, that excitement and anticipation starts to build – and that’s before you’ve even picked up your Sydney or Brisbane hire car from Orana So, start imagining and planning what you might do. Your mental health can reap the benefits just by losing yourself in a day-dream or two.

When you’ve picked up the car and you’re on the road, take a moment to savour the sudden departure of daily pressures, responsibilities and expectations. Life on the road is an easy-breezy affair, involving you looking at the road ahead and travelling on. There’s no multi-tasking, micro-managing, business operations and stressed-out people to frazzle you – just the open road leading you away from it all. It’s a simplified existence that’ll feel instantly wonderful. Unlike the airport or train station, there’s no waiting around or standing in crowds – you're the centre of your universe and you can travel at your own leisure. And a slower pace will feel like bliss compared to the life you’ve been leading

On the road, you’re going to see a lot more sunlight than stuck inside at a computer terminal. And that’s one of the things that health professionals tell us instantly improves our mental well-being. Not long after you’ve left the city of Sydney or Brisbane, your hire car will be driving through beautiful townships and exquisite natural surroundings – and exposure to nature is one of the other great ways to lift your spirits and feel better about the world. Fancy a coffee? Or a mountain-top photo op? Stop and start your journey to the beat of your own drum, and wherever your heart takes you. Being spontaneous is joyful and uplifting – and the experience of a road trip is the perfect type of holiday to indulge those spur-of-the-moment decisions and impromptu adventures.

There’s so much to be said for new sights and other sensory delights to grant us a whole new world view. It seems to remind us that our insular existence isn’t

set in stone and that the possibilities of life are accessible and worth grasping. A road trip can take you on a journey literally and metaphorically, and each new experience can add to a newer version of you in a meaningful and constructive way. There’s nothing like meeting different people, sampling local culinary delights, having new cultural experiences and changing up the way you do things to make you smarter, wiser, braver and more interesting. The sprawling nature of Australia and its townships means that you can travel down a highway and instantly feel like you’ve dipped your toes in a different and unusual pond. And that experience sparks creative thinking and excitement – two more things to boost that overall mood of yours.

One last point when you book that road trip – piling your family into your Orana hire car and escaping Brisbane or Sydney means that you’ll get oodles of time with the people you love the most in your life. You can counsel and converse, love and laugh together because road trips are made for a completely connected, hug-a-minute family getaway. If you’re a couple, this translates to a quieter, more romantic experience with plenty of room in the car for souvenir shopping and extra treats. For people craving alone-time, road trips are heaven-sent, providing the same benefits for mental health with the positive experience of doing things your way, in your own time. It really is the holiday experience that ticks every box.

So, book that little getaway with your Orana hire car – the mini-break that’ll feel like it was a million years overdue. Do it your way with a road trip to somewhere special - or nowhere at all. Get out there, and let the open road show you that life’s not about the destination – it's about the journey.