This week, you’re going to be treated to some really cool stuff, really cool, when you’re travelling on the road or water.
It’s nice to have cold drinks, chilled food and some frozen items when travelling in a car, van or canoe. Here are some suggestions to increase your ability and extend the range.
If your set of wheels has every seat belt in use, and there are even a couple of toddlers on mom’s lap, try to find room for the largest possible ice box that’ll still fit. Ideally, it’ll be the size of the white one in this week’s photograph. Any space that is not taken up by food should be packed with ice.
If you don’t have any more ice, fill any void with a towel or two. Air is not an insulator.

Speaking of ice, buy blocks, not cubes, unless you immediately need cubes for chilling drinks. Those drinks should also have been super-cooled, almost frozen, when you’re ready to set off on the trip. Think a couple of days ahead: Make your own ice in the freezer. Freeze water in four- litre jugs, enough to fill any free space that will be remaining in your ice box. Include freezing some water in the 450 ml containers that bottled water is sold in. Cram those small containers into any empty spaces. Fill any empty space with towels. A full icebox stays cold longest.
On your third day on the road, those containers will not contain much ice. However, the ice will have become super-chilled water, suitable for drinking, rather than sloshing around the remaining food.
If you had to buy ice and it’s been reduced to water sloshing around, don’t pour it out. It can still act as a reserve of cold.
Once you put all your items in, absolutely minimize opening the cooler. Treat that ice box as a carefully wrapped Christmas present and it’s only St. Nicholas Day, December 6. No peeking! Wait till the ‘25th’, meal time.
Save your frozen foods until last. Keeping the other foods cool are their first job. To make more efficient use of space, put frozen or chilled food in zip bags rather than in cans or jars.
When cycling or hiking vacuum flasks are a must. A Thermos has a neck wide enough to accept ice cubes. Comparing the ‘cold range’ of the one with ice cubes to the other is like comparing the range of a Cessna to a Boeing 747.
Save the period for the end of sentences. Save the frozen foods for the end of the food in the ice box at the end of the hot weather trip.