You can't do much about covering the distance, but if you are stuck in the passenger seat, there are at least exercises you can do to get your body moving and loosen up your joints.

Ease the ache in your shoulders
An easy way to do this without clobbering the driver is to put your hands together with your palms facing you, as if you are reading a book, then place your feet solidly on the floor, shoulder width apart, and lower your hands between your knees, stretching towards the floor. Lift and repeat. You can also try raising your shoulders up to your ears, holding them for five seconds and then dropping them to relax, before repeating.

Give your neck a break
A great way to relax is to let your head drop to your right shoulder, hold it there for about five seconds, then roll it forward and let it hang and roll it up to your left side. Repeat five times, but never take your head backwards.

Stretch your arms
This is a stretch that you are probably familiar with, place right hand over the left shoulder and your left hand on the jutting right elbow and gently stretch by pulling it across your body to the left. Repeat with your left arm, making sure you keep your hand over your shoulder so that you don't block the view of the driver and land yourselves in a ditch.

Work those legs
Put your feet shoulder distance apart and raise your knees by pulling your heels up until you are on your toes with your calves working. If this is too easy pop your bag or a book on your knees too. Repeat until your calves have had enough. Then raise your toes keeping your heels firmly down. Hold them for 15 seconds and relax and repeat. Finally lift one foot off the floor and circle the dangling foot in as wide a circle as possible, going clockwise and then anti-clockwise and repeat with the other foot.

What if I'm the driver?
Ok, your job really is to focus on the road, but the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) does recommend that you stop at least every 200 kilometres for about five minutes so that you can stretch your legs and refresh yourself. The danger of long journeys is that you have little to do and boredom can set in, which leads to drowsiness. Beat the snooze factor by taking regular breaks.

What about the children?
If your kids are big enough, get them to exercise with you. But remember, even more than the driver, your kids need frequent stops with a safe place to run around and spend their pent up energy. Try to make stops at picnic sites, view sites, garages and restaurants with play areas.