Here's your chance to brighten up the dull bits of a long road trip while supporting regional businesses in hard-hit areas.
Audiobook producer and provider Audible is giving away 60 hours of entertainment for free in tandem with national tourism movement Empty Esky, which encourages road trippers to take along an empty esky and fill it up with local produce.
The two have devised seven local custom road trip itineraries, called the Great Aussie Audiobook Adventure and starting from major cities across Australia. Each features up to 10 local businesses and a combination of 10 audiobooks and Audible exclusive podcasts to enjoy along the way.
To unlock the free content, road trippers need to keep a look out for the Audible posters at participating small businesses spread from Huskisson in NSW to the Huon Valley in Tasmania, and from Bright in Victoria to the Adelaide River in Darwin.
Upon visiting a participating business, travellers scan the QR code on the Audible poster, follow the prompts to redeem, and then download the Audible app to listen.
Audiobooks and exclusive podcasts available as part of the adventure include classics like Alice in Wonderland, performed by Gemma Arterton; new true crime stories such as Heist, featuring Michael Caine, to laugh-out- loud comedy from Australia's Funniest Stand-Up, and thought-provoking listens from Indigenous voices, including Nakkiah Lui and Miranda Tapsell in their Audible Original Debutante: Race, Resistance and Girl Power.
Meanwhile, there's something for all tastes at participating small businesses; from Sweet Decadence Chocolate in Daylesford, Victoria, to dinner at NSW south coast local The Quarters Huskisson; from sand dune surfing in Lancelin, WA, to award-winning ice cream at Gelato Mio in Coolum, Queensland and Willie Smith's Apple Shed in Tassie.
"We're excited to join forces with a community-minded organisation like Empty Esky to offer some comic relief and escapism for the whole family this summer," said Audible Australia country manager Leanne Cartwright-Bradford.
Empty Esky co-founders Eleanor Baillieu and Erin Boutros said: "Regional small businesses in Australia have really done it tough this year, but it's been incredible to see the Aussie spirit shine through to support some of our hardest-hit areas."
The Great Aussie Audiobook Adventure runs until January 4.
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