The flight from Sydney, day 0.5

So, on my arrival at Sydney International Airport, which was super busy, I propped myself near one of the desks and just stood around looking pretty, trying to grab some attention, which worked (disability privileges). The woman was super helpful and took my bags around the back where the mobility assistance counter was. I mistakenly had forgotten to check through my main bag. This was sorted out really quickly by another lady; she was very helpful as well.

I do want to point out that it’s interesting that they put the mobility counters at the back; I can see some positives and negatives with this. The bleeding obvious point is that it’s further for, putting it bluntly, shitty walkers like myself to struggle with. But then again, having it at the front would be a headache for pushing/wheeling it through all the hordes of people.

Anyway, it was all good, and the dude driving the electric chair was a pro. Pretty much the flight was uneventful; had a bit of a chat but pretty straightforward.

I’m heading over to the land of apparent clouds for 17 days for a holiday, to reset after the 2-point journey: Howlong to Canberra and just a mental preparation for the middle section/phase of Uni life. (By the time this will be read, I’ll have done the next two subjects)

I’m travelling solo for the first few days and catching up with a few people who are starting new lives over the ditch. Then I’m doing an Intrepid tour from Auckland to Wellington over 9 days; hopefully I’ll make a few new friends! Then I’m jumping across to Christchurch to try the food and explore by myself.

When I landed and had the chats with the hostess, it was hop in the wheelchair and off through customs; 4 times I had to whip out my passport. It was an ordeal for sure, but to be fair they were super efficient! The bloke who was wheeling me was a legend with his chuckling kind of attitude; we had chats as well.

Then it was on to meet Mon and Ed who were picking me up, which I was extremely grateful for. Made plans for tomorrow, and on to the Brit.

The first night 1.0

At the Brit I ran into the bloke who had been sitting next to me on our flight, so naturally we sat together after him approaching me and offering a seat.

It was one of the most intriguing, thought provoking conversation I’ve had in a while. One of the talking points was community.

Then on to Danny Doolan’s. Then had a nightcap, or two, at Andrew Andrew to really welcome myself into NZ. When I arrived there, a bloke offered a hand to help me get up the stairs cause they’re where no rails; I said I’ll be right (using my cane) and took my steps up, but he insisted, and I refused politely. As a result, he offered to buy me a drink; I was not complaining about that, but I only wanted a Baileys shot, which I got, but he was insisting on a ‘proper drink ’. Again, it was the insistence in his voice, and I had to keep reassuring him I was fine with the one, funny bloke. He did invite me to join the table, which I did, and we had a very light convo about why and how long we were both in NZ. After that I had a few more chats to various people, and I thought I was getting friendly with a French chick, but alas it was not meant to be. When that ended, I started chatting to another NZ bloke; this is where things got interesting. Note he was likely fck-eyed, to put it politely, but he started using gestures (his version of sign language) to describe things to me as well as saying the word; I thought it was pretty amusing!

One thing I will say, everyone I’ve met in NZ so far (apart from Mon and Ed) has really struggled to understand my voice and have said ‘could you repeat that’.

Out and about in Auckland, day one

Nothing exciting to report till around 12, when I went out for breakfast cause it’s holidays for me and I had a wicked waffle, coffee mascarpone, which I can confirm was grouse.

Then it was off back home to rest and do emails etc.; interesting when I got out of the Uber, which was interesting in itself due to the fact we got talking about customs and sayings in NZ. The other interesting thing for me was I got an audition text, so I changed my plans a bit and got down to preparing the piece. Ed and Mon will give me a hand tomorrow with the filming. I did a session at the gym with them, which was cool. Ed and I did an I-go-you-go thing x 10; we got our heart rates up there! Then out for dinner at a fancy restaurant; I’ve forgotten the name, but I remember it was pretty dam accessible; the only issue was the height for wheelchair users.

Ed and I, smiling at camera after completing a rowing session.

Again, some intriguing conversations as well as some dating strategies!

Tomorrow I’ve got meetings, and then I will go back to the same cafe, a cycling class, then another dinner, which should be well lined up!

Meetings and cycling, day two

It was a pretty steaming day, to be honest. After working out that NZ was two hours in front, I realised that I could get some more zzzz’s before going out for breakfast and heading into meetings for 4 hours, then coming up for air to then get the videographer and director, aka Mon and Ed, to help me with an audition, then on to the gym.

Getting on the bike was quite difficult, and I did need a hand; getting off was way easier though, so making some little wins!

After the class had a brief chat to Reece, the manager- cool bloke, cool hair, and he’s given me free entry for tomorrow so that’s wicked!

By this stage I was starving, so it was on to Inca which was pretty dam good and yummy. Pretty cruisy day all in all.

Tee’s and a date, day 3 in Auckland

A stock standard start was happening in the morning, just scrubbed up cause there was a date in order later that night. Then off to Chur Sae (cafe) and on up to Ponsonby to catch up with Mon and Ed for shopping then gym… bought some cool shirts (for the date), a singlet (for the gym), and some socks. Then it was on to the gym; I should mention the traffic was horrendous, so we arrived late and left late, though me and Ed did a pretty good session; I made him work for the bicep curls.

After that, while we were waiting for Mon, I finally took a look at the apps to see if the person was still keen to catch up… she unfollowed me. From a good conversation last night to blocking me was a fast turnaround. I can think of a few reasons why, but yet again I am an overthinker, so it could go around for days in my head. So plan B was go home, change, laundry, and out for dinner. We had a cracking time, and then I stayed on to watch the footy and chat to the Irish chick; like all the Irish people I’ve met, she was funny and fun.

I did have my first fall; in my defence, the door was bloody heavy, so when I was trying to push it open and me balancing at the same time, it was a disaster.

Luckily there was a keg right next to me so I could use that to get up and try again, success!

I got home at about 12, and I’ve been writing this since.

I’ll be catching up with the intrepid people tomorrow at 6 pm, so that’ll be interesting to meet new people; I’m always up for a chat!

New adventure, day 1 of intrepid tour

So this is my stock standard order for breakfast at Chur bea.

And then off to the gym after that, I walked home cause I had the time and the patience.

It’s funny, I’m realising that the culture here in Auckland is a bit different from Australia, like people will give you the space for sure and wait for me to move through if they have to, but there’s generally no conversation: thank you, sorry, etc. It’s fine, it’s just funny to notice the odd different things.

Had a chill and then at 6 I went to meet the Intrepid group; there’s 12 of us and the leader is a live wire, she’s pretty cool!

We went to the Brit (again for me) where we got to know each other, a fair age difference but it’ll be a good crew!

Also should mention as it’s Good Friday my laundry hasn’t arrived today so hopefully it’ll arrive in the morning before we leave at 9…

The cut off point is 9 am, day 2

Well, sad news for me: my clothes from the laundry didn’t show up, so I’ll have to free ball out for the next seven days. LOL jokes, I’ve got undies and socks, I’ll be right!

We left pretty much on time; I was shopper deprived, but as soon as I hopped in the front, it was game on from Ange or tour guide and me. We chatted, which ranged from work to cost of living about the ride I’d done, you name it, we covered it!

The highlights didn’t come until we got to the hot spring beach, where we had to walk to reach the destination; it was a lot further than it looked, but the chats were still going strong between Ange and I, she shoved some basil-like leaves into my mouth; they had a bitter aftertaste, and my lips were numb from them. I also interviewed her on the beach about what community and inclusion means to her, super interesting and compelling!

We’ve also been adding to a playlist on Spotify while we were driving back on the bus; we had almost 200 songs from the start of the morning.

We were into our accommodation in no time, and then a shower for me and just hung around until we were going out for dinner. I did manage to fall over, so good job Tommy, got myself back up and it was off to catch up with the group.

The dinner was at a good Indian restaurant at Wahitianga. We had some interesting chats about life stories, and these continued that on in M’s room. It felt like a long day, but really it was only 9:30!

Had an overreaction to the shower access!

Did watch the Jacinda Ardern documentary on Netflix that was super interesting; it really reminds us that everyone is human and should be respected.

James Cook, Bay of Poverty, day 3

We were up early, an hour short due to the clocks’ changing, off to breakfast, which was pretty dam good and had a lovely natter about travels and then we were off, taking a detour to grab a wheelchair from Ange’s friend so I can get to the glow worms, cause it’s too windy for boat travels and kayaking so this is the alternative!

Successful wheelchair get, with Ange and I smiling about it

Linda was lovely, and I’m really grateful for her lending us the wheelchair; super kind and super helpful!

Also got to see Ange’s home, which was an experience and some of the stories she told while driving there and when we got there, LOL, she is a funny duck, truly!

To be honest, it was a fair bit of driving on this day, but we had a lovely sunset cruise that was pretty damn good with a few glasses and a history lesson!

The access was pretty okay on the boat; the steps to the top deck were pretty high, but that’s a boat for you, not that much you can do about it.

Then it was on to the pub to watch the last quarter of the footy; unfortunately, they couldn’t get it, so I was pretty ecstatic to check the scores to find out that we had knocked off the current leader! And it was just a great night, lots of laughs and there were some crazy drivers of my wheels!

History of Hobbiton, day 4

So we did the usual standard thing of breakky, in a cafe called Wyrd, which went alright, and the meals were huge, then off to Raglan beach, which had black sand and pearling waves.

Then it was on to Bridal Falls, which was grouse, but because I was in a wheelchair and had a crazy driver, Ange, I nearly died several times…. Nah, I was in safe hands.

Then it was on to Hobbiton, which was pretty sick! It was such an experience and a fun adventure (if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, you’ll get the reference there. Certainly a magical place.

Time to travel on and leave that adventure and start a new one by driving to Ratatue and then out for dinner, nothing special just a good dinner then bed, it was a big day!

I will say about the Hobbiton experience, the access is a bit poor and could be improved just by widening the trails or having alternative routes.

Everyone likes a Bunnings trip, day 5 Rotorua

I was going to do white water rafting, but I ended up bailing as it was just a bit too much of a challenge, so instead I made a trip to Bunnings to get a screwdriver so I could undo the GoPro so then I could change the SD card due to it being corrupted. Hopefully I can still download it and use it; there's some good footage on it!

After that was laundry and out for lunch. I ordered pizza.

And she then asked if I wanted her to cut the pizza up…very thoughtful of her.

I asked later if she had any allied health experience because it’s not every day that someone goes the extra mile and does things like this for you.

Then it was on to the Geothermal place called Ta Puia with the smell you get used to, but the first impression of the Sulphur smell is aromatically fartacious, not very inviting……!

We also got to witness a wicked cultural show at Te Puia, in the Whakawera Geothermal Valley, as well as dinner and to top it all off we got hot choccy and to go down to the geothermals again, ahhhh the smell. I also did get a hot right arse cheek, which surprised me due to my right arse cheek being numb most of the time due to the car crash!

Then on to Redfern Forest to see the lanterns, which I didn’t do; Ange and I just hung and had DnM’s, which was really really nice.

Then last but not least we saw the glow worms, and they are actually mentally disturbing when you learn about how vicious these things are; they are furious!

A long day, a long day! The wheelchair is holding up okay for the tough terrain it has been going through. NZ is gorgeous; however, its accessibility sometimes is lacking…

Hellsgate and the sin I’ve committed, day 6

Well today has been pretty shite on the weather front, so the only two viable options really have been Spa or mud spa, so I took the third option, chills and chats in the waka with Ange, which tbh was elite fun!

We chatted again around a range of absolute crap; it seems like it’s non-productive, but really we are solving a lot of issues!

Then lunch with everyone when they were picked up from their various destinations. The picnic cafe did a great spring onion omelette; it was scrumptious. Then we were on our way to Taupo, where we will be staying for two nights.

Did forget to mention that we stopped over at The Beehive, which is a place all about the bees and the process it takes to get to the point of honey. I enjoyed a few honey tastings, an ice cream and picked up a conditioner that is supposed to remove wrinkles…. We will see about that, but ok the cream does make you feel calm and good!

Apart from that, it was a pretty chilled dinner. Ange did tell us two stories, one about the brother and sister relationship with the mountain and the river and then one about 50 shades of grey and the death, but I won’t spill the beans; you’ll have to come and have an Intrepid tour and meet her and ask.

Catamaran and non-hikers, day 7

Well, it was a cruisy start and then headed into town at 10, I had a pretty rad salmon omelette, then started heading on foot to the catamaran, and we were off and motoring due to like zero wind!

Steve and I had a good chat about up north-east of Australia and mixed experiences we’d had, super insightful! We were at the caves in no time, and I’ve got to say I’m not really into art, but the carvings on the vertical wall above the water do make you wonder: how the fck did the people do that? It leaves you scratching your head!

Then we headed back to shore; I must say my disembarkation from the Cat in my eyes, was relatively elegant.

A Haka murder?

We went out to the Haka Falls, where apparently around 1999 there was a murder that turned out to be dumping of a body; either way it’s an unreal sight, and you’d need to be an elite white water rafter to go down those rapids!

Then it was on to dinner and a bit of a debrief about the day’s events; a good day was had!

On to Wellington, day 8

There were a few stops along the way as we made our way to Wellington. Like the Olympic gunboot throwing or the Weta Works, which was the lord of the Rings CGI essentially, or up a mountain to check out the view, but then it got interesting.

So we had dinner, which was super cool, cheap and good Vietnamese cuisine; highly recommend the Pho Veit on Dixit Street in Wellington.

Then over to Dakota bar to chill with Ange; there was like no one in there at 9 pm. But as the night went on it got a fck load busier, a lot of young people, the chicks were wearing nothing; I thought it was very amusing.

By close to midnight, I was like, can’t be fcked with this loud music ringing in my ears, so I left. When I was walking in from the outside smoko area, this tall bloke came straight towards me. I was like, surely he’ll see the cane and wait patiently, owwww no, he kept coming and we had an issue. I clearly had the right of way due to my slow movements and as to where I was positioned, it’d just make it easier, but he just kept strolling. So he pushed past me. I didn’t say anything cause I was trying to maintain my balance but also give him the silent treatment tbh; should have given him the elbow in the gut, but I refrained…

After that, when I started crossing at the lights, and I only made it halfway because there was like 15sec to make it across, I was not going to. So I waited at the halfway point; when the little person was green, I was off again, going at my speed, and this time there were people passing, and then I almost had a guard of honour, I swear

There was a dude who said, ‘I’ll protect you as you get across,’ and the other dude gave me his arm (wrong side), and he’s like, ‘Take my arm’ I just said nah, I’m good and kept on walking while like 10-15 people were just watching and making the guard; I felt like royalty!

I was trying to hold back the laughter to be real, like I’m fine and people always/majority of the time want to help, but I’m quite capable of crossing a road.

I do respect that they refrained from just doing it, but at least asked if I needed help.

Last night, day 9

Well, it was up early to get to the Zealandia conservation area, which has reintroduced 20 species of native wildlife. That was pretty cool, and better yet they had a buggy/go-kart just for me, which was elite cause it relieved the others from pushing me in the manual one.

Then it was a matter of finishing up. Ange and I ended up hanging out in a coffee/banh mi/sports bar (trying to get the footy, but got the rugby instead) then a stroll on the waterfront (very romantic 😂), and then getting dinner, which was the last night with all of us together.

No tears, but I do feel super grateful, and I’m sure the others would have been the same.

I will see some of them over in Christchurch, as Ange said I/we can tag along for a dinner and Christchurch street/city tour. Which will be epic!

Reflecting back just on those 9 days, I feel humble to have met this group of individuals. It's funny, I was chatting to the other Tom last night, and he said ‘if we weren’t on this tour and we were walking along the street we probably wouldn’t have said hello to each other’ and I think it does ring true. So I’m grateful for the opportunity to actually have these unanticipated conversations.

The flight was the most efficient airport I’ve ever been in! So first thing when you walk in the door of the domestic airport (max 20m walk) is in on the left it says special assistance, and it was an easy process for me to get a wheelchair. And it’s as easy as that. Once I had the wheelchair, it was quick; I didn’t have to do any security or have a major wait; it was easy.

All I had to do was have a coffee and wait. After the coffee, the routine occurred with needing to take a leak, and instead of being backtracked to the nearest previous bathroom, we actually went forward towards the plane, and it was easily accessible with ramps.

The other side was a little bit different. The efficiency was still in par, but there was a little bit more uncoordination and the person who was wheeling me (she was lovely) but she asked me a few times whether I had any family members travelling with me and said, towards the end, should be travelling with me. On this, I really thought about that comment, and my conclusion is it shouldn’t be a case of yes or no travel; it is a case of how do you make my life easier when travelling. She made a lot of assumptions on what I can and cannot do.

Christchurch, day 1

I arrived at my hotel, where a young lady who was working at the Fable went above and beyond to help me with my baggage and getting it up to my room etc.

Sorted out what I wanted to see and went for a trot out to dinner. 80m to a fancy wine bar, and had a wicked dinner; when I say wicked, I mean wicked!! And also had a chat to the staff who were lovely and got some recommendations on where to eat in the future.

And then I was wandering back on my 80m trek (according to Google), and there was some outdoor music, so I listened to that- good vibes, then went home to my abode.

Day 2, catching up with the crew

What a start to the day, a breakfast of champions that could have fed a hundred of them. Then I was off to catch the tourist tram that is ace, very efficient and pretty much just outside my doorstep!

A few comments on the trams. The access is generally okay for a hemi, but wheelchair users would struggle. In saying that, if there's a will, there’s a way, but very difficult. While touring around, I noticed that the active transport is grey for cyclists and walkers, and everything in the CBD is within walking distance. Others noticed that there was lots of wall art that looked incredible; I only took some of them!

Then I got off and went shopping for a backpack and found what I needed. Got a recommendation for coffee, so after making my purchase, I was off to get coffee. It was good coffee, and I started chatting to two women. It turned out that one had suffered a stroke, so that led to more conversations until they ran out of parking time and they had to race off!

Then it was back on the tram to do 25 flights of stairs; I needed it because I'd done nothing for a week and a half!

At 6 it was time to head over to the Drifters Christchurch to meet up with the gang. Caught up, went out for dinner in a food court which was actually pretty trendy and hip with a great selection of food and drink. Then on to Paddy’s, a typical Irish pub and had a few whiskeys to finish the night off.

Last full day, day 3

The last day…. Never easy, going back to reality BUT I certainly will be back to Christchurch 100%!

Such a chilled and easy lifestyle.

To kick start the day I went on the city tour with the new Intrepid mob and some of the old gang. They shared wheeling me, grateful for that; even some of the new people joined in and had a turn!

To travelling again, when I asked Ange the question about this, she said

A) need to bring a wheelchair, which I do agree with as the tours have deadlines and

B) bring mates, which I can understand. I’ve got to find mates who want to do this first though!

Do have GoPro footage that is there.

Then it was saying goodbye, which was hard.

Back to Fable for a quick change. When I entered the room there was a bloke in there, which was awkward, but he worked out that he was in the wrong room. It was all sorted out, but I did feel uncomfortable because he said ‘I haven’t touched much stuff’, weird as a thing to say!

Then it was off to do a bit of shopping, via the tram ride again (I reckon it’d be a good Comur idea for them and the locals with impaired walking); got some good jumpers anyway. And then it was onto the Quake City, which is a museum about the Christchurch disaster in 2011; super interesting and again got pushed around, again grateful for Luke!

Went to the hotel, did some emails, then went out for dinner, to King of Snake, which was a mission; let me tell you, I had to ask directions like 4 different times, and now I’ve a few sweaty spots! The dinner makes up for it though, big time!

Will mention the stairs are not very accessible!

I exited at a different point and found a lift. The only issue with the King of snake would be the two steps to get to the toilet cause I couldn’t find anything with ramps. And also the signage to get to the lift was fairly hidden.

Flight home, last day

So it was a mission to get all my Shit in the two bags, and I needed a little bit of help to chuck stuff; I probably could’ve done it, but for two points, one was working up a sweat trying to pack it in, and the second was we’d have been there quite a while, and I’ve got a plane to catch!

The taxi ride was cruizy; picked me up at 12, because at the start of Christchurch me and the cabby exchanged numbers and stayed in contact, just easier and a handy trick.

When I got to the airport, it was relatively easy to get in cause I got the cabby dude to get me a trolley. When I entered, I immediately saw Air New Zealand right next to me, which is such a GOOD IDEA! The lady at the special assistance desk said Qantas are at section C, so off I toddled.

ROASTING TIME

So when I got to section C, I couldn’t see a disability lane or assistance lane… so I asked two ladies, and they said just use the business section..

I did another snap of the issue I’m seeing here.

The question is, Qantas, are you this slow on the uptake? You need to lift your game; I’m more than happy to be your consultant on this.

When that had been all sorted out and I was in the chair, it was a quick, efficient ride through customs, and the staff were lovely and cheerful.

I will say there was a bit of “inspiration” at the start before I’d even told them who I am and what I’d done, but it all petered out after I told them.

When I sat down next to the flight staff, I had a cracking chat to one of the hostesses, super friendly, then it was boarding time. Bye bye New Zealand, it’s been a pearler of a trip; made new friends and learnt a few things about myself.

On the flight got a meal, and there is a cool tray you get to put your meal on, and it keeps your meal from moving; it’s fcking great, I bet some OT designed it!

When we landed it was a quick ride, and the person motoring me along was an expert driver.

We arrived at duty-free, and I had to stop to get a few things. The person said that we weren’t meant to stop, which I found interesting; we stopped anyway and got the supplies. I did inquire about the reasoning, and the person said we weren’t meant to enter and you could order it online; it was the first time I’d heard of it…

I also did enquire who the person worked for; funny surprise, Qantas. In my mind I’m putting one and two together: time, time, time, money, money, money…..

The person was great though and even drove me to the taxi rank, grateful for that!

When I got home, my MTPT card didn’t work so I had to pay the full fare, which was a bit annoying. (Maybe because I’ve spent more than 28 days outside the country, Centrelink has suspended my MTPT card; that might be the reason). Ya win some, you lose some.

All in all, it was a good day.

So all in all, what were the key takeaways

The first key that I unlocked was a good reset for me, clearing my head before I go back to Uni full time.

Key two would be the friends I made and the accessibility issues that we dealt with, faced and overcame.

The final key that comes from key two is learning my limitations, what I need to do to be more supportive of my own independence.

And that’s a wrap. Stay tuned for the next instalment.

P.s. took a while to get onto this, but I’ve finally tackled it!

A late NZ trip

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A late NZ trip

Big moments

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