Category: Travel Tips

Helpful tidbits I’ve learned along the way.

My accessible travels: Dunedin, NZ

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Dunedin from the hills at Larnach Castle

The first time I set foot (or wheels) in New Zealand, I expected to see beautiful hillsides filled with sheep. That’s exactly what I got when I arrived in Dunedin, NZ, a ridiculously picturesque small city on the South Island. Prior to my arrival I arranged a private driver to pick me up from the cruise ship and take me around for a half day. This sounds like it would be pricey, but it was actually quite affordable and would be even cheaper if you split it among a few people.

I am the kind of tourist who loves seeing as much as possible, as quickly as possible, so I told the driver to just take me all over the place, with the exception of one particular stop — the Larnach Castle — which for whatever reasons I had my hopes set on seeing. So she drove me around for a couple hours and we stopped at the castle for a quick tour of the grounds. You can take a garden tour or do the whole thing but it’s not accessible inside so you can’t really see much by wheelchair. But from the grounds there were amazing views back down on the harbor and the city and it was worth the stop.

After that she took me back down to the Octagon (the main center of town) where there were many shops and touristy things going on. There were some neat old churches as well. We also checked out some of the beaches nearby and the smell of the salty air was imprinted firmly on my mind. The other neat thing about Dunedin was the port. The logging mills nearby made the air smell like sawdust and there was an amazing church perched in the hills that I could see right from the boat.

Here are a few more of the pictures from that day stop in Dunedin:

The logs waiting to be shipped.
The church in the hills at the port.
The church in the Octagon
Larnach Castle
Larnach Castle gardens
More of the view from Larnach. I couldn't get down to that lookout with my chair but I really didn't have to.

My accessible travels: Lanai, Hawaii

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The beach at the end of one of the bumpy trails.

The island of Lanai is small, sparsely populated, and fantastic. I had the opportunity to go there seven years ago with a friend who had never been there before either. Fortunately, she was the kind of person who enjoyed (or pretended to enjoy) pushing my butt around in the manual wheelchair I was using at the time.

We went in the morning, came back in the afternoon, and the whole day was an adventure from start to finish. We flew over on a very small plane and they used this spider-looking device to get me up and down into the plane. Then we rented an off-road jeep and used the map they gave us to traverse the island, including the VERY bumpy “roads” down to the edges where the most beautiful and desolate beaches were. At times it felt like we were the only people on the island. While looking out over Shipwreck Beach, I felt like ghosts were going to fly out of the ship. It was nothing but us, the dark gray sky, and the rusty boat out in the distance!

After dropping in on one of the few hotels on the island, we drove through the Garden of the Gods, had lunch, and decided to go back to Oahu since it was raining. In 3/4 of the day we’d driven on almost every major road on the island! If you ever get the chance and you’ve got someone who can drive a jeep to go with you, then I highly recommend taking a day trip (or more) to Lanai. Make sure you can handle bumpy roads and even if you don’t get car sick — take a Dramamine.

Here are a few of the pictures I took on this trip:

This is the contraption they used to get me on/off the plane.
The jeep we rented.
One of the roads our jeep had to traverse. I am not sure if we had any metal left on the underside after we got done!
The eerie shipwreck beach. Felt like I was in the Goonies.
The garden of the gods. Super neat to drive through.

My accessible travels: The “sounds” of NZ

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Waking up in Milford Sound, NZ

I thought it might be cool to post some quick blurbs about places I’ve managed to go despite my wheelchair and muscular dystrophy. The first place I thought would make sense to mention, is the place you see in the header on my blog. I can’t remember whether it’s Doubtful or Dusky sound in New Zealand but I took it as our cruise ship sailed along the coast of the southern island of New Zealand. We woke up in Milford Sound then spent the day cruising the other sounds. Most of the time we were the only boat within sight.

People either love cruises or they don’t. I find them the best way to deal with traveling in a wheelchair. You get to see a lot without the hassle of getting from place to place. I wish there were more pre-planned accessible cruise tours so you can easily leave the boat when it’s docked, but you can plan your own and get out and see the ports of call on your own. Sometimes it’s nicer than having to crowd on a bus with 100 other people. Here are a few more photos from that part of New Zealand. Make sure to click on them for the bigger view.

Reduce stress about your mobility issues

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The end result of checking out maps, making calls, renting a jeep and off-roading it on the island of Lanai.

Do you ever get stressed out about venturing to a new place because of access uncertainties? Although I have traveled and done a lot of new things, I still get a baseline level of stress whenever I am going somewhere new. Whether it’s a new city, a new sporting venue, or even just a restaurant, there are situations that can stress us all out. Here are a few tips about how to deal with mobility-related stress and new places:

1. Look at a picture

With Google Street View you can see many places as if you are standing right in front of them. I find that when I am going somewhere new, it helps immensely to reduce my stress if I simply look at the street view of the place. It’s a great way to scope out steps, parking spaces, entrances, and even what happens to be next door! I also like to use street view to check out regular streets in other countries just to remind myself that these places are often just as accessible as the U.S.!

2. Call in advance

If looking at the picture doesn’t calm you enough, then calling somewhere ahead of time is a great way to reduce stress too. For example, a few years ago I was nervous about going to a concert during Milwaukee’s Summerfest down at the lakefront. I called ahead and discovered that they actually have special volunteers who take disabled guests from the ticket gate all the way up to their seats and also answer any questions along the way. This really eased my nerves. Often times if you call ahead then the good places will be prepared for you and even keep a look out.

3. Remind yourself you’re not the first person to ever go where you’re going.

This is a trick I use when all else fails! I have mentioned this before in my blog, but it bears repeating. If you are really starting to freak out about how something is going to work out then take a deep breath and remember that you’re not the only person or disabled person to ever do what you’re about to do. Unless you’re planning on cutting a path through a nearby forest or take a trip to the dark side of the moon, you’re not going to be the first person going where you’re going. Others have gone and managed. You will too.

4. Get there early!

If you’re ultra concerned about accessible parking or getting into a place or other logistics, the best thing you can do the day of your new adventure is get there early! If you know you have ample time before the event then you’re not going to freak out because you can’t find a parking space or you don’t know where the accessible entrance is.

Do you have any tips you use to calm your stress when you’re going somewhere? If so, please post them in the comments section.

Disabled people live everywhere

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I was daydreaming about going to Europe and caught myself hesitating. A slight fear crept in that was rooted in the phrase, “How will I get around?” I hate it when those sorts of fears creep in but I love it that I am now able to control that fear by reminding myself that disabled people live everywhere. Why wouldn’t I be able to get around in my wheelchair wherever it is I want to go? Other people who live there do it every day.

Logistics are a common concern for everyone, disabled or not. There are some logistical issues with traveling to unknown places like: “How will I get from the airport to my hotel?” or “How will we get around the city?” The key to getting over these questions is remembering that there are answers to these questions no matter where you plan on going. How do I know this? Because people move about the Earth all day every day and many of them do it in wheelchairs, with walkers, canes, etc. Some are deaf, some are blind. These people can do it, so why can’t you?

Think about how you get around your own city for a minute. Is it scary? Probably not. Or at least not as much as an outsider might fear. Someone said to me once, “I really want to go to Hawaii but I am afraid about how difficult it will be to get around.” I first laughed out loud but then said, “You have nothing to worry about it, I do it every day!” The funny thing is that the person saying this was able-bodied!

Fear of new things and places is common. But if you find yourself deterred by fear, remind yourself of the following:

Someone else does this/that every day! I can do it!

Now go plan your trip.