walking . is . overrated

I got dragged along to the Auckland museum the other day. I didn’t expect much, and I got a whole lot less.

I think you can catch the funky new green Link bus from town across Grafton Bridge but, being the little troopers we are, we walked. Walking past the hospital is never much fun, considering the not-so-fond memories I - and I’m sure many of you - have of that gloriously sterile building, but on we strode to the magnificent building atop the domain. I must say, I was surprised at the lack of a footpath; my friends and I had to walk along the narrow stretch of road, which we had to share with the constant stream of cars coming to and from the museum, but hey, what’s life without a bit of risk, huh?

Anyway, once inside, we skirted past the entry gate “suggesting” a donation of $5 (unless you’re gonna hold me down and force me, you ain’t getting my money!) and tried to find a way to the exhibits. A few circles of the atrium later, and we eventually made our way to the Maori costume section. Yawn. We journeyed on past the giant elephant and replicas of what childrens’ bedrooms looked like in years gone by, and made our way to the kids’ play area, Weird and Wonderful. It’s actually quite neat, and redesigned since the last time I was there, glad to see they kept the tray of tarantulas. Not. There was quite a steep ramp up from the entrance to the rest of the WaW area, those in manual chairs might struggle without help or really strong arms!

We saw many a thing, and yawned many a yawn, but considering the nature of this blog, allow me to point out some of the really disappointing aspects of my visit from a wheelchair user’s perspective:

• Revolving doors are a bitch. They might look nice, but I thought I was gonna get caught or something, haha. Slow them down or do away with them please!
• The disabled bathroom was appalling. Not only was it poorly signposted (the lady at the information desk didn’t even know where it was), but I had to negotiate two heavy wooden pull-doors, a narrow corridoor too small to turn around in, and a bathroom which was too small to shut the door of once my chair was inside! Mmm, peeing with the door open. How’s that for a good time
• Finally, I was really looking forward to the holocaust area, which was supposedly new, or at least I’d never been before anyway! Turns out, the reason I’d never been before was because it was up three stairs, and no ramp. In an electric chair, there’s not much you can do about that - you simply turn away and go find some more Maori costumes to look at. But nonetheless, it was disappointing.

My conclusion is that, as well as some really dull exhibitions, the Museum is seriously lacking in fundamental access components, which is even more unforgiveable given the multi-million-dollar upgrade it received recently. A decent bathroom and a ramp isn’t asking for too much, methinks!

I’d love to hear from any of you who’ve been to the Auckland museum recently, and your thoughts on the improvements.. or lack thereof