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walking . is . overrated - nz disability news, views, and reviews

Entries from October 2007

Accessible Public Transport: What’s Your Verdict?

October 22nd, 2007 · 5 Comments

Hey all, apologies for the lack of updates over the long weekend, I hope you all enjoyed your holiday! Now, I hate to start the new week off on a negative note so I’m just gonna put it out there:
I hate using Auckland’s public transport system.
Only around half the buses are wheelchair accessible. […]

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Tags: Disability Rights · Public Facilities · Transport

See no evil, hear no evil

October 20th, 2007 · 1 Comment

I’ve often wondered what it would be like to be deafblind. Not in a perverse, gosh-how-bizarre way, but more to discover how someone copes without two of the senses we so often take for granted. To think that communication would be tactile only, and that so much of your worldly experience would be defined by […]

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Tags: Disability Awareness · Ramblings

Intellectually disabled kids passed off as ‘naughty’

October 20th, 2007 · 1 Comment

A Nelson child psychotherapist has spoken up, claiming he sees a handful of children referred to him each year for behavioural and mental health problems, when in reality, it turns out they have an undiagnosed intellectual disability.
The doctor, Joe Babinski, spoke at the recent New Zealand Association of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists conference, which […]

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Tags: Education · News

Wellington gets an accessible swing

October 19th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Great news for those of you living in the bewilderingly blustery city of Wellington, you now have your very own wheelchair accessible swing! The new swing (see the picture on the left, and click on it for a larger view) is located in Shorland Park in the suburb of Island Bay (a pretty place if […]

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Tags: Exciting times · News · Public Facilities

Waitomo Caves are now accessible!

October 18th, 2007 · 6 Comments

Well here’s something I didn’t think was possible, along with the All Blacks winning the World Cup, except this one actually came to fruition - the Waitomo Caves now have a wheelchair accessible route through the Ruakuri cave!
After an 18-year absence, the Ruakuri cave, one of several within the Waitomo caves area, reopened recently […]

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Tags: Exciting times · Positive Reviews · Public Facilities

Review: Esquires, Metro Complex

October 18th, 2007 · 5 Comments

The battle of the coffee chains has begun.
Shortly after CloseUp’s story on this site on TV One last night, I received an email from an Esquires staff member, promising a vastly superior experience to the one I had at Starbucks, which is located in the same building. So I had to go check it out, […]

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Tags: All Reviews · Cafes · Positive Reviews

NZ Special Olympics team triumphant in Shanghai

October 18th, 2007 · 5 Comments

To be honest, I profess to know very little about the Special Olympics, and the types of events competed in, but hopefully this post will bring me (and perhaps some of you!) up to speed with how our team has performed at the recent summer games in Shanghai.
Firstly, huge congratulations are in order, after the […]

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Tags: Events · News · Sport

walkingisoverrated.com on CloseUp tonight!

October 17th, 2007 · 21 Comments

Update: Hey everyone, thanks for checking out the site! It doesn’t matter where you are in the country, if you’d like to contribute an “accessible” review, send it through to me at: red@walkingisoverrated.com and I’ll publish it on the blog! If you’d like to chat some more, head on over to the forums!
With a […]

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Tags: Exciting times · Public Facilities · Site News

Does NZ need a disability awareness week?

October 17th, 2007 · 23 Comments

I’ve noticed that the rest of the world seems abuzz with disability awareness weeks at the moment, a quick trawl through the internet reveals various initiatives going on here, here, and here.
My question for you is this: do we need a disability awareness week here in NZ? What could it accomplish? What activities/events would you […]

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Tags: Disability Awareness · Events

Review: Eden Park, Auckland

October 17th, 2007 · 6 Comments

Eden Park is the biggest and one of the oldest stadiums in New Zealand. It was used as a sports facility way back in 1900, even though it wasn’t much more than a swamp. These days, it seats more than 48,000 people, and in 1999, a brand new stand was built on the northern side […]

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Tags: All Reviews · Positive Reviews · Public Facilities · Sport · Transport