Not that I like to admit it, but the Aussies have well and truly one-upped us on this one! Tourism NSW have set up sydneyforall.com, a site quite similar to this one really, featuring ‘accessible reviews’ on some of Sydney’s biggest tourist attractions. The site acts as an access portal, and contains information on the accessibility of places like the Opera House and Sydney’s Botanical Gardens. It also has a section on accessible transport, which contains downloadable ‘access maps’, information

Thanks to Jenny for this review! Sylvia Park shopping mall is situated in Mt Wellington, just off the Southern motorway, which makes it easy to get too. Entrance: Sylvia Park has many entrances which are all level access and some entrances have sliding doors. Mall: The whole mall is great to get around in, level surface and all shops have a level entry. The mall has an outside area of shops, mostly undercover too. One thing which I liked in

Thanks to Saphiya for this review! Ahh, the library. Not the funnest place to go, but sure is an educational one! The library doors open automatically onto a long ramp (which you have to try and steady yourself on, or it could be one hell of a ride), passing a small cafe where customers can sit, enjoy a coffee and read. Although not part of the library itself, the ramp did not provide a flat surface to steady a wheelchair

I called up The Edge this morning to purchase tickets to Chris Rock’s show in August at Auckland’s heritage Civic building, which me and my two mates are really looking forward to! So imagine my disgust when I was told that there is only provision for the disabled person and “one carer”, and that if I wanted to go with my two friends, one would have to sit in a different area of the theatre. When I enquired as to

For those of you that are total adrenaline junkies, have I got news for you! You might not have realised this, but Auckland’s iconic SkyTower has this little ledge around the outside of it called the ‘SkyWalk’, where people who are crazy enough can go for a walk around the outside of the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. And now, they’ve built this neat little harness contraption which means that people with physical impairments can join in the fun

Okay team, I’ll keep this brief – if you live in Auckland and are passionate about access issues, then a research team want to hear from you! Prepare yourself for the pitch blurb, it reads like this: The Disability Resource Centre (DRC) is working in partnership with independent research company Bennett and Bijoux Ltd to conduct research about what it is like living with disability in Auckland City. The research is being conducted on behalf of the Local Government Centre

Around the top of the list for any traveller to Auckland should be Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World. Hidden away along Quay St, you’d never think such a massive aquarium was hiding under Auckland’s stunning coastline! But the shark-infested tanks are there, along with the myriad of other brightly-coloured sea creatures, and is most definitely worth the rather exorbitant entry fee. I spotted one mobility parking spot, and the rest of the parking spaces were all full, so it might even

So over the weekend, I’m not afraid to admit, I was all prepared to get tickets to Westlife’s Auckland gig for me and my sister at the Vector Arena, as we’re both long-term old school Westlife fans from years ago! I saw that the ticket prices ranged from $89.90 and $150, but I was shocked to discover that the only wheelchair-accessible seating was priced between $125-$150! So not only were wheelchair users asked to stump up at least $35/ticket more

Some time ago, I wondered whether Beijing was ready to host the 2008 Paralympics. I think this picture says it all, don’t you?

Ah yes, the venue with the infamous heavy doors, as illustrated with a bizarre 3-men-in-a-disabled-bathroom incident on TV One’s CloseUp programme in October last year, is back making headlines. Or at least, my headlines. A friend and I visited the cinemas, located adjacent to Auckland’s Aotea Square, last night to see the movie The Bucket List. I went and bought the tickets, two frozen cokes (a vital necessity!), and hurried toward the lift, as we were already 5 minutes late.