I’ve blogged once or twice before about the foibles of the so-called ‘accessible’ Auckland public transport system, which in reality is anything but.

So imagine my delight when I visited Vancouver as part of my Wheely Big OE, and found automated, truly wheelchair friendly buses and bus drivers! It might have helped that their former mayor was a wheelchair user himself, but nonetheless Vancouver currently stands as the most accessible city I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Click the ‘read more’ link to check out the video!

Isn’t this just a gorgeous image? Captured by the fine folk at Reuters, it shows a group of people in India, with various disabilities, participating in a traditional Indian dance routine. If you’re keen to see some mixed-ability dance back here in New Zealand, maybe it’s time to check out Touch Compass’ upcoming performances.

If you’re not really one for challenging environments, taking on Rome in a wheelchair is not something I’d advise. Of all the cities undertaken on my Wheely Big OE, Rome was by far the trickiest. And, crucially, one of the most expensive. And it’s not like I can say I hadn’t been forewarned! Plenty has been written about Rome’s unsuitability for wheelchair users, especially those in power chairs. Unperturbed, we decided to go anyway.

I cannot stress this enough: when travelling to Rome in a wheelchair, planning is essential. In order to take the Leonardo Express from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to the main station, Termini, you have to email the Sala Blu team at trenitalia.it in order for them to arrange the requisite lift service at Termini. Unless you’re comfortable being hauled down steps, don’t forget to do this! Also, don’t expect a readily-available wheelchair-accessible taxi service! We had a few muckups with our flights, and after ringing what seemed like every taxi company in Rome, ended up spending 140euro (which is around $280NZD) on a taxi to the airport. Absolutely criminal.

This is just so exciting. A group of young people from the UK are organising a beauty pageant for people with disabilities called “Disabled and Sexy”, and I’m not gonna lie – these girls look hot! The pageant is supporting a great cause too, the Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

I find it so so frustrating that disabled people are often seen as asexual beings, thanks in part to the media’s tragic portrayal of us the eternal sufferer. So I’m raising my glass to this lot – I’d love to do something similar down under!

Check out their website for more information.

Horrifying news coming out of Indonesia. From the NZ Herald: New traffic laws passed in Indonesia require disabled pedestrians to wear signs identifying them as handicapped. AFP reports that amendments to local Traffic and Transport Law says “handicapped pedestrians must wear special and clear signs which can be easily recognised by other road users.” Politician Ahman Muqowam told the news agency that the laws were designed to protect disabled people. “This is a humanistic act. It’s for their safety on

Video blog #3: Travel!! from Red Nicholson on Vimeo.

I was booking tickets to a show in Melbourne next month (holiday, yay!) and I was asked if I had a “Companion Card”, which allowed a companion to come to the show for free. Intrigued, I jumped online and had a look. Wow. This is one sweet card. If you’d rather not hear me ramble about how I want to lobby our Government to get one of these up and running, cut to the chase and visit the Victoria Companion

Okay, so I don’t often get mushy about stuff but this has to be one of the sweetest things I’ve seen in quite some time. Nick Chisholm, paralyzed for the last 9 years with locked-in syndrome, has found love on the internet (with a hot chick!). I’ll stop rambling because it’s portrayed much more heart-warmingly in this episode of Close-Up. Check. It. Out. Now. http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/tonight-close-up-2646711/video

Not impressed, Mr Obama. Not impressed at all. Hopefully the YouTube video below will stay live for you all to see this, but the gist of it goes that Jay Leno is asking Barack Obama if he has kept the bowling alley in the White House. Obama replies that yes, he has kept it, and that he even shot a “126″ the other day. Leno scoffs, as if to imply the score is a little pathetic, and Obama jokes that

Apologies for the somewhat convoluted heading. However as it turns out, the below image depicting a (presumably) able-bodied guy sitting in a chair with wheels attached to the sides, is far from a quirky gimmick to attract customers. In fact, it’s part of an advertising campaign by Australian agency JAM to convince punters that drinking and driving is a bad idea. This ambient portion is backed up by a print campaign, which you can read here or by clicking on