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SPRING 2023 InTouch | 11 AN AMAZING 3-WEEK ROAD TRIP ADVENTURE! Carolyn Campbell-McLean is 49, lives with her partner Steve and SMA, uses a powerchair and BPAP and works as a Senior Community Support Specialist for Muscular Dystrophy NSW. She loves succulents, pink and travel! FEATURE Accessible Aotearoa Living in Sydney my whole life I have always wanted to cross the ditch and visit our neighbours in NZ. I think COVID convinced us all that life is short, and we should get out and about when its safe! So I spent 9 months planning our dream road trip around both islands and we are so glad we did! Day 1 of our 3-week Kiwi Adventure was fun, adventurous and stressful! The eagle lifter is excellent at both Sydney and Auckland. QANTAS managed to lose our hoist battery, and we waited over an hour for a $200 accessible taxi that never arrived! So off in the Sky Bus it was. We arrived to brilliant service and a luxurious room at the QT Hotel. Luckily my 3 amazing amigos carers also do weightlifting in their spare time as it was a sling lift into bed! After a call for help in the NZ Accessible Travel Forum we arranged a lifesaving battery loan from the amazing Kimberly Graham from Grab Your Wheels, Let’s Travel! Buying her a coffee didn’t seem enough! Steve and I then set off to explore Auckland. Dodging light showers we drove around Viaduct Harbour, Princess Wharf, then into town where we were impressed by the friendly, calm vibe of this Harbour city. We headed in the direction of the Brewery Co-Op for a great selection of pale ales. Our Skytower experience 60 levels above which was stunning despite the impending weather emergency! The next day we did 14km around Auckland. An accessible ferry trip to Devonport was a real highlight. Our NZ road trip begun! Freedom Mobility delivered our wheelchair accessible Mercedes Sprinter but despite the luxury feel of the vehicle the front passenger seat was fixed and not enough legroom for Stevo. So, we detoured via the Freedom Mobility depot for some problem solving and ended up swapping vehicles – a Renault we nicknamed Continued over ... Carolyn and Steve at the Geothermal Geysers in Rotorua. The landscape turned Jurassic- like as we neared the volcanic crater of Rotorua. A great place to explore – so flat and central. We spent a good half day at the Te Puia Geothermal and Māori Centre – and we saw kiwis up close!