Anyone take a trip to Aus/NZ?

[judyfssw]

We are planning a cruise from NZ to Sydney. We would like to go a few days early to see some highlights of Aukland before the cruise. My husband will bring his scooter and possibly the wheelchair for the trip. Then, after the cruise, we would like to spend 4-5 days in Australia seeing the various tourist places there.

Any suggestions?

[Megalodon]

Take a land tour to the Ayer's Rock Resort and make sure to go to the Sounds Of Silence dinner. It was one of the absolute highlights of my month-long cruise/land tour to Australia/NZ.

 

http://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/astronomy/

 

I'm sure the resort is accessible, and i'm pretty sure the site where the dinner is held is as well.

[cjm66]

We are planning a cruise from NZ to Sydney. We would like to go a few days early to see some highlights of Aukland before the cruise. My husband will bring his scooter and possibly the wheelchair for the trip. Then, after the cruise, we would like to spend 4-5 days in Australia seeing the various tourist places there.

Any suggestions?

 

We have done two NZ cruises with Harry's scooter and I am busy planning the third. NZ cruises are excellent for scootering due to the small number of tender ports, Bay of Islands and Akaroa and the wheelchair friendly shuttles that operate at most ports. Would be happy to share research on accessible tours etc for ports if this would be useful.

 

Auckland was fine for Harry but I was a little footsore - it is surprisingly hilly from the cruise terminal. The Sky Tower is accessible - one of the go down and through the basement to go up routes and Auckland Zoo is excellent - we are Zoo tragics. The harbour area is attractive for wandering - have not checked out the accessible ferry or harbour trips. There are accessible buses although you need to wait until one comes around. One really good thing is that NZ tour operators and I sites will answer email queries about accessability and even refer you on if they cannot accommodate the scooter in a luggage bay. We found a specialist tour operator in Napier by this method and were also able to organise a assisted tour of Speights brewery by email.

 

Sydney, although our home town is not so easy to advise on - we go by car and throw the scooter in the boot. Public transport is not very scooter friendly but we have done several harbour cruises with ours - staff helpful and once on board they will find a place to park the scooter - a bit like valet parking for dinner on a cruise! We have also taken it on harbour and Parramatta River ferries - but some wharves are no go due to tidal fluctuations so hop on hop off is not really an option. If you like museums I can provide accessability information for most as we are regular visitors.

 

Hope this helps and would be happy to fill in any gaps or provide specific links to anything of interest. Our scooter is a lightweight four wheeler bike style - similar to the smaller Shopriders.

 

Colleen

[cjm66]

Hi Judy

 

I found this too late to add it as an edit. It could be something to follow up for your Sydney based tours.

 

http://www.australiainstyle.com.au/WheelchairTours.aspx

 

Colleen

[judyfssw]

Thank you Colleen and Megalodun. The things that you talked about sounds so nice. I've been on the computer for 2 days now just dreaming. I know that I will be contacting you when I have more questions.

Thank you again.

[krisnme]

Do they use 110power there, or do you need to bring a converter to charge your scooter? Just wondering.

[MargoK]

Do they use 110power there, or do you need to bring a converter to charge your scooter? Just wondering.

 

You will need a converter plug for NZ power points. Voltage is 240, but most applicances can use both. Have a close look your scooter, it should have a button to swap, or a note about what to do in the manual.

[diza]

Hi Judy,

 

I've never tried to submit a 'reply' before so HOPEFULLY you receive this OK. I believe I can be of help with your questions about Auckland and Sydney. My husband is permanently confined to a wheelchair (doesn't stand or walk at all) so we tend to know the accessible sights etc and we previously lived in Sydney and have recently visited Auckland. Perhaps you can email me at dianec@internode.on.net and ask me some specific questions or tell me the sort of things you like to do and I'll make suggestions based on that. Would you like a local (as in one of my friends or family members) to accompany you in either city or do you prefer to just take yourselves about once you get some suitable information? I don't generally spend much time on the CC website so emailing me will work best.

Hope this helps and I'll wait for your email.

[rsquare]

We're about to depart for Sydney for a New Zealand cruise round trip from that city. We will be renting a wheelchair for my wife, and touring in Sydney with Wheelchairs to Go (http://www.wheelchairstogo.com.au/access.html).

 

At risk of hijacking someone else's thread, I would like to raise the question of accessible bathrooms. In the US, all places of public accommodation are required to have wheelchair accessible toilets with grab bars and room to transfer. Is there anything similar in Australia or NZ? If not, how likely are we to find such bathrooms at restaurants and tourist attractions?

[MargoK]

We're about to depart for Sydney for a New Zealand cruise round trip from that city. We will be renting a wheelchair for my wife, and touring in Sydney with Wheelchairs to Go (http://www.wheelchairstogo.com.au/access.html).

 

At risk of hijacking someone else's thread, I would like to raise the question of accessible bathrooms. In the US, all places of public accommodation are required to have wheelchair accessible toilets with grab bars and room to transfer. Is there anything similar in Australia or NZ? If not, how likely are we to find such bathrooms at restaurants and tourist attractions?

 

Unfortunately Aus/NZ do not have the same mandatory requirements as the USA - mores the pity!!!

 

HOWEVER a good percentage to accommodate people with disabilities. The exceptions tend to be older buildings where access and facilities have not been upgraded. From my experiences (as a Kiwi) as older buildings are redeveloped they then do have to comply with access and facilities.

 

For instance in Sydney finding wheelchair friendly restaurants was not always easy. We even had a Conceirge recommend a restaurant but didn't bother to mention it was down a stairway off the street. When DH enquired about access at the restaurant, he just got a blank look, then an offer to carry me and the chair down the straight flight of stairs - no thank you! :eek:

 

And finding accommodation can often be interesting, places either don't have rooms, or do, but don't advertise them as they really don't comply with new standards, or may have one room out of 100! Plus with the trend for privately owned apartments, there is no compulsion for a percentage of the complex to be fully accessible.

 

BUT things are getting better, it is just a matter of those with disabilities educating providers.

 

At home in NZ when we travel I always plan ahead and make enquiries. Where I find accommodation places do have accessible accommodation but do not advertise I let them know they are missing out on business. And I also congratulate those places which have made access and facilities and tell them I will recommend them!

By the way - thank you for the link.

[cjm66]

We're about to depart for Sydney for a New Zealand cruise round trip from that city. We will be renting a wheelchair for my wife, and touring in Sydney with Wheelchairs to Go (http://www.wheelchairstogo.com.au/access.html).

 

At risk of hijacking someone else's thread, I would like to raise the question of accessible bathrooms. In the US, all places of public accommodation are required to have wheelchair accessible toilets with grab bars and room to transfer. Is there anything similar in Australia or NZ? If not, how likely are we to find such bathrooms at restaurants and tourist attractions?

 

Buildings built under new building codes in Sydney are required to meet similar requirements but there are lots of older, especially heritage listed, buildings where this is not required. There is more appreciation now that accessible tourism is a niche market and this is adding to the efforts of disability advocacy groups to provide appropriate information and services. There are two sites that we use as a broad check before following up on the specific web site to check details or make contact to book or to reserve assessible parking, where this is provided.

 

http://www.sydneyforall.com/index.html For information on wheelchair friendly activities, tourist sites, accessible toilets and more.

 

http://www.eatability.com.au/au/sydney/sydney_restaurants-cafes/wheelchair/ For listing of restaurants in Sydney with wheelchair access and toilets - you can add additional criteria to refine your search.

 

Hope this helps and that you enjoy your time in Sydney. It IS getting better.

 

Colleen

[PrincessPeggyLynn]

My husband is a full time wheelchair user and we did the round trip cruise on the Sun Princess in November 2010 from Sydney around the coast of the the south and north islands of New Zealand. We had an incredible time. The ship was great, the excursions were fabulous and we loved the people we met in New Zealand. We booked private tours on both wheelchair accessible vans and via private car services. Larry prefered the car tours as he can see more and do more with his photography. Most of the newer or newly renovated hotels in Sydney have wheelchair accessible rooms, but as we needed a roll in shower (my husband doesn't do tub transfers anymore since after 41 years of pushing his manual chair, his shoulders are in bad shape and we don't dare take his power chair on airplaned.) The photos that Larry took from our trip are here http://www.pbase.com/roffee/aunz. I have a lot of contact numbers and a detailed itinerary that I would be glad to email you. My email is maggieroffee@msn.com.

 

Maggie

[MargoK]

My husband is a full time wheelchair user and we did the round trip cruise on the Sun Princess in November 2010 from Sydney around the coast of the the south and north islands of New Zealand. We had an incredible time. The ship was great, the excursions were fabulous and we loved the people we met in New Zealand. We booked private tours on both wheelchair accessible vans and via private car services. Larry prefered the car tours as he can see more and do more with his photography. Most of the newer or newly renovated hotels in Sydney have wheelchair accessible rooms, but as we needed a roll in shower (my husband doesn't do tub transfers anymore since after 41 years of pushing his manual chair, his shoulders are in bad shape and we don't dare take his power chair on airplaned.) The photos that Larry took from our trip are here http://www.pbase.com/roffee/aunz. I have a lot of contact numbers and a detailed itinerary that I would be glad to email you. My email is maggieroffee@msn.com.

 

Maggie

 

Hi Maggie - thank you for sharing your photos. I was interested in what cabin you had, as it has a balcony. I didn't think there were any accessible balcony cabins on the Sun Princess. We would love to do Perth to Sydney or v.v some day.

 

As far as a hotel with a roll in shower - we have stayed at The Menzies (and will do so again in less than three weeks) in their one and only accessible room. My Blog has photos of this (and more) www.travellingkellys.blogspot.com DH is the photographer these days as I no longer can hold up a camera to take decent shots :rolleyes:

[PrincessPeggyLynn]

Hi Margot,

 

We've been indulging ourselves for the last few cruises and book the accessible mini suites - the one we were in our the Sun was AC – B335 – Mini Suite Deck 10 Baja.

We're doing the holiday cruise on the Crown Princess with the entire family (kids, grandkids, son's in-laws) departing on 12/24 from Ft. Lauderdale and a back to back in February on the Emerald. All in the accessible mini suite.

Best,

Maggie

[MargoK]

Hi Margot,

 

We've been indulging ourselves for the last few cruises and book the accessible mini suites - the one we were in our the Sun was AC – B335 – Mini Suite Deck 10 Baja.

 

We're doing the holiday cruise on the Crown Princess with the entire family (kids, grandkids, son's in-laws) departing on 12/24 from Ft. Lauderdale and a back to back in February on the Emerald. All in the accessible mini suite.

 

Best,

 

Maggie

 

 

Thanks Maggie - completely forgot about the Mini-suites. Probably because they are a bit out of our travel budget currently!! The balcony is tiny when you compare it to the wonderful Caribe balconies on the Diamond Princess. They are wonderful and even better when they are the accessible cabins!!

 

Have a wonderful Christmas cruise - as you will see from my signature we depart the same day from Sydney!

[PrincessPeggyLynn]

Hi Margo, we book the accessible mini-suites and were in

AC – B335 – Mini Suite Deck 10 Baja on the Sun Princess for our Sydney to NZ cruise.

Maggie

[judyfssw]

I want to thank everyone who has responded. I will be reviewing everything frequently because our cruise is not until January, 2013. We plan to take my husband's scooter and perhaps his wheelchair with us. His scooter has been all over the world and while, it looks it, it works just fine.

We'll be flying into Aukland and then spending 4 or 5 days in Australia after disembarking from the ship.

Again, thank you for your responses.

[mamasylvia]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded! We're looking at a 2013 Sydney/NZ cruise and I'm wheelchair bound so this information is simply priceless.

 

I fell in love with the NZ scenery while watching Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - gorgeous lush green hills & mountains with lovely waterfalls. Any particular area that that description sounds like? Would I have trouble renting a SUV or minivan that would accommodate my oversized but collapsible wheelchair to drive, say, from Dunedin to Christchurch?

[MargoK]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded! We're looking at a 2013 Sydney/NZ cruise and I'm wheelchair bound so this information is simply priceless.

 

I fell in love with the NZ scenery while watching Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - gorgeous lush green hills & mountains with lovely waterfalls. Any particular area that that description sounds like? Would I have trouble renting a SUV or minivan that would accommodate my oversized but collapsible wheelchair to drive, say, from Dunedin to Christchurch?

 

 

Hi mamasylvia - Welcome to Cruise Critic and the wonderful world of cruising.

 

Out of interest, what kind of wheelchair do you have?

 

Hiring minivans will not be a problem, although most will be set up to carry passengers. My Puzzlechair folded down nicely in the van last year, in the space by the sliding door. Just meant everyone had to wait for Pete (DH who was the driver) to unload that before everyone else could get out!!

 

Here is a link to Budget Car Rentals http://www.budget.co.nz/vehicles/cars/default.aspx which shows a good range of cars. Depends on how your chair collapses.

 

Will you be happy to drive or be driven by someone in your travel party??

 

The Taieri train trip out of Dunedin is wheelchair accessible, BUT I understand they use their own special chairs.

 

All the Shuttle Buses at the Ports will be accessible but I am not sure all the ship excursion buses will be - in NZ at least. We are bit behind the times with regulations in that regard, but so is half the world!

 

I will 'subscribe' to this thread., so any questions, ask away and I will try and help where I can. Of course we are off on a cruise shortly ourselves!!:D

 

See my signature - I have a travel Blog is you are interested.

[cjm66]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded! We're looking at a 2013 Sydney/NZ cruise and I'm wheelchair bound so this information is simply priceless.

 

I fell in love with the NZ scenery while watching Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - gorgeous lush green hills & mountains with lovely waterfalls. Any particular area that that description sounds like? Would I have trouble renting a SUV or minivan that would accommodate my oversized but collapsible wheelchair to drive, say, from Dunedin to Christchurch?

 

I do recommend the round NZ cruises or the one way Auckland - Sydney, if you prefer. All the ports, except one or two depending on the itinerary, are docking ports and this is so much easier when you are dependant on a wheelchair - in our case a scooter. The shuttle buses from the wharf to the city centre are marked with the standard wheelchair icon if they are fitted out with ramps and wheelchair seating areas. The queue managers are very helpful in organising priority boarding on these marked buses for anyone who needs it. This is our third NZ cruise and each time we have seen improvements in access and services, including more web sites and tourist operators with sections or FAQ advice for people using wheelchairs. I expect this will improve even more by the time you are cruising in 2013. I will report back on this forum after our April 2012 cruise with an update on our experiences. In the meantime I would be happy to share any of my research on the ports and excursions we have investigated.

 

Colleen

[mamasylvia]

Thanks so much for the info! I've saved the car rental link, and it's wonderful to know most of the ports are docking ports. Does that include Dunedin and Christchurch?

 

My wc is extra wide but otherwise the standard folding wc. It routinely sits in the hatch of our compact SUV (Toyota Matrix) at home, leaning against the back seat, so should sit fine in a rental SUV or minivan, I just think the minivan will be easier for me to get in and out of. I'm a better driver than DH <g> so I'll be doing most of the driving. (I'm also more flexible about adapting to situations like driving on the wrong side of the road!)

[cjm66]

Thanks so much for the info! I've saved the car rental link, and it's wonderful to know most of the ports are docking ports. Does that include Dunedin and Christchurch?

 

 

Dunedin - Yes, you dock at a commercial port (Port Chalmers) One of the most popular tours in Dunedin is the Taieri Train and this has a wheelchair accessible carriage. http://www.taieri.co.nz/

 

There is a shuttle bus into the town - this includes buses with wheelchair access - marked with the standard sign.

 

Christchurch - this depends on when you are cruising. The earthquakes have devastated the inner city precinct of Christchurch and cruise ships are usually calling into Akaroa instead of Lyttelton, which is the port for Christchurch. Akaroa is a tender port. Check with your cruise line and if it is Akaroa try this thread By 2013 it could be back to Christchurch.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1473293

 

Enjoy

 

Colleen

[mamasylvia]

Thanks for the info! I saw some stories about the earthquakes earlier this year and wondered what would be available and safe to see. I didn't know they had affected the port so severely. The cruise we are thinking about isn't until 2013 but that's not very much time when it comes to major city rebuilding.

[Chunky2219]

Thanks to everyone who has posted useful information, I'll be following this thread with interest.

 

We are doing Auckland to Sydney in 2013 and I am a crutch walker/wheelchair users who finds it much easier if I can plan and prepare well in advance.

 

If anyone has an ideas for things to do or see for 3 days pre-cruise in Auckland I'd be grateful. We also have a full day and night on board in Sydney before disembarkation, so any ideas for things to do close to the quay before we head off further afield would be very welcome.

.

.

[judyfssw]

Hi Chunky,

Which cruise date will you be sailing? My husband and I plan to arrive in Aukland on Jan. 1, 2013, and maybe we can get together on some of the private tours. My email address is judyssw@gmail.com