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| Swimming in the ocean |
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Easo
Easo was a little beach, and we needed another tender. We went over there. It was a cool day, but my roommate and I decided to go in the water and I can't believe I am saying this, but the water was nice and warm. But I did not stay in there for a long time because of the waves, and I got water in my mouth, and it was salty. Then we went back to the ship and we had lunch, and then we went to the gym and rode the bikes for an hour and a half. Woohoo! I can't believe people live on that island, but for me, all these little towns that we went to are not wheelchair-friendly, but I made it work.
Noumea
Noumea was a city that we had to take a bus to, but when we tried to get on the
bus, the driver said, “You wait for an accessible bus.” They didn’t speak English, so when we told them that I can walk a little bit with help, they told us that the other bus would be 5 minutes.
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| Waiting for an accessible bus |
In the town where another ship docked, there was a big
crowd there to go on an excursion and you can go in there and get
Wi-Fi. So we went in there and got Wi-Fi, and then after that, we went walking
around and we went into a store and there was everything there. And then we
went out, we wanted to go to a beach, but we looked at a map, but we didn’t
want to go too far and then get back, so there were two little Australian
ladies who were on our cruise and they tried to ask people where you can go and
buy souvenirs. So we decided to follow them and see what they took us to; it
was a little mall, but with nothing there at all. So we went back to the ship,
and hung out at the pool.
Sydney
Sydney is a beautiful place, and I wish we had an
extra day there, but we didn’t. My roommate went to walk the Sydney Bridge, so I went
with her and her brother and sister-in-law. My roommate went onto the Sydney Bridge
and then we went over to the opera house; we saw the Sydney Bridge when we were
at the opera house. We had to take a bus to get to downtown Sydney, and we couldn’t
wait for my roommate to finish so we went back early because it was two hours and a
half, and we had to be back on the ship by a certain time. So I hoped she would
get back on time. It was a nice day. We looked around for a bit and then went
back to the ship.
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| The Sydney Bridge |
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| The Sydney Opera House |
Melbourne
We had two days in Melbourne. The first day, we had
an excursion. We went on a train ride and then we went to a park and we fed the
birds. After the excursion, we went back to the ship and in the terminal, they
had a little store. So I bought another sweater. The next day, we went for a
walk around town to see what was near the ship. The weather was getting a
little better, but it wasn't warm out. We saw if we could get any Wi-Fi so I
FaceTimed my mom and dad. We went to a store where my roommate could get Coca-Colas
for the ship. Then we went back and then I bought T-shirts at the store where I
bought my sweater.
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| The train ride |
Melbourne is a city that is wheelchair-friendly. When we
went on the train ride, my roommate and her brother helped me get into the
train car, so that wasn't wheelchair-friendly. When we were on the ride to the
next stop, when I looked outside, it looked like Hawaii with the tall trees. We
saw a lot of people sitting on the side with their feet out of the train
window.
Hobart
In Hobart, Australia, we went to the zoo to feed the kangaroos, it's hard to get around because it was all rock. We went there at nighttime so it was hard to see. But I went around to see everything, but they made us go back-and-forth to see the different animals, and it was a little hard because at the zoo, it's not paved. So I really liked it, but for me, I wouldn't go back-and-forth like that. There was a talking parrot, and I got to pet a koala bear too. At the end, there was a lady who was working there, and we told her that it was hard for me to feed the kangaroo because everyone who was there was trying to feed them and take pictures. So she told us that she would help me to feed one. So at the end of the tour, we went over to the kangaroos and she got one of them and I got to feed him, and it was pretty cool.
And in the daytime, I hung out in the room, but everybody had to get off the ship in the morning because we were in Australia, and everybody needed to get off and go through customs, but my roommate and her brother and sister had to go on an excursion in the morning, so I had to get off with them away inside the terminal, but I had a little problem, and it was my fault. My wheelchair wasn't charging on the ship, but I had the same problem when we got to New Zealand, and I plugged it in in the hotel, and it didn't charge. I ran into a lady who had a scooter and I asked her what kind of charger she had, and could I look at it. And she showed me what it was, and I asked her, "Can I use it for a couple of hours?" And she said, "Oh, of course! But I need it back when I go to bed." And I said, "Well then, I'll borrow it just for a couple of hours and I'll bring it to your room at night." And she said, "Okay, that'll be fine."
So I plugged it in and it charged. So I was waiting in the terminal to get back on the ship. It was 11:30am when we were finally allowed to get back on the ship. And we worked out at 8:30am, so it was a long morning, but I brought a book with me, and I saw my wheelchair going down because it didn’t have a really good charge. So when I got back in the room, I talked to myself, “Let’s try it again, and see what happens.” So I plugged it in and it charged! So I was so happy. So I left it plugged in and I told my roommate what happened, and she was happy too. So now, every stop that we made, we plugged my wheelchair in.
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| Feeding the kangaroos |
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| The talking parrot |
And in the daytime, I hung out in the room, but everybody had to get off the ship in the morning because we were in Australia, and everybody needed to get off and go through customs, but my roommate and her brother and sister had to go on an excursion in the morning, so I had to get off with them away inside the terminal, but I had a little problem, and it was my fault. My wheelchair wasn't charging on the ship, but I had the same problem when we got to New Zealand, and I plugged it in in the hotel, and it didn't charge. I ran into a lady who had a scooter and I asked her what kind of charger she had, and could I look at it. And she showed me what it was, and I asked her, "Can I use it for a couple of hours?" And she said, "Oh, of course! But I need it back when I go to bed." And I said, "Well then, I'll borrow it just for a couple of hours and I'll bring it to your room at night." And she said, "Okay, that'll be fine."
So I plugged it in and it charged. So I was waiting in the terminal to get back on the ship. It was 11:30am when we were finally allowed to get back on the ship. And we worked out at 8:30am, so it was a long morning, but I brought a book with me, and I saw my wheelchair going down because it didn’t have a really good charge. So when I got back in the room, I talked to myself, “Let’s try it again, and see what happens.” So I plugged it in and it charged! So I was so happy. So I left it plugged in and I told my roommate what happened, and she was happy too. So now, every stop that we made, we plugged my wheelchair in.
Akaroa
The next day, we stopped in Akaroa for the day. We needed a tender to get off, so we got up early, had breakfast, and we got off the ship because we thought we had an excursion in the morning swimming with the dolphins. We went to the place where they had it because it was on the same dock where we got off the tender, and it was open at 9am. So we went there and we told them that yesterday, we went online to pay for it, but they did not get it. The lady who was there said that they only had one spot left. My roommate told them that I needed help and she had to come with me. If I could go, I wanted her to go too. And she said, "I can't leave you here alone on the dock." So she said, "Forget it."
And there was nothing open, so we decided to go back because there was nothing to do. We forgot to bring the iPad to email our friend, so we decided to go to the 'queen's lounge' on the cruise ship. Then we got back on the tender to go back over, and the weather was getting bad and the water was getting rough. So a lot of people didn't want to go out, but we had to. We went over and we met our friend, and we walked around the town. It was a little town; there's not really much to do. After the walk, we went to a coffee shop to have a drink and talk. We spent a couple of hours there and it was super fun, and I wish we had another day there. And when we got back on the tender, the weather was getting cold. The plan was the next day, we would stop in Port Chalmers and go kayaking again, but the weather was getting bad. The captain wanted to get ahead of the weather, so we headed on to Australia.
Akaroa was accessible, but not wheelchair-friendly for most of the places. There was one place that a couple of people had to help get my wheelchair upstairs.
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| Akaroa |
And there was nothing open, so we decided to go back because there was nothing to do. We forgot to bring the iPad to email our friend, so we decided to go to the 'queen's lounge' on the cruise ship. Then we got back on the tender to go back over, and the weather was getting bad and the water was getting rough. So a lot of people didn't want to go out, but we had to. We went over and we met our friend, and we walked around the town. It was a little town; there's not really much to do. After the walk, we went to a coffee shop to have a drink and talk. We spent a couple of hours there and it was super fun, and I wish we had another day there. And when we got back on the tender, the weather was getting cold. The plan was the next day, we would stop in Port Chalmers and go kayaking again, but the weather was getting bad. The captain wanted to get ahead of the weather, so we headed on to Australia.
Akaroa was accessible, but not wheelchair-friendly for most of the places. There was one place that a couple of people had to help get my wheelchair upstairs.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Picton
The next stop on our cruise was Picton. The day was a little better but still cold. We went into town on the bus. It was free so we didn't have to pay. It was a little town, not too much there. These little towns don't have too much there, they kind of remind me of Canmore with people going in and buying stuff. We went into a couple of stores there and I found two T-shirts and a sweater. The sweater wasn't too heavy and it says New Zealand on the front. I tried to buy a T-shirt that says the name of the town or city from every stop on the cruise, so every stop, it would be easy for me to get around, so that was very good.
After that, we sat outside of a cafe to see if they had Wi-Fi because on the ship, you have to pay for Wi-Fi, and they only give you a certain amount of minutes a day. So we emailed our friends that we are meeting the next day in Akaroa. We never met her before. My friend and her became Facebook friends and they email all the time. We told her that we were coming, so they set up the meeting place. Before the start of the cruise, we weren't sure if I'd be able to meet her because it was a place that needed a tender. Then we found out that I could get on a tender so I'd be able to meet her after all.
After we emailed her, we went online and saw if we could go swimming with the dolphins in the morning. We thought our order went through, so we went back to the bus stop and went for a bus ride. We met a sweet lady who was a guide, and she was so nice and funny. She told us all about what she does and all about the town. They have buses like our buses here in Calgary, but they only have one accessible bus, and they have chairs, and we told her that I can walk up with help, and she said, "No, it'll be here in the next 15 minutes." And we said okay, because we only need to get back on the ship. So we talked a little more about the place, and then there was the bus for us to take us back to the ship.
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| Picton |
After that, we sat outside of a cafe to see if they had Wi-Fi because on the ship, you have to pay for Wi-Fi, and they only give you a certain amount of minutes a day. So we emailed our friends that we are meeting the next day in Akaroa. We never met her before. My friend and her became Facebook friends and they email all the time. We told her that we were coming, so they set up the meeting place. Before the start of the cruise, we weren't sure if I'd be able to meet her because it was a place that needed a tender. Then we found out that I could get on a tender so I'd be able to meet her after all.
After we emailed her, we went online and saw if we could go swimming with the dolphins in the morning. We thought our order went through, so we went back to the bus stop and went for a bus ride. We met a sweet lady who was a guide, and she was so nice and funny. She told us all about what she does and all about the town. They have buses like our buses here in Calgary, but they only have one accessible bus, and they have chairs, and we told her that I can walk up with help, and she said, "No, it'll be here in the next 15 minutes." And we said okay, because we only need to get back on the ship. So we talked a little more about the place, and then there was the bus for us to take us back to the ship.
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