September 9, 2005
Travelling with Disabilities: Profiles of
Adventure Travelers - Innovation on the Edge
As so many times before, this website continues
to create contacts with so many interesting individuals. This morning
I received an email from a person in Santa Cruz, California, who
had come across my website and wanted to contribute some of his
own articles.
Scott Rains is an expert on disabled travel and runs a blog about
this very topic at www.rollingrains.com
where he provides valuable articles and links to various disabled
travel resources on the net. Scott even provides some extremely
timely articles about Hurricane Katrina and accessibility issues
for disabled evacuees.
Scott has given me permission to share some of his writings with
you, starting with an article featuring a variety of disabled athletes
and travellers who have truly pushed the envelope and accomplished
things that most able-bodied people would only dream of.
So many of us, including myself, don't realize how good we have
it. Disastrous events like the hurricane disaster in New Orleans
highlight how incredibly fortunate most of us are. Here are some
stories of heroic individuals who have managed to overcome the limitations
of their disabilities and ventured forth into endeavours that will
astound you.
Profiles of Adventure Travelers - Innovation
on the Edge
By Scott Rains
The hazy sunset light over the Indian Ocean and the beer in my glass
had reached the same shade-–gold with hints of crimson. They
were both, I imagined, about the same temperature. All around me
the buzz of conversation was picking up as the gathered travelers
spun out their stories and the atmosphere became buoyant with large
grins and almost-believable hyperbole.
I had already played my best hand in the game of travel adventure
one-upmanship-–getting trapped on a cross-Canada rail trip;
scooting out of a Guatemalan caldera as the volcano erupted jets
of steam; back-paddling frantically when I found myself between
a towering moose and her calf.
I burrowed further into the overstuffed hotel sofa for a night
of Aussie storytelling and sat back satisfied just to be along for
the ride.
To my right, Tony was telling the story of his hitchhiking walkabout
across the entire continent.
One of his adventures included being dropped off at a waystation
in a particularly lonely stretch of Australian desert only to discover
that it was closed and abandoned. He was still carrying his walking
stick. It was almost as willowy as fly fishing rod and fitted with
a shock absorbing spring. Tony used it to punctuate his sentences.
He wielded it with all the familiarity of a shepherd and his sheleighleigh.
He said he preferred it to the usual white cane that stigmatized
him as blind.
To my left, almost dancing his wheelchair with pent-up energy,
Justin recounted his adventures along the northern coast of Western
Australia.
Justin was developing a spit of land as an eco-camp. Getting there
was the challenge--over sand, across a tidal flat with treacherous
mud, fording a stream. His solution was a six-wheeled amphibious
vehicle that sounded more like it required an aircraft pilot’s
license in his hands.
The beer got warmer and the stories wilder but the tall tale telling
went on for hours.
That night I resolved to look into others who were pushing the
limits of their disabilities through adventure travel. Here are
links to a few stories that only scratch the surface of what some
people are doing:
Erik
Weihenmeyer: Blind mountain climber summiting Everest
Mark Theobald: Kayaking
with Disabilities, http://www.disabledadventurers.com/:
Hilary
Lister, a quadriplegic sailor .
Dave
Player of "Wheeling around the Algarve"
Caroline
Walsh, diving with disabilities
Gerrard
Gosens: the quest to become the second blind man to summit Everest
Danny
Winters: fishing for mobility challenged people
Jesse
Owens marketing off-road wheelchairs
Matt King
, a world-class blind tandem cyclist
Dana
Bowman, an elite army amputee parachutist
Theron
Wright, a flying school for children with disabilities
Polly
Vacher, flying scholarships for the disabled, http://www.worldwings.org/
Michael
Miller, disabled paraglider
Casey
Pieretti, amputee skater
John
de Frayssinet, disabled couple breaks the absolute World Air
Speed record
So, pioneer a new sport. Go climb a mountain. Uncover a new frontier.
And add your name to this list!
Useful Books:
Related Articles:
An interpreview preview with disabled travel expert: Dr.
Scott Rains
A compilation of inspiring
stories of disabled travellers and athletes
Useful information: Rights
of travelers with disabilities
6 practical
tips for disabled travellers for preparing to travel
Advice for travel
with a canine companion
Scott Rains reports from his trip through the
Monterey Aquarium
Scott files a report from his 2004 visit to the Adventures
in Travel Expo
Beans Around
the World: A can of beans was Scott's travel companion
Scott Rains is the publisher of www.rollingrains.com,
a useful website with valuable tips and information for disabled
travellers.
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