Accessibility of backpacker tour buses

For the past week, we have had the opportunity to tour a large part of the South Island with our 30 pound backpacks strapped on. In researching how to best travel through New Zealand, we decided to join the Straytravel.com hop on/off bus. Our bus ticket is good for a year (though we are only here for 5-6 weeks) and gives us the flexibility to hop on/off wherever we want for several days at a time. We also liked the idea of meeting fellow travelers from Germany, Holland, Australia, Canada, England, Israel, Japan, etc.

Jumping from hostel to hostel and one small town to another, we have seen Mt Cook (the highest peak in NZ), Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, the NZ rainforest, Milford Sound, and a cave of the infamous glow worms. The Stray bus also leads us to tracks off the beaten path to learn about local Maori culture, greenstone (jade carving factories), hidden waterfalls, and why crazy New Zealanders jump from full speed helicopters onto the backs of deer to capture them live and maintain deer farms for venison exports! (Yes, they actually do this and we saw the video!)

Stray Travel (as well as Kiwi Experience and Magic Bus tours)...a wonderful option for seeing the country and all it's uniqueness. They keep you informed on bus schedules/announcements, and share fascinating cultural stories of the country along the way :)....it's wonderful....if you hear and speak English. Thank goodness Dave could interpret the talking. Our bus driver has never had a Deaf passenger before...is this because of lack of communication accessiblility, or lack of demand by deaf travelers? Do deaf people not grab these kinds of opportunities because of the lack of communication?

The Stray bus has been an exciting (and affordable) way to see the country. But to make this option accessible would mean gathering a group of deafies and finding an interpreter to join you! With voice-to-text on screen technology becoming more available, hopefully in the future we will start to see this system on tour buses. If there is room for a TV at the front of the bus to play DVDs, there is room to provide communication accessibility through voice-to-text technology. It is a right well worth advocating/fighting for to give the Deaf community equal access to unique and exciting opportunties such as Stray.


Photos:
Franz Josef Glacier
The Milford Sound
A swing bridge in the rainforest
The Stray Bus crew