Travel and Getting Beyond The Front Gate

Matt is an avid traveller who has taken it upon himself to make it is easier for others to follow his path.

He began the first disability travel website in the country back in 1998 (www.globalaccess.com.au) which he still operates to assist travellers when he can. However in 2001 he joined the people at www.accessibility.com.au as a correspondent and he provides them with material after his journeys so that others can learn from his experiences.

Matt regards travelling as an adventure, a rite of passage that enables us the opportunity to find something about ourselves from other places. Matt thinks that this is especially true for those of us who have a disability. As he says:

"It does not really matter where we are travelling too, as long as it is somewhere beyond the front gate. The journey down to the south coast, or over to Canada to the Rocky Mountains, is as equally important in as much that we are seeing something new, trying a new experience and hopefully, in the process, discovering how much more there is to Life that we can enjoy".

As a traveller with a disability Matt knows the ability to follow through one's dream is not always an easy thing. The task of setting out in an unfamiliar city in order to discover it may be daunting. But if one is armed with advanced local knowledge, good humour, and a sense of adventure things are made much easier and the end result is a fabulous experience.

Unfortunately access can mean different things to different people. As the general population is made up of people with different likes, needs and expectations, so too are people with disabilities. Some of us can cope with a building that has two steps leading into it, others cannot.

It is with all this in mind that Matt endeavours to serve the readers of www.accessibility.com.au as best he can by providing travel information.

If you are interested in reading some of Matt's travel tales just click here: Getting Beyond The Front Gate With Matt

If you are interested in reading the transcript from Matt's interview on Getaway (July 18 2002) just click here or read about Matt's appearance on Getaway (August 15 2005) here.

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