Churchill Fellowship 2024

What an incredible adventure. I don’t just mean travelling to the other side of the world and jumping out of planes, but the whole experience from when I first had the idea to apply for a Churchill Fellowship all the way through to writing up the report when I returned.

I took an idea that I have been working on for the last few years in teaching wheelchair skills through my social enterprise and went to the opposite side of the world to connect with people, learning from their ideas and experiences. People are at the core of any good story and I was able to meet with some incredible people.

Itinerary confirmed and flights booked

It doesn’t seem that long ago I received an email confirming my success for my Churchill Fellowship application. It still all feels a bit surreal...

Final Countdown to my first flight

As I’m writing this blog I’ve got one eye on the calendar. The countdown to the start of my Churchill Fellowship is almost into single digits. An adventure to countries I’ve never visited before...

Touchdown in Melbourne

I’m writing this blog on train from Melbourne to Sydney which has given me time to reflect on the first week of my Churchill Fellowship and what a week it’s been!...

Next stop, Sydney

I started my Churchill Fellowship at a fast pace in Melbourne. There was a lot going on. I thought that after such a busy first week that it was going to slow down when I got to Sydney. I was wrong...

Brisbane, my final stop in Australia

Brisbane was my final stop in Australia and it certainly didn't disappoint. Continuing the trend from previous cities my time there was full of meeting fantastic people to have fascinating conversations!...

Kia Ora from Auckland

Each city that I’ve passed through during my fellowship has seemed like a blur. Auckland has been no different. I have crammed as much as I can in and my time here has flown by...

Te Ika-a-Māui to Te Waipounamu: driving north to south

When one door closes, another door opens. So when I enquired at the tourism office about wheelchair accessibility on intercity buses leaving Auckland and was told that they aren’t, I started to think about other options...

Christchurch – last call on my fellowship

After six weeks, four major cities, two road trips, two ten hour plus train journeys and more accommodation than I can count on my fingers and toes, I've arrived in Christchurch - the final city I will visit on my Churchill Fellowship...

Churchill Fellowship report published

Writing this report was an interesting project, both because it is not something I do a lot of with most of my writing being shorter blog posts as opposed to the long form needed for this report, and also that I didn't know what the final report would look like so really wasn't sure of the best...

Fellowship epilogue

Aotearoa New Zealand offered the perfect opportunity to indulge something else that I enjoy - adrenaline. The plan was simple. Rent a campervan and drive to the next adventure activity...