From The Lowest To The Highest
Australian Geographic Magazine|November - December 2018

“The brakes are smoking!” I shouted to Duncan over the noise of screaming disc brakes as I tried to control a 75km/h speed wobble on the Alpine Way above Khancoban, near the New South Wales–Victoria border. I was doing my best to hold the tandem-trike steady with my one functioning hand while trying to let my blind stoker (the rear cyclist on a tandem bike) know what was going on. I was his eyes, he was my legs and we were more than 2000km into an adaptive human-powered journey that would take us from the continent’s lowest point to its highest.

Paul Pritchard
From The Lowest To The Highest

I WAS PART of a five-person team, each with a heap of disabilities, attempting to be the first to cycle between Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre and Mt Kosciuszko, on the Lowest to Highest expedition. The team was Walter Van Praag with cystic fibrosis and only 38 per cent lung function; paraplegic Daniel Kojta who pedalled with his hands; Conrad Wansborough who lives with chronic pain after a spinal injury; legally blind Duncan Meerding; and my hemiplegic-epileptic-aphasic-self.

This ride would be the culmination of years of planning and the development of a philosophy of empowerment for people with disabilities. We were all very interested in moving away from the charity model, where people are largely pitied, to the more inclusive social model, whereby people are disabled by barriers in society not by their impairment or difference.

I have used a recumbent trike ever since being released from hospital in Liverpool in the UK in 1998 after spending an entire year there. My then girlfriend, Celia Bull, and I were climbing Tasmania’s infamous Totem Pole, a slender dolerite column at Cape Hauy, when the climbing rope dislodged a block that scythed 25m through the air smashing my skull. This traumatic brain injury resulted in hemiplegia, which is the loss of movement on one side of the body, and aphasia, an inability to comprehend or formulate language.

Bu hikaye Australian Geographic Magazine dergisinin November - December 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Australian Geographic Magazine dergisinin November - December 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
SULAWESI SENSATIONS
Australian Geographic Magazine

SULAWESI SENSATIONS

There are worlds within worlds and marvels untold waiting to be experienced on Indonesia's remote islands.

time-read
9 dak  |
September-October 2024
SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS
Australian Geographic Magazine

SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS

Our understanding of where to find ancient life in Australia has been turned on its head by a new appreciation of the country's geology. Now the world is looking to our vast outback as the latest hotspot to locate fossils.

time-read
10+ dak  |
September-October 2024
THE HARDEST NIGHT
Australian Geographic Magazine

THE HARDEST NIGHT

The first Australian ascent of Mt Everest in 1984 is one of the great feats of mountaineering. Climbed by a small team semi-alpine style, with no bottled oxygen, via the Great (Norton) Couloir, it remains unrepeated 40 years later.

time-read
10+ dak  |
September-October 2024
WEDGE-TAILED WONDER
Australian Geographic Magazine

WEDGE-TAILED WONDER

The chance discovery of an eagle nest leads to an extended vigil observing normally hidden behaviours of one of nature's supreme winged marvels.

time-read
3 dak  |
September-October 2024
BURDENED BY BEAUTY
Australian Geographic Magazine

BURDENED BY BEAUTY

Northern Australia's Gouldian finch survives in huge numbers in cages around the world, but its wild population continues to struggle.

time-read
4 dak  |
September-October 2024
A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE
Australian Geographic Magazine

A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE

After a stellar 50 years as one of the country's major scientific assets, the AAT continues to play a major role in keeping Australian astronomy on the world stage.

time-read
7 dak  |
September-October 2024
COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK
Australian Geographic Magazine

COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK

This patch of remnant bush on the edge of the West Australian wheatbelt is a place loved by one of Australia's rarest bird species and the man who has studied the site for more than 50 years.

time-read
6 dak  |
September-October 2024
A PIONEERING PAIR
Australian Geographic Magazine

A PIONEERING PAIR

Louisa Atkinson and her mother, Charlotte, were among Australia's earliest authors, and pioneers in women's rights.

time-read
9 dak  |
September-October 2024
THE LONGEST WALK
Australian Geographic Magazine

THE LONGEST WALK

Lucy Barnard is walking from Argentina to Alaska -the length of the Americas - on an extraordinary journey of endurance and adventure.

time-read
6 dak  |
September-October 2024
SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE
Australian Geographic Magazine

SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE

In an era of heightened social isolation, where many of us lead lonely lives, Dangar Island offers the chance to be part of a supportive, connected community.

time-read
7 dak  |
September-October 2024