Strong Voices

When a bike ride the length of New Zealand coincided with an award ceremony at Government House, friends Hamish and Jonathan finally met in person.

Once a week, Hamish Gilbert logs in to his Zoom account just as Jonathan Abplanalp is opening his computer in another part of the country. They’re both getting ready for their weekly online catch-up.

Hamish and Jonathan first connected almost four years ago through the IHC i-Volunteer Friendship Programme, which matches volunteers with people who have an intellectual disability.

The two friends met via Zoom and shared stories, their latest news and many interests. Their chats continued even when Jonathan was travelling overseas in 2023, restricted only by time differences and the strength of public wi-fi connections.

“We’ve got lots in common,” says Jonathan. “We’re both in our 20s and we both love the outdoors and doing outdoorsy stuff. Hamish has done the Duke of Edinburgh Award and I’m right into hiking as well.”

“We usually talk about what we’ve been doing over the week,” says Hamish, “and what we’ve got coming up.”

Last year Jonathan decided to take on Tour Aotearoa - a bikepacking adventure that stretches 3000 kms from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

He was keen to challenge himself physically and mentally, but he also wanted to use his adventure to raise funds for IHC, motivated by his friendship with Hamish, who has Down syndrome.

At the same time as Jonathan was planning for Tour Aotearoa, Hamish learned he was the winner of the 2024 New Zealand Down Syndrome National Achievement Award.

The prestigious award recognised his outstanding success in education, employment, sports, leadership and advocacy.

Hamish has passed NCEA Levels 1 and 2 and achieved the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award in 2020.

He runs his own social enterprise recycling metal and is a strong advocate of workplace inclusion and accessibility in his community.

He’s also a very successful athlete - a swimmer and winner of many Special Olympics medals and has competed in surf life-saving and triathlon events.

Hamish’s award was presented by the Governor General Cindy Kiro at Government House at the same time as Jonathan was coming through Wellington on his ride. It was the perfect opportunity for them to finally meet in person, so the day before the award ceremony they met in Upper Hutt and Hamish joined Jonathan for the Upper Hutt to Petone leg of the bike ride.

“I was up for the challenge,” he says. “I thought it was pretty cool to join in and meet Jonathan. It was a good experience.”

“It wasn’t Hamish’s first time bikepacking,” Jonathan points out. “We rode to the Petone waterfront; it was a really nice ride.”

The pair also took the opportunity to spend some time together and explore Wellington after the ceremony.

Back at Hawke’s Bay, Hamish hung a map of New Zealand on the wall to chart Jonathan’s route.

“I was tracking him all the way,” laughs Hamish. “I could see where he had been and where he was going. And he was messaging me and checking in.”

Hamish was delighted to hear that Jonathan had made it to Bluff on 2 December. In all he raised just over $1000 for IHC.

Not surprisingly, they’ve both got a lot on this year as well. Jonathan is working hard and Hamish is training and fundraising to take part in the swimming at the Special Olympics 2025 National Summer Games in Christchurch in November.

Meanwhile the two friends still find time for their weekly online check-ins.

Keen to learn more about i-Volunteering? Visit www.ihc.org.nz/volunteer

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Caption: Jonathan Abplanaip and Hamish Gilbert on their bike ride.

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