When you’re travelling and can’t see, the mini bar can provide some dilemmas.  How much you drink is a matter for you- what you drink can be more of a lottery.

I travelled from Sydney to Auckland recently at the request of RRRT  to conduct some training for Pacific country politicians on the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.  I got to my hotel without being waylaid by hobbits or dragons and discovered that my Aussie dollar didn’t have quite the clout it had last year.

The length of the flight and the two hour time change meant that I arrived mid to late evening, after the hotel restaurant had closed.

I turned to the mini bar for a cleansing ale before retiring.

Reaching into the “electric chillibin” known as an Esky or fridge on this side of the Tasman, my hand discovered four bottles with crown seals, which could have been beers.  But were they beers, and which beers were they?

Who ya gonna call? Out comes the iPhone, and I tell Siri to “open Tap Tap See.”

I place the bottle on the top of the fridge, point the iPhone camera and click the app.  Seconds later Karen (the voice of the iPhone)  tells me it is Jack Daniels bourbon. Not what I want.

Two bottles later, using the same process, the Crownie  I’m looking for comes up in the camera lens, and Karen announces the result.

I crack the twist top crown seal, and settle back to enjoy my New Zealand beer, a happy apper.

Graeme Innes is a lover of accessible apps, and experiences significant withdrawal symptoms when his iPhone is not in his hand or pocket.

• Meanderings