However, they are constant challenges for people with physical disabilities, and that is where mobility dogs come in.
Or, more specifically, Emmit: a nine-and-a-half-month-old golden retriever, who is the first mobility dog to be trained in the South Island.
Emmit is being raised, socialised and taught to perform 46 tasks by Arrowtown residents Grant and Judy Reid.
They are the Southern Lakes District puppy development liaison officers for Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, a non-profit organisation and charity based in Auckland.
The couple raised and trained five guide dogs over seven years in Colorado, and saw the need for more mobility dogs when they immigrated to New Zealand two years ago.
Mr Reid, a retired university professor, and Mrs Reid, a retired English teacher, accepted a $500 donation from Life Synergy Expo organiser Sunny Sky last month.
"It'll be put towards Emmit's food and vet costs and we hope to raise more to cover his advanced training.
"The ultimate cost is $25,000 and we're aiming to raise that over the two-year period we've got him," Mr Reid said.
The Reids have raised mobility dog awareness and $3200 from a variety of fundraisers and support from the community, and more efforts were planned, including a stall at the Arrowtown Market Day, on December 27.
However, large Wakatipu companies and service clubs have hesitated to give because there was no guarantee Emmit would be matched with a disabled person in the district.
After training with the Reids, he will go to Auckland for two weeks of advanced training and matched with the most suitable applicant, who could live anywhere in New Zealand.
