Walk in my Wheels

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Filtering by Tag: road trip

On the Road Again!

May 18, 2016  /  Paul McKenzie

Yes we are officially on the road again after a few months in Echuca working on business matters, renovating a new southern base, refitting a toy hauler (aka caravan), and packing up my old house. It's been a super busy time but still squeezed in some trips down to Melbourne to check in with some of the newbies at Royal Talbot spinal ward.

We got on the road finally last Thursday and we spent our first few days in south eastern South Australia at my mate Seagull's holiday home in Rendelsham. I've got a few old mates down there as I lived there in my 20s and played in the local footy team. Below are some pics from a stormy day out at Beachport pier.

We had a day out at the races for the Mount Gambier Cup and enjoyed some luck coming our way, including meeting a fellow benny there - Trevor Palmer - who is a good bloke and gave us some top tips for Adelaide hotels.

Chatting with Trevor at the races

Chatting with Trevor at the races

Trevor's Fave Adelaide Hotels:

  1. The Stanford Plaza
  2. Mercure Grosvenor Hotel
  3. Riviera

We tried the Stanford, but they didn't have great availability, and were a tad on the pricey side for the nights they did have available. The Mercure ummed and ahhed, had to move some guests out of our room (that had no need of an accessible bathroom), but came through with a good rate and all five nights available.

We've enjoyed our stay here, although we were disappointed to find there's no wheelchair access to the breakfast buffet - heartbroken! We did have the option of room service however which proved helpful. It is a good central place to be (opposite the casino!), with secure basement parking (we will write a thorough review and post soon).

Our room at Mercure Grosvenor Hotel

Our room at Mercure Grosvenor Hotel

In the past I've spent a lot of time doing volunteer work for Paraquad SA so there were a fair few catch-ups over the past few days in Adelaide including contacts at the spinal rehab as well as personal friends. Sadly didn't get to meet any newbies, but hope to be connected with some people that have been through recently and returned to the NT.

We will be hitting the road and heading north to Darwin tomorrow - Thursday 19th May - with our newly renovated toy hauler (rear-opening caravan) and a whole load of our stuff bound for a new life in Darwin as it gets cold down here in the south.

The setup - snow-skiing croc and all - we've had a few looks and piccies taken of us!

The setup - snow-skiing croc and all - we've had a few looks and piccies taken of us!

If you're along the way and want us to drop in give a shout, we're always keen to meet new people and get some local tips. We'll be taking it easy this trip and doing it over a week or so - whereas I normally aim to make it in 3 days.

Wish us safe travels.

Macca out.

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categories / Travel with SCI
tags / wheelchair, holiday, road trip, South Australia, Adelaide, Millicent, Rendelsham, PQSA

Tasmania Travels - teddy bears & all things nice

February 20, 2016  /  Paul McKenzie

Week two of our Tassie adventure was jam-packed. We had a day on the beautiful Bruny Island, played 10 pin bowling with some other bennys, explored more of Hobart and the south-east coast, snuggled up in Snug for a week, met up with old friends holidaying here, saw the latest Star Wars movie, met a bloke battling cancer striving to finish his Huon pine houseboat … yep... some memories we'll take with us to our deathbeds for sure.

It seems we were a little lax at taking photos at Bruny Island, but here's a few of the ferry that we were able to drive the car onto (hot tip: be sure to go to the front of the line to the wheelchair parking spot when you enter the terminal). Oh, and there's a selfie of us at the cheese factory, and one Jess took of a pretty beach where we let Horsey have a swim.

The highlight would have to be the massive lunch at Hotel Bruny - the oysters were MAGNIFICENT! And a close follow-up was the bargains we got from ol' mate at The Green Shed, the islands only second-hand junk shop. Not much more to say... we drove around a bit, stopped at the cheese place, and then the chocolate place, grabbed a coffee and an icecream at the coffee cart place, and then it was time to head back! Lucky for us we got a couple of hours of beautiful weather before it clouded in and started to rain. 

Our only hiccup re. wheelchair access during this time was a trip to the Sandfly Market which was held in the town hall - but the wheelchair accessible door was blocked by a bookcase (we were told to make a complaint to the local council) - luckily with some 4WDing I got to a side door so I did manage to get in. Jess found my resulting purchases (below) amusing.

The below images are from our drive around the D'Entrecasteaux Channel - part of the Huon Trail. The drive south from Snug through to Cygnet and back to Snug via an inland road, was on a gorgeous sunny day, and the landscape was a mix of pretty rural scenes, quaint little towns, and sparkling beaches.

We stopped at Peppermint Bay in Woodbridge, a beautiful spot for cuppa with some interesting architecture and garden sculptures.... Eggs & Bacon Bay was a pretty spot but we were hugely disappointed there was nowhere selling a bacon and egg sanga... Cygnet dished up some healthy grub and an inspiring chat with Rob whose quest is to finish his remarkable floating artwork/home.

Still to come.. blog posts on the remainder of ourTasmanian trip including Hobart, Launceston, our friends Boof, Trent, Jamie, and the 20 year post rehab reunion!

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categories / Travel with SCI
tags / Tasmania, Bruny Island, travel, road trip, wheelchair, SCIlife

Byron Bay Rainforest Resort - Time for a Change

January 13, 2016  /  Jess McKenzie

We were fortunate enough to stay at the Rainforest Resort on the outskirts in Byron Bay, a complex of 9 small huts amongst remnant coastal rainforest. The remarkable thing about this property - aside from the beautiful setting – is that each hut is wheelchair accessible.

The open air porch of our cabin looking out to dense rainforest

The open air porch of our cabin looking out to dense rainforest

The original concept and initial three huts, an open air cabana and roll-in pool, that were built in 1987 were the result of Phillipa Nickol's vision, initially opening as the 'Wheel Resort'. Phillipa was an amputee herself, and had an awareness of the real lack of accommodation facilities at that time for people with disability. The huts were designed with a “South Sea Island village huts” feel in mind by well-known local architect Christine Vadasz.

In 1991 Catherine Carter – a wheelchair user as a result of a traumatic brain injury - took on a half share of the property, becoming full owners with her husband Murray in 1995. Six more cabins were added over the years, the Cabana was enclosed and improved upon, the paths around the property were paved, and air-conditioning units were added.

Catherine too was passionate about the vision for accessible accommodation, she was an outgoing person who continued to swim and ride horses post injury, although her mobility slowly decreased over the years. Sadly Catherine passed away almost three years ago and her husband Murray has been running the property with the help of the Assistant Manager, his 13 year-old daughter Cinta (an official title she has held since she was seven).

Murray admits the resort gets mixed reviews with many finding his “lack of anal retentiveness” in cleanliness and property maintenance not to their liking. Others, like us, have enjoyed the feeling of staying in a tropical hideaway and feeling like we have our own little oasis.

In his time Murray reckons he's learnt a thing or two about people, finding it interesting that although people will readily complain about many things, one thing that he doesn't hear much of is complaints about guests' dogs (the resort is pet-friendly) despite having a few “mangy mongrels” stay at times.

Since legislation was brought in for new accommodation facilities to need to provide an accessible room/unit the Rainforest Resort has catered less and less to those with disabilities as other resorts have been built in the area, and the majority of their guests are 'regular' travellers, often with dogs. Due to feedback from those 'regulars' they've shied away from installing further disability related features in rooms (such as ceiling hoists) so that the huts don't develop a “institutional feel”.

After almost 25 years, Murray has decided he's had enough of the “warts and all” 24/7 lifestyle of being a live-in resort owner and manager confessing “I'm pretty due for a break... I haven't had a proper holiday in all this time.” The property went to auction at the end of November and the paperwork is being finalised at present in the handover to the new owner.

Murray will be there until the end of January 2016 and then... well he's planning to take that well-earned break, time with Cinta, and may even write a book on climate change.

We are certainly hoping to stay again later this year – we have our fingers crossed the new owners will continue with the resort as it has been run with a relaxed, chilled feel and letting the surrounds speak for themselves – although maybe with a little of a refresh to the rooms and facilities.

Have you stayed here before? Tell us what you thought. Would you be sad for it to be closed down or luxury-ified?

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tags / accommodation, Byron Bay, Australia holiday, wheelchair access, accessibility, travel, road trip