Travelling with a wheelchair
We believe Taronga Zoo is a must-see attraction for anyone visiting Sydney but its location on a hill does mean there are some challenges regarding ease of access is you are using a manual wheelchair. We were zoo friends for many years and visited each school holidays so we know our way around the zoo and have learnt a few tips and tricks which makes a visit easier. Recently
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) to see the Bella Plus Connect program in action. This is a program for people with a disability or access requirements with the motto, “Art is for everyone.” My visit coincided with the monthly community drop-in day. What I saw was a dynamic environment where people can be creative and social with
With only a weekend in Melbourne, I had a long list of accessible places I wanted to check out including Alice’s Playspace, a Touched By Olivia accessible playground. I remember seeing the photos of the opening several years ago, and it looked like a fabulous dynamic playground with many features to inspire play for children with mobility restrictions. I was keen to see it in
Today my friend Sue is guest blogging about the great day her family, including her 3 kids, had at the Early Start Discover Space. It sounds like a fabulous way to entertain the kids these holidays and an easy day trip from Sydney. Over to you Sue. With a background as an Occupational Therapist, I am always keen to find activities for my children that
“Our arms are wide open. Everyone has a space and is welcomed and catered for. You will always feel a sense of inclusion” That’s the opener on the accessibility tab on the Eagle Skylift Arthurs Seat website. The recently opened attraction has gone the extra mile to ensure that it’s accessible to all. And there’s certainly a feeling of inclusion with enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff keen to share information
On our recent trip to Melbourne we checked out three beaches which have outstanding accessible facilities. I’ve already written about Altona Beach (you can catch up here) but I thought I’d pop all three options into one post so if you’re a local, or visiting the area, you can pick one from the list. Or, why not try all three? It’s so wonderful to have choice.
We had the opportunity to attend the opening night of the Sydney Santa Spectacular at Rosehill. It was a charity night and each guest was asked to take along a gift which would be delivered to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. The guys from Camp Quality were there with their puppets and enthusiastic staff selling Camp Quality Christmas crackers. I’m always keen to see if pop-up events
We were lucky that our trip to Melbourne last weekend coincided with an accessible come and try day at Altona Beach (about 30 minutes from Melbourne CBD). I’ve been in email contact with Tom Bevan, the enthusiastic Metro Access and Inclusion Officer at Hobsons Bay City Council, so I’d heard about the successful trial of beach matting and beach wheelchairs last year. I was pleased
‘Tis the season for giving and it’s often the season for scratching our heads over what’s the perfect gift for friends and family. It can be even trickier for people to know how best to support or give to a family caring for someone with additional needs. I’ve already shared my annual gift guide here, but today I wanted to share some ideas which might
When BJ was younger there were no accessible or inclusive playgrounds. When it became too difficult to have him on our lap on a swing or to walk him up to a slide, we started avoiding playgrounds. AJ is younger so it meant that she missed out on family outings to a playground on weekends. I’d take her during the week when BJ was at
When we’ve visited an attraction like Sea Life Sydney Aquarium many times, it’s exciting to hear that there’s something new to explore. Given that a visit to the Antarctic isn’t on our agenda any time soon, we were thrilled to visit the newly opened Penguin Expedition last weekend. AJ and I have been lucky enough to get up close to penguins before, me at Sea
Last week Hubby was in Queensland for business and on his morning walk he spied a gem of a park. Queens Park and Botanic Garden in East Toowoomba looks like a wonderful place to explore with beautiful gardens, paths and an all abilities playground. We’ve seen and reviewed many accessible play spaces but Queens Park has some unique features I love. I’ve never seen anything as
Last Friday I was invited to a briefing on the access and inclusion for Sydney Festival’s 2017 program. Now, this may sound like a dry topic but it proved far from dry. When I was sitting in the room listening to everything that has been put into place to make this year’s festival inclusive to all, I couldn’t help but feel excited. To see how
When it became clear that BJ would need a wheelchair as his main mode of mobility there was a feeling of being limited. I was worried that BJ wouldn’t experience all the things I’d imagined we’d do as a family and that he’d miss out on so much. Feeling limited isn’t a good feeling. With determination and a can-do spirit, we’ve tried to give BJ
Today we had the pleasure of seeing a preview of the much anticipated movie Finding Dory. We were thrilled to be invited to an event where we were the first in the world (well, apart from Ellen and the Pixar crew) to see the movie. BJ was at respite so AJ took along a friend to the special screening. Our family are huge movie fans.
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