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accessibility.com.au - Travelling
Beyond The Front Gate By Matt Laffan
NOOSA HEADS
The Accessible Escape
By Matt Laffan
Updated : Wednesday, 24 November, 2004
Since I returned from the United States
of America last year I have not had much
time to travel and write for accessibility.com.au.
As many of you know I went on another adventure
altogether by taking on the local political
landscape and running for Lord Mayor and
Councillor of the City of Sydney. Since
then I have been flat-out chasing a few
other projects and working hard at my job
as a lawyer for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
However, just recently I was at last able
to again quench my thirst for travel!
In October my girlfriend Michelle and I
decided it was time to have an escape from
our busy city lives. As you can imagine
not having had a break for over a year the
time had truly arrived to clear the head
and breathe some fresh air away from the
hurly burly of home.
Therefore our attention was drawn to the
Sunshine Coast and the very beautiful Noosa
Heads. After a couple of phone calls, some
direct accessible questions to the hotel
of our choice we decided upon Noosa Heads
as being the place to which we should go.
To get to Noosa Heads from Sydney one can
drive or fly. The train route would simply
be too arduous. Therefore we gathered together
our frequent flyer points and flew with
Qantas to Brisbane. One can fly to Maroochydore
as well, which is on forty minutes drive
to Noosa Heads, but it just so happened
that the flights were all booked out for
when we wanted to travel.
The trip between Brisbane and Noosa Heads
is roughly two hours by car. Obviously this
is too costly for a taxi trip, but thanks
to the good people at Freedom Wheels Rentals
we were able to hire a van for the week
which gave us the independence we were after.
In Brisbane we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel
just on Hastings Street in the middle of
Noosa Heads. It was a superbly accessible
hotel and the staff were exceptionally helpful.
Being in the middle of the town itself it
made getting around very easy as I was able
to walk everywhere.
The crew at Paraquad in Queensland were
brilliant in organizing carers for me in
Noosa Heads. I needed a carer once each
afternoon and the staff who came in to help
with my service were lovely.
Paraquad also ensured that a commode chair
was delivered to the hotel for my arrival
so that I could hire it while I was in town
rather than have to bring one with me. Having
the good people of Paraquad only a phone
call away and as a part of my organizational
plans made perfect sense and brought me
a great deal of comfort.
When in Noosa Heads we took up a strategy
of &l24 November, 2004afés were visited
and the beach and national park was explored.
Michelle poured through the shops and the
sea breeze and coastal vista quickly placed
us in a particularly relaxed mood.
For those of us dependant upon wheelchairs
for our mobility Noosa Heads is one of the
best places for access that I have struck
in all my world travels. Almost every restaurant,
bar, café or shop was wheelchair accessible.
 At
one stage I wondered whether we would be
allowed in the town if it were not for the
fact that I had wheels because everywhere
we went there were prams and strollers as
young families enjoyed the escape like ourselves.
This pram bonanza merely reinforced my experience
of Noosa as being extremely accessible as
every place to which we ventured gave way
to an easy path for both of us to follow.
It also supported my argument that if a
place is accessible it is good for the local
economy because it not only inspires people
with disabilities and their companions to
visit and stay and spend their money, but
also families with children in strollers
and the elderly as accessible buildings
and transports benefits all these groups
in our society.
For many of us in wheelchairs it can be
disappointing not to have the opportunity
to access the natural walkways that appear
at coastal escapes such as Noosa Heads.
However, in Noosa a great deal of work has
been done to ensure that the coastline is
accessible for wheelchair users as well.
The boardwalks along the beach line are
beautiful, as is the extensive path along
the river. And a visit to the National Park
is a must for anyone who wishes to look
out on the ocean and catch a glimpse of
dolphins or perhaps a whale out to sea.
When we drove to Coolum Beach some twenty
minutes away from Noosa Heads we were delighted
to find that the surf club had a path that
got me right near the sand so that I was
able to relax and read my book in my chair
while the waves crashed in the distance
and Michelle took to the water to cool off
in the heat of the northern summer.
The whole trip was a fantastic escape where
typically the time went too fast unless
it stood completely still when we indulged
in extra special moments such as when we
shared a champagne at Jaspers which operates
as a piano bar restaurant in the open building
on Hastings Street; or when we dined on
sashimi at Sails Restaurant; or when we
saw a frilly necked lizard stand completely
still among the tree roots off the National
Park’s track; or when we indulged in a Michelle-freshly-homemade
king prawn salad back in our hotel room
with a glass of wine.
Accessible transport:
Freedom Wheels Rentals (www.freedomwheelsrentals.com
and info@freedomwheelsrentals.com) delivered
the van to us at the airport and collected
it afterwards the following week.
Assistance from Paraquad Queensland
Accessible accommodation:
Sheraton Noosa Resort and Spa
14-16 Hastings Street, Box 886,
Noosa Heads, Queensland 4567 Australia
Phone (61)(7) 5449 4888 Fax (61)(7) 5449
2230
Assistant planning:
ParaQuad Queensland
Brisbane Office
Street Address: L1/109 Logan Road WOOLLOONGABBA
4102
Postal Address: PO Box 5651 WEST END Q 4101
Telephone: (07) 3391 2044
Fax: (07) 3391 2088
E-mail: pqaq@pqaq.com.au
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