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We have lift off
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- Published on Monday, 19 December 2011 02:32
- Written by Super User
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It's been a hell of an adventure and achievement even making it here! The sheer remoteness and therefore lack of services available has been a recipe for disability unfriendliness!
To reach the red centre and tourist hot spots - Alice Springs and Ayres Rock (Uluru) – is problematic in a wheelchair. Each step of the journey there has its issues…meticulous and thorough planning is thus essential. From getting there, to comfortably driving around upon arrival, to accessibility into its attractions both physically and financially, obstacles aren’t far away.
I discovered this while planning my holiday there and contacting the relevant parties.
To fly and just get to the centre I ran into my first hurdle with Qantas – the only airline flying to the remote interior.
In most areas of Australia big 767 planes fly. But to Central Oz only Qantas 737 aircraft take to the air. On the surface this is ok but probe a little and it’s not all hunky-dory. 737 planes have smaller cargo hulls than 767’s and only a mere 84 centimetres to house big wheelchairs. My wheelchair is 168 centimetres tall. As a result I have no option but to organize to have my regular wheelchair driven up to Alice in my van from my home in Kensington by half of my party of four carers (the two being 2 attendant carers). They also take my commode and pressure care mattress, which rules out the possibility of having uncomfortable and inadequate equipment delivered in Central Australia.
The other two (Division 2 Nurses) accompany me to Alice in case anything medically goes wrong. I choose these carers for company as they are more qualified to deal with any medical issues that may arise and it makes me feel more secure.
I chose to fly to Alice but the usual road route from Kensington, Victoria (where I live and right near Melbourne city) is to Adelaide the first day, Coober Pedy the second before arriving in Alice Springs on the third. By googling “wheelchair accessible accommodation, Adelaide I discovered cheap wheelchair accessible places at http://www.not1night.com.au/?page=Customer:AvailabilityDetail&hotel_id=1836 and more pricier placesat http://www.stayz.com.au/19073. In Coober Pedy” I found one listing for wheelchair accessible accommodation at http://www.stayz.com.au/access-accommodation/sa/flinders-ranges-outback/coober-pedy. However, no actual accommodation was displayed here once clicking on the link http://www.stayz.com.au/access-accommodation/sa/flinders-ranges-outback/coober-pedy, which emptily says “Perfect accommodation exists for those requiring wheelchair friendly accommodation”.
I probably could have driven up in my van with all my equipment and carers, stayed in accessible accommodation and endured three long days of driving but didn’t in the end. This was due to my recreation specialist recommending business class plane travel to my compensatory insurance body – the Transport Accident Commission – and having it approved. I wanted to see what domestic business class plane travel was like and whether it was any more comfortable compared to my poor body being stressfully and uncomfortably hunched up in economy class.
It wasn’t. Seats hardly reclined at all and I consequently couldn’t really breathe for the three hours it took to get there…scary and anxiety filled to say the least! The gourmet food, steaming hot face towels and eye-pleasing doubly as big TV screen were nice though!
Not only is flying to Alice Springs an issue but driving around the centre is also. Although hire vehicles exist in the remote interior, none for hire do. As a result my van is needed as a get about in a land where 100 km’s is considered a short walk around the block.
In order to achieve flying business some logistics were needed to be thought of.
Normally, travelling interstate is as smooth as can be expected for someone in a wheelchair. If flying, the usual procedure is to book a wheelchair accessible taxi (Maxi taxi) at the very least 24 hours ahead! They’re incredibly unreliable making the thought of walking/driving to the airport more enticing. Then, on the day of flying, hopefully steer my regular wheelchair into the back of a taxi bang on pre-arranged time and hot foot it to the airport. It is essential to order taxi’s at the minimum an hour and a half before departure in case of mishaps. Once there I check in the disability amenable luggage that if an able-bodied person’s, would last them for over a year and transfer into a wheelchair narrow enough to fit down a plane’s tight aisles.