Australia : Fri 18th June - Sat 17th July 1999

As with a lot of holidays, I had looked forward to our trip to Australia in June/July since the turn of this year. I had never been the other side of the world before so it was very much a trip into the unknown. We were away for a month and the month passed like a week.

My friend Liz and I have been away together before and she is fully aware of the problems my Ataxia and wheelchair use brings. As a disabled person I think it is important to have the attitude that the problems are caused only due to societies ignorance of wheelchairs and not the disabled person themselves. I think it is best to go away expecting problems too and when something goes smoothly then it is a bonus.

First stop was Cairns. We flew via Singapore which meant a 12 hour flight followed by a 6 hour one. There were no useable toilets for wheelchair users on our flights so I just made sure I didn’t drink too much and that my bladder was empty when we departed. In Cairns we stayed in a Hostel which was very basic to say the least but at £4 a night what do you expect? Unfortunately we arrived there at 7 am and we could not get our room ‘till midday. Apart from that inconvenience the rest of the 6 days were incident free and Cairns and the warm weather were a delight.

Highlights of our time in Cairns were a train trip through the Mountains to Karunda followed by a Rail Car ride back, a boat trip across to the Coral Reef and a helicopter trip over it, hiring a car and driving through Cairns’ tablelands (seeing waterfalls and the Crystal Caves and another boat trip around Port Douglas including sightings of crocodiles.

We then flew to Brisbane and met up with a friend of mine called Miranda. Miranda has FA as well and so I knew her house would be accessible. She is a bit of a traveler herself and actually visited the FAG Office some 5 years ago when visiting this country. Her house was a two hour drive from Brisbane and is situated in the largest small town in Australia called Mullumbimby.

Highlights of our 5 day stay in Mullumbimby were trips to Surfers Paradise, the most Easterly point of Australia, Byron Bay, sampling the atmosphere of Byron Bay Market and just spending time with a good friend, her husband and 2 children.

It was then on to Sydney for another 5 days. Here we stayed in another hostel but in truth this was more like a hotel without the room service or restaurant. The hostel was about 7 stories high and fully accessible for wheelchairs with lifts, ramps and a roll in-shower. It was situated right in the centre of the city, about a 30 minute walk from the Harbour.

Sydney was to me, the highlight of the trip. We were out and about all day, every day. We cruised round Sydney Harbour on a Paddle Steamer (seeing the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from just about every angle), visited Homebush Bay (Home of the 2000 Olympic games), toured the Blue Mountains and visited Centre Point Tower, Bondii Beach and Sydney Cricket Ground. It is worth mentioning here that on our Blue Mountains Tour without the help, patience and understanding of the tour guide Matt (what a good name) I would never have seen the sights that I did. These included the ‘Three Sisters’ rock formation, seeing 3 kangaroos in their natural environment, seeing aboriginal pictures carved into stone rocks and meeting an aboriginal busker.

Next stop Adelaide. Adelaide is very small in comparison to Sydney and it cannot expand as it is surrounded by mountains on 3 sides and the sea on the other. It is split into suburbs of which one is Glenelg. We met up with two of Liz’s friends who live in Adelaide Heather and Jerry. Jerry had a Combi van which was extremely helpful with the wheelchair. Heather and Jerry showed us the sights of Adelaide including Mount Lofty, Marialta falls and the Adelaide Oval. We also visited the Zoo and the Botanical gardens.

With our holiday now three quarters of the way through it was time for what I always thought would be my biggest challenge..............and so it proved! We boarded the Indian Pacific Train bound for Perth at 6.30 on a Friday Evening from the Interstate Train Station in Adelaide. I had booked into the Holiday Class knowing that the wheelchair facilities were limited. Non existent was a better description! I was transferred from my chair to a narrow chair which was still too wide for the corridors and doorways. We were shown to our ‘room’ which consisted of 2 comfortable train chairs facing eachother and a foldaway table. We sat there for about an hour until I needed to use the toilet. The only toilets were along a narrow corridor and there was no disabled one at that.

The carriage Manageress could see the problem and went away for 30 minutes before returning and saying ‘I have some good news for you’ and she continued ‘We have found a first class room for you which has an en suite toilet’ I thought all would be well from that point. I was wrong. The en suite toilet was in what could only be described as a cupboard. I tried using it with Liz’s help but I crushed her as she tried to take my weight. I went in the end but the whole process took half an hour. I could not go through all that again next time and I told the Carriage Manageress.

Again she went away and returned in about half an hour. ‘A member of staff is moving out from the first class disabled carriage’ she said, ‘and when its ready I’ll let you know.’ I wondered if the member of staff was disabled but didn’t think this was the time or the place for a full disabled rights argument. I just wanted an accessible room with a toilet I could use.

The first class disabled carriage was excellent, a bit cramped but this was a train not a 5 star hotel! I could get on and off the toilet myself and even managed a shower on Saturday morning. Bliss! We were denied the first class dining facilities - fair enough - although hearing the announcement ‘The second sitting for dinner is now being served in Matilda’s Restaurant’ as I tucked in to a manky hot dog was frustrating to say the least.

After 2 nights without much sleep (have you ever tried sleeping on a train) we arrived in Perth at 7 am. Perth was quite sunny and warm at times (not bad for mid winter). I decided to make our last stop as comfortable as possible by booking a hotel and I must say I made a very good choice. ‘The Emerald’ was perfect. The staff were all polite and very helpful and the wheelchair facilities were excellent.

Fremantle is a ‘must’ to visit when staying in Perth. It is about 10 miles from Perth and can be reached either by boat (a 30 minute cruise up the Swan River) or by the most wheelchair friendly train I have ever been on. We had 2 days there (reaching it by each mode of Transport) and toured round it on a ‘not so accessible’ coach. As the coach driver had a dodgy back (or so he said) I was helped on board by a fellow passenger.

Some other places we visited were The Perth Mint, the WACA cricket ground, Tumbulgum farm and Underwater World and Kings Park. On our last full day in Perth we decided to visit Rottnest Island. Rottnest Island (So named because it was once inhabited solely by Quokkas (a giant rat-like creature - Hence Rat nest) is about an hours Boat Ferry trip from Perth. It bore a remarkable resemblance to a Butlins holiday Camp (but there was not a red coat to be seen!)

It was then an hour back to Perth, 5 hours flight to Singapore and then 12 hours back to Heathrow. It was a brilliant holiday, the Australian people are all very friendly and helpful (except one we met in our Hostel in Adelaide who called us winging pommies!) and it is a lovely place to visit. Even though Australia won the Cricket World Cup when we were there!

Matthew Law 07/12/99