Accessible travel on Kangaroo Island

It’s well known that many people with cerebral palsy (including myself) have to manage with pain and fatigue. These symptoms factor into everything we do, from performing daily tasks to planning a holiday. As I age with cerebral palsy whilst still wanting to travel, I’ve found that I need to include more rest days as part of the overall holiday to allow my body to recover and avoid burn out. 

I’ve always wanted to visit Kangaroo Island, located 15 kilometres off the south coast of South Australia, which is renowned for its pristine wilderness, unique wildlife, and rugged coastal rock formations. However, I was concerned about how accessible the island was overall, especially for people who cannot walk long distances and/or use mobility aids.

Even if a tourist attraction is accessible, for ambulant people with cerebral palsy, the walking distance to reach the particular attraction might prove to be exhausting and difficult, especially if it involves long inclines or hills. 

During my research, I came across Discover Adelaide Tours and was impressed that their website actually stated that they welcomed guests with disability. The owner Liz Green was very responsive to my enquiries about the 2-day Kangaroo Island tour, and I ended up booking it, feeling assured that I could do the tour with my walking frame. Soon after booking, Liz let me know that she had just purchased a lightweight electric wheelchair and that I was welcome to use it as well. Now, I had never used an electric wheelchair, but I thought this would be a great opportunity to try one out! 

I decided to first use the wheelchair during our initial day on the island at Seal Bay Conservation Park, which has a 450 m boardwalk down to the beach. The electric wheelchair was a complete game changer. I didn’t have to focus on walking and trying to avoid tripping whilst trying to keep up with the park guide. I didn’t have to endure the pain in my arms that I experience after pushing a walking frame over a long distance.

Instead, I could simply enjoy the park guide telling me about the amazing Australian sea lions around us in their natural habitat as I rolled alongside him down the boardwalk. No pain. No fatigue. For once, my mind finally felt free, not having to deal with the usual toll of walking and trying to calculate how much energy I would need. And the best part? I didn’t have to worry about the 450 m return to the head of the boardwalk! I could just zoom back up the hill, effortlessly. 

Throughout this amazing tour of beautiful Kangaroo Island, I had the option of either using my walking frame or the electric wheelchair at each destination, depending on how I felt and the distance involved. This allowed me to conserve energy when needed and enjoy the tour even more, even in the expansive wilderness of Flinders Chase National Park on the western side of Kangaroo Island.

Unfortunately, 96% of the park was scorched during the 2020 Black Summer bushfires, but the silver lining is that now the park features a new accessible visitor centre and accessible boardwalks to most of its attractions along with breathtaking views. 

There is so much to experience and enjoy on Kangaroo Island, from seeing wild Australian sea lions and playful long-nosed fur seals up close to even taking a dune buggy trip across Little Sahara! It’s so encouraging to see tour operators now offering options such as electric wheelchairs to help people with limited mobility enjoy their tours to the fullest. So, when you’re looking to travel, be sure to ask tour operators what they do to make their offerings even more accessible. You might be surprised by what you find. 

More information about Discover Adelaide Tours can be found here: 

Discover Adelaide Tours | Premium Small Group Tours from Adelaide. 

If you have found this blog helpful or would like to reach out, please don’t hesitate to contact me via LinkedIn: Wade Costley | LinkedIn