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Beach access for everyone

There isn’t much more Kiwi than spending time on the beach, but for a long time they were out of reach for some. But things are changing and some of our best beaches are being fitted out with features to make them much more inclusive, writes Kimberly Grah

Kiwis love to spend time at the beach, but how do you get there if you’re in a wheelchair? If you have ever tried wheeling, pushing or pulling a manual wheelchair through soft sand, you would know it’s hard-going, and not a particularly pleasant task.

As a family, we are well aware of the difficulties and constantly strive for family inclusion.

We love travelling around New Zealand, but always need to plan trips with accessibility in mind.

Our oldest son, Finlay, is a powerchair user and unable to self-transfer; he depends on us for assistance and a mobile hoist for all transfers. He is a tricky character to accommodate, but we do like a challenge, and he loves getting out and about.

Thanks to our local community, our son has a Hippocampe all-terrain beach wheelchair, which folds down into a handy flight bag to take anywhere.

It has large balloon wheels now, which makes it easier to push through sand to access the water.

This chair has given us and our son access to many more beaches that were once out of reach.

Solutions do exist for providing better beach access and inclusion for everyone.

One of the biggest barriers is funding, resulting in a lot of community advocacy to create awareness of the need. It then takes local philanthropy, fundraisers and disability advisory groups within councils to come onboard.

In recent years, beach access has started to improve with the help of organisations like the Halberg Foundation, which has made great progress in equipping councils and surf lifesaving clubs with adaptive equipment to improve access to recreation.

The beach access mats have finally arrived in New Zealand from overseas, and city councils are rolling them out on their beaches.

Our beaches are beginning to open up to wheelchair users, people with walkers, and those with sensory challenges who find walking on sand extremely stressful.

Aotearoa’s top 10 accessible beaches

I decided to base this list on the ‘‘accessibility wins’’ being made in communities to make the beaches welcoming to everyone and creating inclusion.

Mt Maunganui

Mt Maunganui in Tauranga has to be the role model for making things happen, thanks to the city council’s disability strategy. It will roll out three beach access mats over the summer months, one at Pilot Bay, one at The Cenotaph and another at Cutters Cove.

Two beach wheelchairs are for loan at the Hibiscus Surf Club and at the Pa¯ pa¯ moa Surf Club. They have fully-inclusive disability changing facilities with plenty of parking.

Both beaches are flanked by wide, wellmaintained pathways, wheel-in eateries, and even the loan of a powered TrailRider to head up to The Mount’s summit.

Waih¯ı

Waihı¯ Beach in the Bay of Plenty has a new beach access mat that will be rolled out from Labour Weekend until late April.

Waihı¯ has the famous Goldfields Rail Trail, plenty of accessible local restaurants and a long stretch of picturesque beach.

This beach has two beach wheelchairs for hire, the Sandcruiser and the Hippocampe. These chairs are awesome. We have a Hippocampe, of course, and the Sandcruiser is wonderful for those easy selftransfers from a wheelchair.

Both chairs are loaned through the Waihı¯ Beach Top 10 Holiday Park.

Pa¯pa¯moa

Tauranga’s Pa¯ pa¯ moa Beach has two beach wheelchairs for use from the Pa¯ pa¯ moa Surf Life Saving Club.

This beach is a popular destination for holidaymakers, and home to an award-winning wheelchair accessible studio apartment, Studio Nautilus, Pa¯ pa¯ moa. This is definitely a place to mark off your list of places to visit.

Takapuna

Takapuna Beach on Auckland’s North Shore also has a beach access mat being rolled out from Labour weekend until late April.

This summer, the beach will welcome a new toilet and changing facility, which will include a Changing Place.

The Changing Place will be life-changing to those unable to self-transfer, who need a caregiver to shower and change at the beach.

The beach is set to be equipped with a variety of beach wheelchairs with improved mobility parking.

There will be an extension completed to the playground, which includes a wheelchair platform swing in time for summer.

Days Bay Beach

Days Bay Beach in Lower Hutt has a beach access

mat available throughout the summer, with beach wheelchair hire through the Lyall Bay Surf Club.

The local Access and Inclusion Advisory Group worked hard over two years to make this happen. It has been a game-changer for the local disability community.

New Brighton

North Beach New Brighton in Christchurch will have two beach wheelchairs over the summer period at North Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.

There will also be a mobile hoist to assist people into the wheelchairs, and a beach mat that will be rolled out too.

A hoist is something that is rarely considered, so well done to the North Beach Residents Association for including one.

Tokerau

Tokerau Beach, Kaita¯ ia, has a beach wheelchair for loan through Tokerau Beachboys.

Gary and Mary, originally from Hawaii, set themselves up on the beach and teamed up with the Halberg Foundation to bring surfing to people of all ages with disabilities. They loan the beach wheelchair to anyone who wants to access the beach.

The changing rooms are well-equipped at the surf lifesaving club. There is good access to the beach with the use of the boat ramp.

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach in Hawke’s Bay is a long, wide accessible beach, which is extremely popular in the summer months.

An all-terrain beach wheelchair can be booked through the Napier City Council website, with pickup from Kennedy Park, to be taken out for use at the

beach. It has a $50 refundable deposit.

Lake Tikitapu

Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) Beach in Rotorua is a stunning beach, especially when there’s a clear sky to appreciate the colour of the lake.

As a family, we’ve visited Rotorua many times, but never been able to follow any tracks due to wheelchair access.

Now, with the TrailRider we were able to take Finlay around the whole lake, and access the beach along the way. This was a very special moment for us, and one day we would love to return with a picnic to this spot.

This is thanks again to the Halberg Foundation for funding, and Rotorua City Lakes Council for facilitating the TrailRider for use in Rotorua.

Waipu¯

Waipu¯ Cove Beach has recently improved its access tenfold, with concrete paving from the surf lifesaving club along to the boat ramp access.

There are two new beach wheelchairs for use on Labour Weekend, and then from November through to Easter.

The beach wheelchairs can be booked through Camp Waipu¯ Cove.

This is a stunning beach to make accessible with a mobility park right on entry.

Staying safe

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2021-09-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-19T07:00:00.0000000Z

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