TrailRider all terrain wheelchair opens up great outdoors, as Yankalilla Council celebrates Festival of Nature

Heading off the beaten track may seem like a tall order for people with mobility issues – but with a specialised “all terrain” wheelchair now available for free hire on the South Coast, it doesn’t have to be.

Paul Grant, son Cody, 10 and daughter Zoe, 13, who is using Yankalilla Council's new TrailRider at Deep Creek. Picture: Supplied

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A day out together has become much easier for some South Coast families now a local council is hiring out wheelchairs designed to take on hiking trails or sandy beaches.

Yankalilla Council’s “TrailRider” all-terrain wheelchair – believed to be the only one available for families to hire privately in the state – allows people with mobility issues to travel further off the beaten track.

Tourism and events manager Lisa Pearson is encouraging more people to give it a go during the district’s Festival of Nature, which runs from today until September 22.

“We had a group of friends in their 40s take someone with a brain tumour out who was palliative,” Ms Pearson said.

“We also had a bloke that came in and borrowed it for his mum … and she’d established a walking trail. He hired the TrailRider so she could get on this trail that had been named after her.”

The Festival of Nature features 31 events, including farm visits, regenerative agriculture and foraging workshops, snorkelling and the opportunity to try the all-terrain wheelchair and one of the council’s two beach wheelchairs. “The Fleurieu has a beautiful spring coat on and the weather is starting to get warm, so it’s a good time to get people outdoors,” Ms Pearson said.

Among those taking advantage of the all-terrain wheelchair – costing about $10,000 and on long-term loan from Conservation Council SA – is Paul Grant, his wife Wendy and their children, Cody, 10, and Zoe, 13.

Zoe has a rare chromosome abnormality and uses a wheelchair.

“Our whole philosophy is just trying to be inclusive,” Mr Grant said.

“If a normal family can go skiing or walking, why shouldn’t we be able to do that?”

The family recently hired the TrailRider for a trip to Deep Creek. Mr Grant said Zoe, while non-verbal, made it clear how much she loved the experience.

“The faster she goes and the bumpier it is, she really enjoys it,” Mr Grant said.

For more information, visit yankalilla.sa.gov.au/yankalillaTourism/FoN

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