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Easy access to beaches is a key reason that people live on the Hibiscus Coast – however, that access can be difficult, or even impossible, for those with disabilities.
It’s been five years since Red Beach resident Rachel Peterson, who has muscular dystrophy, has been able to spend a day at her local beach although she swims at the Leisure Centre pool.
After a recent double mastectomy, the 47-year-old put ‘spending a day at the beach with my family’ on her bucket list.
“I have always loved the ocean,” she says. “It is so different from the pool – I find it grounding, spiritual and therapeutic. I think I am a mermaid!”
A chance conversation with Red Beach Surf Club committee member Andrew Short, who works for assisted technology company Permobil NZ, got things moving. The company sponsors the surf club, and Andrew is an accessibility advocate.
The club has a C1 South floating beach wheelchair that was provided by the Halberg Foundation a few years ago for use by a member’s daughter.
It was brought out of storage for Rachel, and the responses to her excited post on social media, when she first got down to the beach, made it clear that there are many others who would love to use it. As a result, the chair is now freely available – you don’t have to be a surf club member.
Getting in and out of it can be tricky, and a friend, carer or family member is needed to assist. Surf lifesavers are also there to show people how to use it. Clipped into the chair, people can be pushed down the ramp onto the beach and into the water, where it will float.
Andrew says the club, which has a lift, values accessibility.
Both he and Rachel, who has worked in the disability sector and lobbies for better accessibility, say that matting on the beach so that wheelchairs can get to the shore would be a great step to take, if the community and surf club want it. The local board would also need to approve it.
“It just takes someone to start it,” Andrew says. “The determination of the community is needed to make a change. We have an ageing population and that can also affect mobility. There is a big need out there for something like this.”
Rachel has now joined the surf club and says she will be down there a lot, enjoying the ocean and encouraging others to do the same.
The club administrators have had multiple enquiries about the chair and ask that anyone interested in using it contacts them first, so they can ensure someone is there to help.
Beach access
Ōrewa Surf Club has had mobility chairs in the past, but not currently as it does not have storage space. However, its planned new clubrooms and community hub will have space for two lifts, and storage for two mobility chairs. • C1 South has an Accessible Beaches NZ website www.accessiblebeaches.co.nz, and is updating it to include beaches that have mobility chairs available.
