Beach community in Australia provides specialized wheelchairs to tourists

From The Northern Star in Australia:

Listening to waves crashing against the shore while feeling sand run through your fingers is taken for granted by most people in this region.

Yet for less mobile residents who do not have beach accessible transport, this may seem impossible.

Ballina Shire Council is yet again providing free beach wheelchairs this summer in order to help everyone enjoy all the benefits of the beach. Beach wheelchairs allow
users to enter the ocean and provide better mobility in the sand.

They may also help users do a bit of fishing, which has delighted Ballina councillor Sharon Cadwallader, who has booked one for her stepfather, Merv Cook.

“He is 80 now and always has been a keen fisherman. Because of these wheelchairs my stepfather will be able to go fishing this summer,” she said.

Ballina Council Manager of Tourism and Development, Liz Shepherd, said that having the chairs also helped attract tourists to the area.

“One of the key attractions of Ballina are our beautiful beaches and rivers. Wheelchairs allow people in our community and visitors to experience them,” she said.

The wheelchairs also promote accessible tourism in Ballina, a concept which allows
all groups in society to benefit from local attractions; from those in wheelchairs to parents pushing buggies, elderly travellers and people with temporary injuries, as well as their relatives, friends and other companions.