accessibility.com.au - Travelling Beyond The Front Gate By Matt Laffan

Canada
The Great Adventure And Escape

When I turned my eyes north to Canada as a place to visit I had in the back of my mind that Vancouver was the place to begin. Way back in 1986 as a kid living in Coffs Harbour I had the great pleasure to meet a bloke by the name of Rick Hansen.

I met Rick when he was half way through his Man In Motion tour as he wheeled himself around the world, gruelling day by gruelling day from Canada from 1985 to 1987, all around the world.

Rick wheeled over 40,000 kilometers, through thirty-four countries on four continents. It took Rick and his team two years, two months and two days to complete this incredible odyssey. He wheeled between 50 and 70 kilometers a day.

The journey took the team over rugged mountain ranges, and through deserts, including our own Simpson desert, and he into powerful headwinds. Rick wheeled through the United States, Great Britain, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China before returning home to Canada in August 1987.

He was the premier athlete of Canada at that time, and I don't just mean wheelchair athlete. This man was it!

I distinctly recall shaking hands with this handsome, strong man who had a winning smile and an obvious killer instinct to maintain his goals and drag along others with him. He was and remains a great man who turned his dream into a reality and has created so many more opportunities since. Do yourself a favour and visit Rick's web site: www.rickhansen.com

So I knew that Vancouver was the city I wanted to see. It was Rick's town. Sam Sullivan lives there too and as Deputy Lord Mayor was a mighty fine influence and man in the city. He also happens to be in a wheelchair having become a quadriplegic after a sporting accident.

Sam was influential in establishing with Rick a network of sporting and adventure activities accessible to people with disabilities, such as the first ever Disabled Sailing Association.

Me and my travelling companion/carer found Canada to be fantastic as the natural beauty of the country and the warmth of the people created a wonderful experience for us.

Vancouver

Accommodation:
Rosedale on Robson
838 Hamilton St. at Robson
Vancouver BC, Canada V6B 6A2
Ph: (604) 689-8033
Fax: (604) 689-4426
www.rosedaleonrobson.com

Transport:
Vancouver Accessible Taxis
(604) 871 111

Vancouver is a beautiful, Canadian city that is very accessible. It has a marvellous atmosphere with a fantastic harbour. Stanley Park, which is right along the foreshore of the harbour, is easily accessed by people in wheelchairs and offers a wonderful walking experience for the visitor. I found that locals and tourists alike used the bike tracks and walkways and that it was a really happy and beautiful place to be. There were boats and ships on the harbour and the skyline was nothing but forests on one side and city on the other.

I discovered that you could do just about anything on your holiday in Vancouver. In the city itself there are plenty of pubs, clubs and restaurants to visit. And in the surrounding wilderness and on the harbour there are fun outdoor activities to enjoy as well.

City highlights :

Going for a trek in the Spirit Park

Spirit Park Trek
BCMOS Wilderness Access Office
(604) 222 1312 (May through to August)
(604) 688 6464 (September through to April)
TrailRider
solovson@reachdisability.org
www.reachdisability.org/bcmos

The BCMOS Wilderness Access organisation are a group of bodies and volunteers that cater for people with disabilities who want to access the wilderness adventures available. The Spirit Park Trek organisation, for example, run treks and hiking tours out of their office. I just went for a simple 1 and a half-hour hike with them in Spirit Park on their TrailRider, a contraption designed in Canada to transport anyone who has a disability that prevents them from walking the trails themselves. This allowed me the exciting opportunity to hike through the forest and to sample the Canadian wilderness first hand. They also organise over night hikes and I recommend you contact the organisation well in advance if that is they type of experience that interests you.

The TrailRider, as you will note from the pictures, is designed to cope with big men, and not short blokes like myself. But fortunately I strapped into the machine snugly and my guides worked it like a dream. My journey through the trail was just fantastic as it opened up the forest for me in such a way that would not have been possible otherwise.

As it was explained to me, and as I experienced from the free wheeling TrailRider that was beautifully balanced, the machine is guided over large rocks and tree roots that fall across the path with relative ease. Some of the guys they have taken out on big overnight treks have been big men, but they have coped easily with the task.

They also organise teams to do an Access Challenge which takes place over three days high up into the mountains. They are hoping 5 or 6 teams will participate this year in around August. If it is something that sounds good to you I recommend you contact Suzanne at solovson@reachdisability.org for all the details.

Going for a sail on the harbour

Jericho Sailing Club
1300 Discovery Street
Vancouver, BC V6R 4L9
(604) 222 3003
dsa@reachdisability.org
www.reachdisability.org/dsa

I also went for a sail out on the Harbour with the Jericho Sailing Club. The Disability Sailing Association operates out of their clubhouse. Again for a nominal fee of ten Canadian dollars I got to experience one of the great aspects of Vancouver: Its Harbour! Whether you are an accomplished sailor or a novice like me, it does not matter because the volunteers at the Jericho Sailing Club will provide you with an experience you will treasure. I spent nearly two hours out on the water and had a fantastic time. For those who are interested in sailing for people with disabilities this is a great adventure in Vancouver and it is where the disability sailing association chapters began some ten years ago.

The Vancouver Accessible Taxi service were extremely punctual from my experience. They were there right on the minute for which they were ordered. The drivers were not the most engaging guys in the world, no small chat on offer, but they got me to where I needed to go swiftly and safely and that suited me perfectly.

Calgary/Lake Louise/Yoho National Park

Accommodation:
The Westin
320 Fourth Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 2S6
(403) 266 1611

Transport:
The Handibus
(403) 276 1212

Friends 4WD Pick Up

When I flew into Calgary I had a couple of things in mind. Calgary, "Cowtown", is famous for its Stampede and the Folk Festival. Although I missed out on the Stampede I did make the Folk Festival and if you love listening to quality music out beneath clear skies in beautiful surrounds this is the gig for you. Set on the Princes Island the Folk Festival was a tour highlight. David Byrne, Billy Bragg, The Cowboy Junkies and Australia's own The Waifs were among the artists that played over the three days.

I was interviewed over their by CKUA Radio's Lisa Robinson who was in charge of their travelling treasures segment at the time, and I attempted to sell our own country as the place for Canadian's with disabilities to visit.

Calgary is a town set on the prairies and is only a couple of hours drive from the mountains and National Parks for which Canada is famous.

When in Calgary an old friend, John O'Hanley met up with me and drove me through the Yoho Valley and alongside the Yoho River. We ventured up to the mountains and went to Lake Louise, before heading to John's favourite water falls, the Takkahaw Falls.

We were able to park in a car park and then walk right up to the Takkahaw Falls, which are spectacular, along an accessible path. As the photographs illustrate the accessible bridge and path provided the perfect opportunity to get up close to the majesty of the falls and feel the spray against my face.

The great transport coup of Calgary was the Handibus. For around ten Canadian dollars you get a book of 14 tickets which entitled you to 14 trips on the bus all around Calgary. It is the cheapest type of accessible travel I have encountered and the staff are fantastic and from my experience punctual.

Calgary folk festival
www.calgaryfolkfestival.com

Jasper
3 nights

Accommodation:
Jasper Park Lodge
P.O. Box 40
Jasper, Alberta
Canada T0E 1E0
Telephone: (780) 852-3301
Fax: (780) 852-5107
Email: jasperparklodge@fairmont.com

Transport:
Peace Air (flight from Calgary to Jasper)

Jasper Park Lodge

It was then time for some luxurious living in Jasper and I took a trip to the Jasper Park Lodge. Although this part of the journey was due to an absolute fluke! I had been listening to CKUA Radio on-line here in Australia and entered my e-mail address into a competition they were running for two nights accommodation in the Jasper Park Lodge. For some crazy reason I won. So when I knew I was going to Canada it was too good not to cash in on the prize and I took up it up with relish.

I flew with Peace Air from Calgary to Jasper and return. The 90 minute flight gave a fantastic perspective of the mountain ranges as they rose up out of the prairies and headed for the mountains.

I was met by one of the Jasper Park Lodge (JPL) staff in their 4wd cruiser. Although there was no accessible transport as such, they were more than happy to pack me and my wheelchair into the back of their vehicle and drive me to the Lodge. The forty minute drive revealed more of the wonderful natural beauty of the region, and as they passed some Elk and deer one got the sense that the true Northern American experience was being realised.

I stayed at the JPL and simply enjoyed the natural environment. I walked along the trails and roadways that skirted around the golf course, and took to the water in a paddleboat. I was invited to join others on other excursions such as to the glacier and up into the mountains, but I was content to catch up on some rest, write letters on the deck, sample some Canadian beers and just enjoy the fantastic views. I found after a tough day of doing all these things that a quiet whisky in the lodge while watching the sun go down behind the snow capped mountains was simply perfect.

Warnings that should be heeded:

It so happens that I suffer from sleep apnoea which ordinarily causes no problems. It is treated easily thanks to a BiPap Synchrony and I go about my business. However, I foolishly did not consider the fact that being in the mountains I was many many meters above sea level. This of course means one is breathing in thinner air and even robust folks get a little oxygen depleted. For someone like me it is worse and potentially very dangerous. On my last few days in Calgary I was really getting knocked about, breathing was tough, I was finding my pulse rate was high and things were getting a little tight.

Once I was in the plane and sucking on some oxygen, and more importantly, back at sea level everything recovered quickly. However, if you have any sort of breathing difficulties associated with your disability play it smart and consult a specialist before heading into the rarefied air of Canada.

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