IMAGE: JOYCE SILBERSTEIN/WHEEL THE WORLD
ACCESSIBLE ADVENTURE
ALL AREAS ACCESS At long last, the travel industry is becoming more accessible, with tour
operators and organisations making intrepid travel more inclusive than ever before. Whether it’s a physical disability or a visual impairment, adventure doesn’t have to be off-limits
WORDS: DAVID WHITLEY
For Carrie-Ann Lightley, abseiling in the Lake District wasn’t exactly top of the list of activities she was planning to tackle any time soon. As a wheelchair user, there are certain adventures it’s easy to write-off as non-starters. Although, in this case, the barriers were more mental than physical. “I’m not the most adventurous person,”
says Carrie-Ann, who works for the AccessAble accessibility guide and also provides advice for disabled travellers on her personal blog. “I was a bit reluctant.” But the Calvert Trust in Keswick
specialises in making outdoor activities — whether that’s sailing, canoeing, orienteering or abseiling — accessible by fixing harnesses and ropes so cliff faces can be tackled without leaving the wheelchair. “I loved it so much that we did it again
straight away,” says Carrie-Ann, who also has cerebral palsy. But for her, it wasn’t so much the special equipment that was impressive, but the attitude of the staff. “Nothing was too much trouble,” she says. “They found a way to make everything accessible.” It’s this attitude that is at the heart
of the accessible travel concept, which can be loosely defined as making tourist destinations, products and services available to all, irrespective of disabilities and physical limitations. For adventure travel and outdoor activities, this involves a fair bit more than installing ramps or audio descriptions. The good news is that there are plenty
of people in the industry prepared to make accessible adventure travel work. Scores of small operators are putting in the effort. Dalslands Aktiviteter in Sweden, for instance, has opened up horse-riding to disabled guests, while Galapagos Islands Adventure in Ecuador helps wheelchair users into the water to snorkel, and trains
guides to provide more detailed descriptions of wildlife for visually impaired travellers. In Nepal, Four Season Travel & Tours is developing wheelchair-accessible trails in Pokhara and Dhulikhel. It’s a pattern seen in various countries
where operators are prepared to adapt their approach. The Santa Barbara Adventure Company in California offers well- established electric kayak tours suitable for guests with disabilities, but had a new challenge when a blind couple wanted to book a surf lesson. However, guide Pablo Chalott says it was an opportunity to learn. “As soon as I started the safety talk, I
realised this was going to be tricky,” he says. “I got them to feel the parts of the board, showed them where the sweet spot on the surfoard is, and did my best to explain the mechanics of surfing. We talked about the ocean, what it would feel like, and what do if they fell off their board.”
Testing the limits For travellers with disabilities but adventurous tastes, the operators are there. The problem is finding them. However, both coordination between sectors and consumer awareness are arguably bigger obstacles than product adaptation. In New Zealand, initiatives like Makingtrax are a good indication of what the future has in store. The scheme brings together several accessible-friendly operators from across the country, whether they specialise in whitewater raſting, tandem skydives, kayaking or canyon swings. It functions as a sort of membership collective, collecting the relevant operators together in one place. Another route is to book through
specialist operators. Most concentrate on resort holidays and city breaks, but
LEFT: Hiking the Inca Trail, Peru, with Wheel the World
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