TrailRiders are all-terrain wheelchairs that open up more possibilities when it comes to bush tracks. Here are our top tips for tackling the trails and off-road fun with the TrailRider.
Cost and Access
Typically, TrailRiders are free to borrow from National Parks provided you book in advance. You will need at least two ‘sherpas’ to assist.
Where To Go
In New South Wales, your best bets are booking a TrailRider from Kurnell Visitor Centre to explore Kamay Botany Bay National Park or the Snowy Region Visitor Centre to explore Kosciuszko National Park. The Dorrigo Rainforest Centre also provides one for delving into the rainforest floor.
In Victoria, three hours northwest of Melbourne, the Grampians National Park lends out a TrailRider from Brambuk the National Park and Cultural Centre. Two of the state’s other famously scenic regions – Dandenong Ranges and Wilsons Promontory National Park – also have motorised TrailRiders for hire, as do other Parks Victoria hotspots.
Book a week in advance to use the TrailRider from Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre in Tasmania. If you miss out, you can always set off on the all-weather, boarded Rainforest Walk. Freycinet and Mount Field also have TrailRiders at their visitors’ centres.
Canberra’s Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve – perfect for echidna and platypus spotting – has a TrailRider for use in sections inaccessible in a typical wheelchair.
This story first appeared in Travel Without Limits magazine. For more tips and tricks, subscribe here.
