Tasmania’s untouched wilderness draws visitors from around the world, including our family on a recent visit. While there we were keen to find accessible ways for Braeden to enjoy Tassie’s great outdoors and discovered Freycinet National Park offers several accessible opportunities, including accessible walks and a free to loan TrailRider.
Freycinet National Park access
Freycinet National Park has it all with crystal clear waters, rocky outcrops and Australian fauna in abundance. We didn’t see any, but I suspect the wildlife is thriving in such a lush environment.
An easy and wheelchair accessible lookout to enjoy all this gorgeousness is Cape Tourville Lighthouse Walk. This 600 metre boardwalk circuit offers panoramic views of the coastline, Hazards mountains and the Tasman Sea.
The path to the boardwalk is compact and mostly even. A little push power is needed in a couple of sections but I’d pop this walk in the easily accessed category.
For little effort, the rewards are great.
If visiting in the right season you might even be lucky enough to see whales migrating up the coast to warmer waters.
The Cape Tourville Lighthouse Walk is easy to navigate with a wheelchair but if you prefer to take your adventures off the beaten track (to a degree anyway) then there is a TrailRider free to loan from the Freycinet National Park Visitors Centre.
The TrailRider is an all-terrain chair designed to negotiate more uneven and difficult terrain. Two people are needed for operating the TrailRider but it is surprisingly comfortable for both the rider and the guides.
A booking form needs to be filled out and a user guide is provided for terms of use. Staff at the Visitor’s Centre are happy to advise the best routes to take with the TrailRider. And remember, you need to bring your own helmet to be able to use the TrailRider. We packed Braeden’s helmet especially to be able to use the TrailRider in Freycinet National Park. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
A standard wheelchair is all that is needed for the Cape Tourville Lighthouse Walk but you could use the TrailRider if you wanted to make this part of a bigger walk.
A National Park Pass needs to be purchased and displayed on your car’s dashboard.
An accessible stand-alone accessible bathroom is available at the Visitor’s Centre.
Head to the “access friendly” tab on the Parks Tasmania website for information regarding booking the TrailRider.
Stay tuned for our review on All 4 All Terrain Adventures for another way to explore Freycinet National Park.
