On a quick trip to South Australia between Christmas and New Year we had a lovely time exploring Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula. We stopped in at Henley Beach for dinner and couldn’t help but check out the beach accessibility. What we found was a great range of beach facilities ready to help more people access Henley Beach with ease.
Henley Beach, South Australia – beach accessibility
Depending on traffic, Henley Beach is approximately a 20-30 minute drive from Adelaide’s CBD. The area offers dining, entertainment and of course beautiful Henley Beach. The Henley Beach Life Saving Club has an extensive range of equipment to make the beach more accessible to locals and visitors.
A spacious shed contains two Mobi-chair water wheelchairs, a Hippocampe and two beach walkers. The water wheelchairs are fantastic once in the water but we have always found them incredibly hard to push or pull across the sand. They are ideal for people who like to float in the water or need a reclined position for comfort.
Near the Surf Life Saving Club a ramp leads to the beach where beach matting meets it.
The beach matting always makes traversing the soft sand much easier but on the evening we visited it fell short of taking us to the more compact sand.
Nearby a Changing Places bathroom is available with adult-size change table and hoist. Please note you need to provide your own sling if using the hoist. A MLAK key is required to unlock the bathroom. If you don’t have a MLAK and want to know how to get one this post has all the information you need.
Accessible parking spaces are also available along the Esplanade at Henley Beach.
Beach wheelchairs are available free to use at Henley Beach. Pre-booking is essential by either phoning 08 84081333 or visiting the council website.
Council requires that for all wheelchair bookings that you have someone with you to assist at all times for safety reasons.
You are able to leave your personal wheelchair in the locked storage area whilst using the beach equipment.
Beach wheelchairs and walkers are available from October to March each year with two session times for hiring.
Morning hire: 8.30am – 12.30pm
Afternoon hire: 1pm – 5pm
*Where high tide is reported, the beach mat may be removed but if you have a booking you will be contacted.
Henley Beach Surf Life Saving Club also offers a Snippers program for children with a disability. It’s a modified junior program which operates on Saturdays alongside the Nippers program and is open to all children and families. For more information about the program you can email community@henleyslsc.com.au
A big thank you to the lovely lifesaver who opened the storage locker for us after hours so we were able to share the range of available equipment with you all.
Looking to beach hop and enjoy a variety of beaches? One of our kind readers sent us a review of Seacliff Beach, another beach close to Adelaide.
Henley Beach is a vibrant and relaxing spot to enjoy a day at the beach, a picnic on the lawn or a good session of people watching.
Two of the young surf lifesavers recommended Pasta GO GO as the place to go for a made to order pasta so that’s just what we did. It was fast, delicious and it was pleasing to see the restaurant can cater to dietary requirements. Gluten free pasta is available and there are plenty of vegetarian options. You can pick and choose what you add to your pasta.
Seating with a beach view was all we needed to add for the perfect end to our day of exploring. Henley Beach gets a big thumbs up from us.
