View from Here
This quadriplegic computer technology teacher from Pretoria was injured in a gymnastics accident 36 years ago. Despite his disability, he loves to travel and camp. He tells us more about accessible campsites and his favourite places to stay.
Have you always loved the outdoors? I grew up in Krugersdorp and attended gymnastics camps around the country and overseas during my school years. These camps, at places like Die Oog Holiday Resort in Mookgophong and Rustenburg Kloof, made me fall in love with nature. At that time, my family also went on holiday to the KZN South Coast every year, to places like Hibberdene, Umtentweni and Shelly Beach. All that changed in 1982 when I became a quadriplegic.
What happened? I landed on my neck during a tumbling competition and broke my sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae, seriously injuring the spinal cord. I spent six months in the HF Verwoerd Hospital in Pretoria for rehabilitation (now Steve Biko Academic Hospital). Today I can drive my own car. At one point I even owned a wheelchair-friendly caravan. My desire to travel never went away, but I quickly realised that it would be much harder for me. In the early days, many places weren’t wheelchair-friendly, airlines wouldn’t allow me on a flight without an assistant and guesthouses were advertised as wheelchairfriendly when in fact they were not. My uncle used to work for the National Parks Board (now SANParks). After my rehab, I visited him a few times at the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock. We talked a lot about how South Africa’s national parks could be made more accessible to wheelchair users. Eight years after my accident – in 1990 – I travelled as a coach with the national tumbling team to competitions in Germany and Russia. A decade later I toured New Zealand and Australia with the South African wheelchair rugby team. Your experience overseas? Wheelchair accessibility and assistance is generally better in the other countries I have visited. In 2011, I accompanied a school robotics team to France and the Netherlands and it was easy to plan a wheelchair-friendly tour. I never had any trouble getting in and out of buses and taxis. More and more, information is becoming available online and in international magazines like Access Travel Australia and Disability Travel in Greece.
The biggest challenge when you travel locally? Finding information about wheelchairfriendly destinations and accommodation. Travel magazines and websites should include this type of information. The website rollingsa.co.za suggests some wheelchair-friendly accommodation options, but there are only 15 places listed in South Africa. It’s a shame!
What do you look for when booking accommodation? People with disabilities know that it’s hard to make an entire campsite wheelchair-friendly, but at least try to make one stand accessible, preferably near the ablution block and the reception office. It’s easy to do: The owner of the campsite can just borrow a wheelchair, sit in it and see whether he or she can get to all the important places. Likewise, in an ideal world, guesthouses should have a wheelchair-friendly entrance and one bedroom with a bathroom big enough for a wheelchair to move around in. My girlfriend Ronel Cronje and I camped in Port Alfred last year. The ablution block had a wheelchair ramp and an accessibility sign on the wall, but 2 m further there was a step at the door! Had it not been for that step, I could have taken a shower without any assistance. How wheelchair-friendly is South Africa in general? Accessibility has improved greatly since my accident. All our national parks are wheelchair-friendly, as are the ATKV resorts. Loftus Caravan City in Randburg customises caravans for people in wheelchairs. Other places – like Helena’s Overnight Accommodation in Bloemfontein and the Weesgerus holiday resort in Modimolle – are also great. The Lekkeslaap website ( lekkeslaap.co.za) is by far the best resource for wheelchair-friendly accommodation, but I have encountered problems at some of the places listed there.
What is the one thing you want others to know about people with disabilities? We also like to travel and camp. It’s easy and affordable to make a place wheelchair-friendly.
Your favourite destination in South Africa? Anywhere accessible where I can practise my photography. I love the Ratlhogo hide in the Pilanesberg National Park and I always enjoy visiting Addo.
If you won the lotto? I’d hit the road and visit all the small places in the Karoo. I’d also really like to see Botswana and Namibia.
What’s your dream destination? I’m planning a holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday, but I’m not yet sure whether it will be a local or international trip. Maybe Rio de Janeiro, Vietnam or Croatia… Or maybe I’ll find an accessible game reserve in South Africa. I’m a keen photographer so Zimanga Private Game Reserve in KZN would be a dream destination.