Accessible car parking bays used by eligible permit holders mean equitable access for everyone to go about their lives. They provide essential assurance for those of us with physical limitations when accessing our destination. Because, when it comes to parking, our choices and alternatives are way more limited than someone who is non-disabled. But there are associated unhelpful, and unwelcome, social and systemic side effects.

As a newbie to this wheelchair game, I was feeling a little reticent and self-conscious about using a beach wheelchair during our recent visit to Noosa in beautiful Queensland. It really had been ages since feeling sand and water under my feet and why else would we be at this Aussie iconic beach destination (apart from food and champagne of course, but I can get that in Melbourne)?.

We tracked the wheelchair down at a nearby hotel, and for a mere gold coin donation this rubber-wheeled jalopy was ours and I was on the pathway to salty watery freedom with a small dose of terror.