Some of us like sitting on a beach somewhere staring into the deep blue, whilst others prefer a more adrenalin-filled holiday, maybe skydiving or scaling the side of a mountain is more your thing but I am pretty sure I can confidently say that there wouldn’t be a person reading this now who doesn’t enjoy a good holiday. 

Believe it or not, for me, my excitement really ramps up as I start to think about packing my bags to go. Yep, you heard me right… packing! I’m one of these maybe slightly crazy people that get a real kick out of challenging myself to pack as lightly as humanly possible. This inevitably means, at some point, I’ll end up at a local shopping centre wherever I am to pick up something that missed being packed. 

On a recent trip to a coolish Hobart, my penchant for light packing saw me unstuck when I realised we had booked an ocean boat tour that took in the landscape and the wildlife surrounding Tasman Island, however, I’d managed not to pack anything that was both warm and waterproof. So, with an already strained credit card in hand, off I went to the only clothing store I could find.

Last week I was lucky enough to travel to Hervey Bay on Queensland’s stunning Fraser Coast with my friend and Business Partner Tash for some work and a bit of a look around, and you know what’s even better than travelling to a place that has a myriad of fun things to do and great places to stay and eat? Having a brand spanking new Küschall KSL wheelchair to do it all in.

Hervey Bay is honestly such an amazing place for a wheelchair user to explore, with around 17 km of decent quality pathways (even with my new 6-inch front castor wheels).

The opportunity to explore along the coastline which takes in some stunning views of the Great Sandy Strait and encompasses the 70kms of waterway between the mainland and the picturesque Fraser Island, was one I couldn’t pass up and in one day pushed 14kms in my trusty new KSL.

If you’re up for a challenge, the Urangan Pier is something you will want to put on your “To Do” list while in this amazing part of the world. The Pier is steeped in history from as far back as 1913 and was originally built to a length of 1124m but was shortened to 868m in 1985 after narrowly missing being demolished altogether. If the history of the Pier is not your thing, I would suggest checking it out as a great way to see some of the local birdlife but, be warned, if you are planning on tackling the Pier in a manual wheelchair, I would strongly suggest a Free Wheel attachment or something similar. At least something better than the tiny front castors I have, otherwise it ends up being quite a long and bumpy adventure!

About the author:

Adam Sheppard is a Motivational Speaker, Writer, Entrepreneur, Podcaster and Personal Trainer who is a full-time wheelchair user born with Spina Bifida and is also a bilateral above-knee amputee. Adam is based on the sunny Gold Coast and lives by the mantra “Say Yes More!” and is always on the hunt for new adventures and ways to extract every bit of fun life has to offer!