Westerfolds Park
Westerfolds is a metropolitan park in the outer Melbourne suburb of Templestowe nestled into a hilly bend in the Yarra River. It has a network of bitumen and gravel paths, shelters, playgrounds, picnic tables and electric barbecues. It is a popular spot for picnics, and family gatherings.
Canoe Launching Area
The canoe launching area provides access to the Yarra River.
The car park has four designated disabled parking bays, 3 are 5 metres wide and the one closest to the access path to the rowing club is 6 metres wide. The parking area and access path to the rowing club is bitumen. A unisex disabled toilet facility is available outside the rowing club along width an accessible drinking fountain.
Access to the river is via a compacted gravel path 60 metres in length with a maximum gradient of 1 in 10.
Swamp Gum Picnic Area
The Swamp Gum Picnic Area contains BBQs, a picnic shelter with tables and a playground.
The parking area has 4 designated disabled parking bays. Each pair of bays share a common access way. The bays are 3.3 metres wide and the access way 1.2 metres in width.
Under the picnic pavilion there are three wooden tables with extended table tops to enable wheelchair users to roll under the table. Outside there are some modern steel tables. The ends have a 400 millmetre overhang and the concrete pads are large enough to accommodate a wheelchair at the end of the table.
The BBQ’s are located in the pavilion and have an operating height of 900 millimetres.
The playground is partially accessible for children or parents using wheelchairs. It has a central ramp leading to three accessible activities. The playground is accessed via an asphalt path directly from the car park or from the picnic area.
The nearest toilet facilities are located at Melaleuca Parking area. An asphalt pathway leads from the Swamp Gum Picnic Area.
Yellow Box Carpark
The Yellow Box Carpark gives direct access to the River Trail. There are no toilet or picnic facilities.
The carpark has 2 designated disabled parking bays, each 3.3 metres wide and sharing a central loading area. There is an access ramp leading from the loading area directly onto the trail.
There is an accessible drinking fountain provided.
Red Stringybark Car Park.
The Red Stringybark Carpark provides access to another picnic area.
There are two designated disabled parking bays opposite the picnic shelter. They are again 3.3 metres wide and serviced by a central shared loading area and access path. The loading area leads directly to a brick path to the picnic pavilion. This picnic area is serviced by woodfired BBQs. There are two available outside the pavilion on a flat earthen surface. Wood is provided and the wood bins are at an accessible height.
There are no accessible picnic tables.
There are no toilet facilities at this picnic ground, the closest being at Melaleuca.
Melaleuca Car Park
The main toilet block for this end of the park is located at the Melaleuca Car Park. There are two designated disabled parking spaces and again they are 3.3 metres wide with a shared loading access way. The toilet block contains one unisex cubicle and baby change facilities. The cubicle is large with adequate maneuvering room and wheel space beside the toilet. Side and rear grab bars are provided. The entry has a sliding door.
Outside the toilet block is an accessible drinking fountain.
Porter Street
The Porter Street end of the park has too parking areas. The one furthest from the entry has two designated disabled parking bays, 3.3 metres wide. One is located in the middle of the carpark adjacent to a central loading area. The central loading area leads to a set of steps to the picnic pavilion. The second bay is located at the end of the carpark nearest the toilet block. The step free route is via the car park entry road. A short brick path leads to the pavilion. One accessible table is provided. There are electric BBQ’s with a working height of 900 millmetres. A second BBQ is provided on the grassed area towards the entrance.
The second car park provides an addition designated disabled parking space next to the park service road. This is a wide bay with the additional clearway space beside it.
A toilet block is located between the car parks and it contains a unisex accessible toilet and baby change room facility. The room is large with wheelchair space beside the toilet with grab bars provided beside and behind the toilet.
William Ricketts Sanctuary
Located on the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road the peaceful surrounds of the world-renowned William Ricketts Sanctuary offer is a perfect place for reflection. The sanctuary is home to more than 90 evocative sculptures, many of Aboriginal people, which lie half-hidden in the trees, rocks and undergrowth of the native forest.
Indigenous connections
Influenced by his time living in Aboriginal communities in central Australia, William Ricketts believed everyone should respect the inherent spirituality of the natural world. Many of his sculptural works reflect his commitment to this ideal, while others depict his response to the effect the European settlers’ had on the environment.
The foundations of the William Ricketts sanctuary, blending sculptures into the natural environment, create some accessibility challenges as the sanctuary is built on the side of a hill. The sanctuary is not big and can be explored slowly, however, manual wheelchair users are likely to need assistance due to the steepness of some sections of the paths.
Parking.
There are three designated accessible parking spaces available. One is underneath the visitors centre on the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road. That bay is 3.5 metres wide with additional loading space available in the adjoining bus pull in area. This bay backs onto the Dandenong Tourist Road and is not suitable for rear loading vans.
Two additional designated bays are located at either end of the lower car park on the opposite side of the road. These bays are 6.4 metres wide. The use of these bays is subject to the ability to climb the long ramp from the car park to the road. This ramp has a maximum gradient of 1 in 4.5 over its lower half but the minimum gradient on the ramp is 1 in 8.
Entrance
The right hand side of the driveway has a gentler gradient but it is still approximately 1 in 7.
The main entrance to the information centre has a standard door width of 750 millimeters.
Information Centre
The information centre contained a disabled toilet and baby change room facility. It is a unisex facility with wide entry door and large room with good maneuvering room. The toilet has a side grab bar and a bar on the back wall next to the cistern. The hand basin is roll-under with a lever type tap and large mirror.
The upper level contains the information counter and the lower level the souvenir items. The levels are linked by an internal ramp.
The main entrance into the Sanctuary is from the lower level which has a wide doorway.
The Sanctuary
From the information centre the path is initially flat with a hard bitumen surface. There is a short, 20 metre section, that is steep with a gradient of approximately gradient of 1 in 7. Once past that section the path remains at less than a 1 in 14 gradient right through to the log cabin visual display building. The entry to this building is wide and the left hand room provides good access. The aisle down beside the seating is wide and there is an area at the front for wheelchair visitors.
The paths immediately around the building are flat hard packed fine gravel.
At this point there is a choice to return back the same way or to take the sealed path to the gallery and upper sculptures. The path leading to the upper road has sections with a gradient of 1 in 4.
Just prior to the main road is a path off to the left accessing the “Brute” and “Long Beard” This path is also sealed and the gradients are less than 1 in 14.
The final section to the main road is steep with an approximate gradient of 1 in 5. The road to the main gallery is steep again with an approximate gradient of 1 in 4.
The road back to the information centre has gradients as steep as 1 in 10 with the final section approximately 1 in 7.
“Earthly Mother” is only accessible via steps but can be seen from the main road.
There is a toilet block above the information centre but it does not contain any accessible facilities.
Zambrero
Located in Armstrong Street is Zambrero, Mexican Restaurant. It is an open plan design with ample space inside for people using mobility devices or wheelchairs. There are large gaps between the tables making it an ideal location for parents with prams.
At the rear of the restaurant is an accessible toilet with side and rear rails and a backrest.
The Provincial Hotel Ballarat – A Luxury Accessible Getaway
The Provincial Hotel sits pretty on Ballarat’s historic Lydiard Street. Built in 1909 the iconic building, recognised by the National Trust, has housed a myriad of publicans and hoteliers, each enriching the hotel with greater grandeur.
Identifying a market for luxury, boutique accommodation, coupled with service guaranteed to exceed expectation, Simon and Gorgi Coghlan found the canvas they had been looking for in the form of The Provincial Hotel. Early in 2018, Simon, a leader of regional Victoria’s hospitality industry, and Gorgi, a media personality with a penchant for design and beautiful styling, partnered with Drew Harry, a dynamite of the regional hospitality industry, to bring their vision to life.
Included in that vision are two, two bedroom luxury accessible apartments
Room overview
Two Bedroom Apartments are individually styled and feature two bedrooms with separate living area with bespoke furnishings, a kitchen and dining area and a generously sized bathroom with luxury amenities. The Master bedroom features a deluxe King size bed with oversized ensuite, and the second bedroom features deluxe twin single beds.
The main bathroom is fully accessible with roll-in shower, generous fold down shower chair, and easy to reach controls. It is has a fully accessible toilet with handrails and backrest. A moveable table on wheels provides convenient storage. A full size spar bath is also in the room.
Room Features
- King bed with en suite
- Twin singles
- Kitchen and dining area
- Separate living area
- Mini bar with locally sourced produce
- Apple TV
- Unlimited Wifi
- Complimentary off-street parking
- Ground floor
Accessibility Features
- Ground floor adjacent to reception
- Large bathroom
- Roll-in shower with fixed shower seat
- Accessible toilet with handrails and backrest
- Moveable storage unit
- Hand basin with lever mixer tap
- Large bedrooms with clearance around the bed
- Clearance under the bed for a hoist
- Large living and dining area
- Designated accessible secure parking space next to entry with access bay
- Adjacent to Lola’s restaurant
- Wide doorways throughout
Dining
The Provincial Hotel boasts Lola’s Restaurant which is open daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Lola offers stylish, European inspired dining, beautifully shaped each season by our region’s best locally sourced produce.
The 55 seat dining room provides a relaxed and elegant dining experience, beautifully styled in the Provincial’s signature hotel design. The layout is open allowing easy access and a wide choice of seating location.
Ballarat Aquatic and Leisure Centre
The Ballarat Aquatic and Leisure Centre is located in the Price of Wales Recreation Reserve, Lake Gardens. Disabled parking is available at the front and side of the building.
The centre contains a 50 metre, 25 metre, multipurpose and a children’s play pools. All pools have a variety of entry methods for people with a disability. The 25, 50 and multipurpose pools have ramped entry. The children’s play pool zero gradient entry. In addition, the 50 metre pool also has stepped entry next to the ramp. The centre a portable hoist that can be used at any of the pools.
There are three pool wheelchairs available. There are 4 accessible toilet and shower facilities and a full adult changing facility with table and ceiling hoist. The centre also has a cafe with full ramped access.
Ballarat Botanical Gardens
The Ballarat Botanical Gardens is situated on the edge of Lake Wendouree and occupies 40 hectares. It is a significant cool climate garden.
There is disabled parking at both ends of the garden in Wendouree Drive. The parking bays at the Nursery Dr end have an extended area behind them making them suitable for rear loading vans.
The terrain is flat making it easily accessible to wheelchair and mobility device users as well as slow walkers. The surface of the paths through the garden is either asphalt or fine hard packed red gravel.
Seating is provided at regular intervals throughout the garden as are wheelchair accessible drinking fountains.
The old conservatory has ramped access with handrails.
The new conservatory has level entry.
Accessible toilets are provided at both ends of the garden adjacent to the disabled parking areas.
