I am a T4 paraplegic, thus paralysed from just below my armpits down. I am only able to move my arms, shoulders and neck. I stayed at Karoo View cottages for 4 nights in October 2013 for the first and most definitely not the last time.
The cottage in which I stayed was without a doubt the most wheelchair friendly accommodation I have ever stayed in. It started from the parking which is level concrete with a smooth level path to the cottage door, which also has a completely level entrance.
The inside of the cottage is well laid out with enough space to be able to move around with a wheelchair. There are also no steps inside the cottage and the floors are smooth cement with no loose rugs, which can sometimes make it difficult to move around with a wheelchair. The kitchen has everything one could need and everything is easily within reach. In the bathroom, the basin is accessible with the vanity shelf removed and it is easy to get close to the basin. The mirror above the basin is lowered in order to accommodate a wheelchair user. There is enough space next to the toilet to be able to transfer from the wheelchair onto the toilet and there is a toilet seat raiser available should it be needed. There is also a grab rail next to the toilet, which makes it easy and safe to get on and off the toilet. The roll-in shower is easily accessible, so even though I normally use a bath, I could easily go into the shower and transfer from my wheelchair onto the fold down shower chair and then use the hand shower to shower with. The shower has a normal shower set up for able bodied people on the one side and on the other side of the shower there is a hand shower set up with the fold down shower chair. There is also a grab rail, which makes transferring from the wheelchair to the shower chair and back much easier and safer.
There is a veranda outside the cottage – it has a step down from the cottage to the veranda but even this has been provided for with a portable wooden ramp, making it very easy to go up and down from the veranda.
Written by Thomas Micklem, October 2013
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