Accessible accommodation in Urunga

Reflections Holiday Parks Urunga ticked all the boxes for our family’s recent relaxing accessible getaway. Aside from the fully accessible cabin making our stay easy, this holiday park is in a fabulous waterfront location. If you’re looking for the bright lights and nightlife of the big city, then Urunga isn’t for you, but the quietness of the town is exactly what we loved.

Urunga has two easy-access cabins with ramp access, parking out front and good accessible internal features. The gently sloping ramp access leads to a large verandah with plenty of room for wheelchair access to the outdoor dining table and barbecue.

Breakfast on the verandah was a favourite with our family and on occasion, we were visited by inquisitive lorikeets who had a look of, “I’ll have what she’s having” on their little bird faces. Cabin 20, which we stayed in, has ocean glimpses from the verandah and the kitchen. Somehow, seeing the waves from the kitchen window made preparing food more palatable. Maybe the promise of a lovely walk along the boardwalk was a good incentive to get in and out of the kitchen as quick as possible.

Living Room

It may seem odd, but we always take a keen interest in the lounge arrangement when we look at accommodation. Our family is now virtually four adults in size and part of relaxing at the end of the day is relaxing on the lounges and enjoying a bit of family time watching a DVD. Many places scrimp on their lounges and they are uncomfortable, small and not appropriate for the number of people able to stay in the accommodation. Not here, the lounges are just right. When BJ woke in the wee hours of the morning he could stretch out on the lounge and doze back to sleep while someone else lay on the other one.

The room is spacious and allows for easy wheelchair maneuverability in the room. We moved the coffee table to one side to allow BJ even more room to move about. There was an option to borrow DVDs and board games from the office but we ran out of time. We stayed four nights but should have stayed a week to make the most of all the area and park had to offer.

Access to the crockery, cutlery and saucepans is made easy with storage in large easy glide drawers. The only time we had to reach for anything was by getting the glasses from the cupboard over the microwave. A drawer dishwasher is at a good height for wheelchair users and a lever tap is installed at the sink. Room under the kitchen bench allows wheelchair access.

The wide hallway makes for easy wheeling around the cabin and provides access to the bedrooms and bathroom.

The queen bedded room is large with room on either side of the bed for transferring. Plentiful storage means there’s no excuse for a messy room and helps to keep the floor area clear for good wheelchair access.

A bunk and single bed make up the second bedroom. The space is tight if using a wheelchair but there’s room on one side of the single bed for transferring.

Accessible Bathroom

It’s always lovely to walk into a well-designed accessible bathroom and Reflections Holiday Parks Urunga has one. There’s a roll-in shower, a shower bench, lever taps and height-adjustable shower head. Grab rails surround the toilet and shower.

The sink is also wheelchair accessible and has a lever tap.

Accessible Camping

I’m more of a cabin kind of girl but the water-view campsites did appeal to me.

What I absolutely love is the thought that’s gone into the accessibility of the bathrooms for families camping. The easy-access bathrooms have a code allocated to guests needing them. They are in a central location and well-equipped.

The easy-access bathrooms have a flip-down shower bench, height adjustable shower, lever taps, grab rails throughout and an accessible sink. Entry to the bathrooms is via a key code tapped into a pad on the door. This may be difficult for anyone with restricted movement as the numbers are quite close and need a firm push.

Facilities

A laundry is located near the Easy Access Cabins and has ramp access. Kids, and big kids at heart, can hire the peddle karts to ride around the park. Two supermarkets and take away stores are located in the street opposite the holiday park.

You can read more about Reflections Holidays Easy Access cabins here.

Activities

Watching the families visiting the holiday park, it seemed to me they liked what we liked about it. The natural beauty of the location, the simplicity and quiet of the park.

There were plenty of families and we did see some enjoying fun with the karts available to hire but the kids seemed content with their own scooters, bikes and all that is on offer on the lake, mangrove and lagoons. It’s a laid back vibe at this holiday park.

Next to the holiday park and on the waterfront there’s a playground. Although not accessible there is one swing which is more supportive and has a harness.

The Urunga Boardwalk is so wonderful it deserves its own blog post which you can read here. The boardwalk, beach and playground are basically the front yard of the holiday park which makes it a wonderful location. It was a joy watching kids discovering nature, fishing, watching the crabs and searching for the stingrays.

Although Coffs Harbour is the headline act in this area, we feel Urunga shouldn’t be overlooked. As it’s only 20 minutes south of Coffs Harbour it provides a central base for exploring up and down the coast.

We stayed as guests of Reflections Urunga to review the Urunga property. We loved it, so all opinions expressed are based on a fabulous stay.

Julie Jones is the brains behind Have Wheelchair Will Travel, a family travel blog that features tips and tricks on accessible travel. Julie and her family stayed as guests of Reflections Holiday Parks.