by Denis

Since signing up for AQA’s Skills For Independence course, I’d been looking forward to the weekend away at Howman’s Gap, with the promise of exciting activities. Arriving at about 2pm on the Friday, we were just in time for lunch. Following lunch there were the introductions of the group participants, supporters and instructors. We were asked to write down on post-it-notes our hopes and fears for the weekend with these all being placed on a whiteboard. 

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny with a quick trip down the mountain to Mt Beauty for our cycling activities. We met at the BBQ area near the pondage where Mark from Melrose was unloading a number of different cycles for us to try. 

The views from here were beautiful, across the pondage and down the valley in one direction, and in the other, a light dusting of snow could be seen on the west summit of Mt Bogong as some light clouds lifted. 

The group was divided into two, with one half cycling and the other half practicing some wheelchair skills across the grass and tanbark in the nearby playground, with support people practicing spotting skills behind the wheelchairs. Some able-bodied people were also given the opportunity to try their hand at the wheelchair skills as well, getting the feel for propelling, castor flicks and rear wheel balancing. 

The track around the pondage was a great spot to get a feel for the cycles, how they handled, and to work out the gears and motor assist level. Following this we also got the opportunity to try the cycles on the nearby bmx track to see how they would handle on rougher terrain. 

On Saturday evening we had a “You can’t ask that” question and answer session. People had been asked to put their anonymous questions on any matters to do with living with a SCI into the question box. The questions were then read out and discussed by the group. This was a great opportunity to share thoughts and insights into how people handle different aspects of SCIs. 

Sunday saw a change in the weather with showers setting in. Everyone was still keen to go ahead with the big swing, so we donned the wet weather gear and headed out. It took a little while to work out the logistics of getting the wheelchair users into both the swing harness and the paragliding seat, but once done the haul team were put to work raising us up to the release point then the count down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Geronimo. 

What a thrill from the initial free fall following release, to the momentary feeling of weightlessness as you reached the high point on the other side. Judging by the squeals and hoots from the swingers, everyone who swung had a great time. Other activities for Sunday included cooking damper on an open fire, finska (a Finnish lawn game) and archery.

Following dinner on Sunday, there was a chance to look at some tents and how accessible they might be, and also some different bedding options for camping, from stretchers to self-inflating foam mattresses. It was very insightful to see a number of floor to chair transfer techniques demonstrated, then to get the opportunity to try these for ourselves.

Monday was the final day. After breakfast and packing up our rooms, there was a chance to try a quick Rogaining course (a form of orienteering) around the buildings on site. We then had a debrief of the weekend, reviewing the list of hopes and fears that were listed on the Friday, and everyone was asked to list their highlights and learnings from the course. 

All in all a fantastic weekend for both participants in wheelchairs and their support people. I’d highly recommend this and am looking forward to the next one.