William Ricketts Sanctuary

Excerpt from Leanne's Wheel Life review: Now run by Parks Victoria the website has, pleasingly, the accessibility very well documented right down to the gradients on various paths. We decided on taking the power chair as I generally do when wanting to meander around autonomously but also due to the step gradients stated on the website. A good idea as it turned out. As we have a rear entry modified van we couldn’t use the access park outside the centre so turned into the designated and large car park across the road. The ramp that has been created to go up to the road is too steep a gradient for my comfort so I chose to roll up the driveway instead. This was safe as it was very quiet and probably would be just as safe in busier times as it is a one way and wide driveway. I wouldn’t enjoy rolling across the Mt Dandenong Road in high traffic times but we were fine getting over to the centre on the day we went. The entrance to the accessible Tourist Centre is accessed by a steeper than 1:14 gradient. This was ok in a power chair but a bit challenging for a less than fit person pushing someone in a manual wheelchair or some people self propelling. The map received at the visitors centre clearly laid out which paths had stairs or not and as we found out the sanctuary is not very large and it is easy to identify which path to take. Fortunately for me his retreat has smooth – albeit some steep and some staired and some narrow – paths created throughout and his original cabin is now an accessible hut in which videos and pictures of him and his life are shared with the public."