Regional
Bunbury
The city is a two hour drive south of Perth. Bunbury is a thriving port and the key commercial centre for the South West of Western Australia. Bunburys magnificent sunset beaches, lend to a wide variety of water sports and excellent fishing, and the bottle nosed dolphins at Koombana Bay have led to the establishment of the Dolphin Discovery Centre (see below). Directly inland from Bunbury, some 10-15 minutes is the wine growing region of Ferguson Valley.
Lord Forrest Hotel
20 Symmons Street
Bunbury 6230
Telephone: 97219966
The multi-story atrium style hotel is located right in the middle of town. You are close to all the amenities, including shopping, the Victoria Street café strip and the beach. Wheelchair access around town is good.
When you arrive at the hotel I would recommend you use the entrance from the raised parking around the side off Wittnoom Street where there is one Acrod bay and a level entry. The main entrance with its high kerbs and sloping pathway is perilous with the wheelchair. Facilities at the hotel include two restaurants and a bar which is wheelchair accessible.
The disabled room is nice and roomy with a kitchenette, lounge chair and a dining suite together with the double bed. There is ample room for a wheelchair to wiz around. The balcony was inaccessible.
The bathroom was functional with no obstacles and a hand-held shower, but no shower seat. The hotel supplied a plastic picnic chair, which I managed with, but which is hardly ideal. I suggested to the management that they need to remedy the situation with a proper adjustable disabled seat.
The hotel really is in a handy position, with the beach 400m one way and the shops virtually next door. We parked the car and walked everywhere. The beach is worth a look, especially at sunset. There is a unisex disabled toilet on the beach esplanade and wheelchair accessible paths in both directions. At one end is the rocky beach, which has unique lava rock formations where the wave’s crash spectacularly, and at the other end is the sandy surf beach.
In the opposite direction from the hotel is a worthwhile walk to see the dolphins at Koombana Bay at the Dolphin Discovery Centre where wild dolphins come to the beach to be hand fed. It is about one kilometer from the hotel, but all on level wheelchair friendly paths, which lead past the picturesque inlet and along the bay. The discovery centre is wheelchair accessible and includes an education centre, shop and café. There is a unisex disabled toilet out back, all standard fittings only though, but at least it was very roomy. To see the dolphins you follow the path to the beach. Wheelchair access stops atop a small raised platform at the sand from where the dolphins are about 30 metres away. I still enjoyed the experience very much. The centre does have a beach wheelchair with bubble wheels, but I was unable to use as the seat had a low back with no neck support. If you have the neck strength and a willing pusher you can get to the waters edge.
An alternative route back across the road from the discovery centre is another wheelchair accessible pathway, which includes a bumpy, but interesting boardwalk through the mangroves where the birds and dragonflies entertain, and this route follows the inlet banks back to town.
I recommend the Bunbury beaches, sunsets, dolphin centre and The Lord Forrest Hotel.