Accessibility

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ACCESSIBILITY & YOUR TRIP WITH SMALL WORLD

Doesn’t everyone want to feel included? At Small World, we are committed to promoting the principles of access, belonging, inclusion, diversity and equity in our workplace and on our tours. We welcome guests from all backgrounds, demographics, identities, orientations, and religions. We seek to understand each individual’s needs and make reasonable adjustments to include them, whether it’s a need for prayer space, snacks for a personal with an allergy restriction, or a sensory pack to help anyone who is on the Autism spectrum.  We are also focused on providing the most appropriate level of accessibility that our resources will permit. Our commitment to diversity, accessibility and inclusion is reflected in our staff training, and we are committed to continuous improvement.

Planning Your Trip

ACCESSIBILITY MENU: Small World Journeys’ website provides an accessibility menu. Visitors to our website can click on the “person” icon on the right side of the screen to bring up this menu.

Options include increasing/decreasing font size, increasing/decreasing contrast, dyslexia-friendly fonts, and the ability to hide images, among other things.

BOOKING FORM: On our online booking form, we ask all participants to list any requirements they have, be them medical, dietary, or accessibility needs. We also offer free sensory packs to our guests who are neurodivergent, which include headphones, a timer for transitions, a squeezy fidget toy, and other treats to appeal to the senses like flavoured lip balm.

WAIVER FORMS: We understand that not all of our participants’ parents have a strong command of written English and therefore understanding and signing our on-line waiver may prove challenging. We therefore have our wavier form available in the following languages on request: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

Arrival at Cairns Airport

ACCESSIBLE TOILETS: Public toilets are located throughout the terminals. Each toilet facility includes an accessible toilet.

TGSI and HEARING LOOPS: The Cairns Airport makes use of Tactile Ground Service Indicators (TGSI) and Hearing Loops to assist people with low vision or people who are blind and people with hearing difficulties, respectively.  For example, Braille is included on toilet doors/signs to assist a person who is blind locate the correct facility.

ASSISTANCE FOR HIDDEN DISABILITIES: If you or someone you are travelling with has a hidden disability, you can request a hidden disability lanyard through a form here.

Wearing a sunflower lanyard when you are at Cairns Airport is a discreet way for you to indicate to the airport team that you may need a little extra help, guidance or time with the airport processes. The airport team has been trained to recognise the lanyard and provide the assistance and support you may need. Some of the airport staff will also be wearing a Sunflower badge on their shirts or lanyards to help you feel a little more at ease.

Watch Domestic Arrivals Video here

Our Safety Talks

Our arrival safety talk is done verbally but is supported by cards that illustrate the main talking points. Similarly, our snorkelling safety talk is done in the same manner, supported by cards with pictures and illustrations.

We can provide a transcript of our safety talk to any guest who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Presentations & Workshops

Our Office & Presentation Space:

  • We use the Small World Journeys office space for presentations, workshops and some community service projects. There is a rise of approximately 2 cm to enter the presentation room.
  • We have one accessible, gender-neutral toilet block with shower.
  • In the outside area of our office, planes fly overhead frequently and the noise can be startling and confronting. However, as part of the terms of construction, the entire building has sound mitigation devices (double glazed windows, etc.) which creates the opportunity for multiple breakout spaces for neuro-divergent people who desire a quiet space with reduced stimuli. In addition, we provide free sensory packs with earphones to reduce the level of noise.
  • Our presentations are designed to appeal to both visual and auditory learners.  We can provide a transcript of our presentations to any guest who is deaf or hard of hearing.

 

Novotel Presentation Space:

We also use Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort for presentations at dinnertime. Overall accessible resort information:

  • All entries to the hotel are accessible
  • 2 accessible spaces in the on-site car park, near lifts
  • 1 accessible toilet in hotel lobby (hand rail | grab bar)
  • Well-lit main areas
  • On-site restaurant is accessible, but people using a wheelchair may want to ask for assistance at the hot food station.
  • Braille call buttons for lifts on each floor (external)
  • Presentation/meeting rooms are accessible but all have a small “lip” to cross:
    • Mckenzie Room – 890mm
    • Barret & Whittington Rooms – 800mm
    • Dunbar Room – 770 mm
    • Abercrombie Room – 930 mm (from the restaurant terrace)

Entrance to the Abercrombie presentation room:

Here is a map of the accessibility of the site:

 

Transport

  • Our buses have two steps up of approximately 40 cms to get inside. There is no lift for a wheelchair or mobility device.
  • Similarly, on occasion we hire large coaches for bigger groups and those buses also have two steps up of about 40 cms to get inside.
  • All buses are equipped with seatbelts.
  • We have the ability to hire an additional small bus to transport any guest who is using a wheelchair or mobility device to be used in tandem with our larger bus (an additional fee may apply – ask us about options).

Hotels

We have flexibility with the accommodation we choose; therefore if we know in advance that we have a guest with a wheelchair, mobility scooter or is short statured, we can choose hotels that cater accordingly.

Preferred Hotel #1:  We have a preferred hotel in Cairns for our groups with accessibility needs:

  • The reception and breakfast room are widely accessible through a double automatic door as there are no steps or thresholds.
  • Accessible guest rooms are all on the ground level.  The staff are happy to move the furniture around if required, and the rooms are fitted with a zipped-together queen bed or two single beds depending on preference.
  • The under-bed clearance is 40mm, and there’s around 1000mm of space between the side of the bed and the wall.
  • Unfortunately, the balconies have sliding door tracks and may not be completely accessible.
  • Light switches are all large dish-style type and located 1000mm from the floor in accessible locations.
  • The air conditioning can be remotely controlled.
  • The hotel boasts accessible showers and toilets that are hobless and fitted with a fold-down seat.
  • Both horizontal and vertical grab rails are fitted and the shower is home to a hot and cold flick mixer tap.
  • The lifts which provide access to the third accessible room provide ample space for wheelchairs, and also have buttons fitted with Braille.

 

Preferred Hotel #2: We also have another preferred hotel in Cairns for our groups with accessibility needs.

  • With accessible rooms that boast a double bed and a single bed, the staff at this hotel are also happy to move the room furniture around to suit guests who use a wheelchair or mobility device.
  • Coffee and tea making space and a small bar fridge are on hand
  • The TV can also be controlled by the remote, but it shoudl be noted that at this hotel the air conditioning unit cannot be operated by a remote.
  • There is an accessible combined toilet and shower facility fitted with grab rails and a fold-down set.
  • The shower is also hobless for added accessibility.
  • Unfortunately, the balconies have sliding door tracks and may not be accessible to all guests, and there are also no designated accessible parking bays.
  • However, there is ample room for drop offs by our buses immediately in front of reception.
  • The door to reception is manual, but staff are always happy to assist (and man the desk 24 hours).
  • There are wide paths that lead from the reception to every area of the resort, including the BBQ area, the pool and the adjoining dining room.

 

Meals & Restaurants

Flexibility with Restaurants & Catering: We have quite a bit of flexibility with the restaurants we choose; therefore if we know in advance that we have a guest with a wheelchair, mobility scooter or is short statured, we can choose restaurants that cater accordingly.

  • We offer flexible menu options for people who have food allergies or intolerances, and in many cases religious requirements relating to food.
  • Guests are given space on our online booking form to specify their allergy, intolerance or religious requirement. On arrival we then give them a bag containing, for example, lactose-free milk, nut-free cereal and snacks, and/or other food items that cater to this allergy or intolerance. Unfortunately, we are not able to guarantee catering for preferences like low carb meals or FODMAP.
  • Similarly, we inform all caterers and restaurants of our guests’ food allergies or intolerances.  Breakfast is typically served at the hotel, whilst lunches are often boxed lunches as we move around quite a bit on our tours.

Activities

Activities vary from trip to trip. If we are informed in the planning phase of your trip about any participants or (potential participants) with disability, we can suggest certain activities over others. For example, one boat that travels to the reef has a lift for a guest in a wheelchair to get in and out of the water which is a great choice for guests with accessibility needs.

Conversely, we know that the facilities on the boat that travels to the Fitzroy Island reef is not well set up for those with wheelchairs or mobility devices.  We also can include activities such as the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which recognises and supports the Sunflower program for people with hidden disability.

Each week we are adding more information, photos and videos to our pages about accessibility.  For example, this is a video to show potential customers what the boat ramp is like on the boat to Fitzroy Island, and what the terrain is like once on this island:

Departure at Airport

Visual and Written Story Guides: Visual Story Guides and Written Story Guides are available for Domestic Departures and have been designed to help you to understand how an airport works and what to expect: Download from this page.

Watch Domestic Departures Video here. 

Talk To Us

We are always looking for ways to provide more information for people with disability and ways to improve accessibility. If you have any feedback about this website or any accessibility or inclusion issues, we encourage you to talk with us.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners

We humbly acknowledge Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islander People as the first inhabitants of Australia and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where we work and our groups travel, which include the Yirrganydji, Yidinji, Kuku Yalanji, and Djabugay people.

We were inspired by the beautiful artwork of local indigenous artist Colin Higgins – painter and musician from Yarrabah. We commissioned Colin for the use of his painting (symbolising the world in the dry season) and are grateful for his contribution to Small World Journeys

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