[Beverley]

Hi, my name is Bev and this is my first time on the forum. :laugh

My Mum and aunt (both mid 70's) are coming to Christchurch in November. My brother moved there a couple of years ago and my Mum has been saving her pension like mad to be able to visit him, his wife and most importantly the grandchildren.

My brother has bought a car for them to use and is talking about hiring electric wheelchairs, but I am worried about how they are going to manage to get them in and out of the car because of the weight of the batteries. My mum is disabled with arthritis and my aunt has cancer, so neither of them are up to weight lifting. :wah

On the internet I notice that Christchurch Council have mobility scooters at the Botanic Gardens, Banks Peninsula Residets and New Brighton Library. Does anyone know of any other places that provide mobility scooters. It would be great if they could go off on their own when the kids are at school and work.

I have seached the internet until I am completely boggle eyed and can't find any more info. Can anyone help?

Beverley

[IanW99]

Hi Beverley and welcome to the forum.

This thread had some info for mobility scooters:-
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13566

It includes some contacts that will be able to give you some advice.

Haven't seen too many places with scooters available except the botanic gardens. Most places do have wheelchairs available if you ask for them if you don't need them to be powered.

It is possible to get 'light' scooters that you would be able to handle where the scooter splits into several parts e.g. battery is removable etc.

Not sure how available they are for renting though. They do still take up a lot of room in the boot, so you would need a good sized boot to ensure it fits. If you do find somewhere renting them, then I am sure you could go along to see if they would be suitable for your car. In some cases you can also use ramps or a winch mechanism. Not sure if it would be practicable just for a visit though?

Ian

[Beverley]

Thanks for the information Ian. I will contact the CCS and get some advice from them.

Bev

[Tanya]

http://canterbury.cyberplace.org.nz/community/dis.html

This is in chch - They will be able to help you with this.

Tanya