“It’s all about getting out there and having fun, putting a smile on these guys’ faces,” says Michael Booth, owner of BreakAway Camping and 4-Wheel Driving – Disability Supported Adventures.

In an ideal world, people living with disabilities would be granted the same opportunities as those living without. Instead, people like Michael are creating opportunities off their own back to help spark friendship, joy, and self-esteem among Canberrans with disabilities.

Michael and his business partner, Alistair Mars, built on their careers in disability support work and first-hand experience of family members with disabilities to launch BreakAway.

Self-proclaimed 4-wheel drive enthusiasts, the idea for the adventures was sparked at a campfire with friends.

“We said ‘Why don’t we do this? We could take people with disabilities, show them what we get up to and the fun we have?’,” says Michael.

Discovering camping, fishing, 4-wheel driving, bushwalking, and exploring nature is at the heart of BreakAway, and Michael says it’s “as real as how we do it”.

“We have a real time; getting bogged, dirty, all that stuff,” he laughs.

“But then if you go on the other side of it, it’s all about, for these guys, skills building, promoting independence and confidence, improving social skills, meeting new people and creating friendships.” 

Michael makes sure all the brave adventurers are included in the activities.

“We sit around the campfire, cook a good camp feed, and everyone’s involved,” he says.

To make the adventures as accessible as possible, the team host an array of differently styled trips that help to meet as many needs as possible.

“We have pop-up camps where we don’t necessarily go 4-wheel driving. We might go to the State of Origin, the supercars in Newcastle, camping on the beach, go on a fishing trip …,” says Michael.

“We also design trips. We had a lady ring us from Canberra who has two sons with autism and wanted to get back into camping but can’t do it by herself.

“Her kids are too young – we host 16-year-olds or up – but we said, ‘let’s make this work’.”

Based along the NSW South Coast, the BreakAway team commits to picking up anyone from anywhere [in the ACT/Southern NSW region].

“Canberrans can come to anything, we’re very flexible,” says Michael.

“If you have an idea, we’ll get it happening. We can even meet somewhere halfway.”

The adventures are coming to the Brindabellas in May and again in November for some good old fashioned camping escapades in the Canberra region.

Michael says he’s seen a great deal of demand for people living with a disability to experience life through the lens of someone without, even for a weekend.

He explained there are other providers who choose the simple option – going to a caravan park, ordering fish and chips – but he says, “these guys want a good time and action in their lives”.

Michael can easily relay many heartwarming moments from his adventures that he says bring him just as much joy as they do to the participants and their families.

“We had a guy come with us who has a brain disability, and we took him out of his comfort zone, and he was scared of confined spaces. We took him on a cave tour, and he was buzzing! He said it was unreal and he never thought he’d be able to do that,” Michael smiles.

“We also had an amputee who hadn’t been swimming in a river since he’d lost his leg over four years ago. We took him for a swim and his face lit up.

“There was also a man who used to be a chef and we got him cooking again! He slipped into chef mode, showing and telling everyone what to do and organising everything – it really lifted him up.”

More than supporting someone with fewer opportunities than himself, Michael says the best thing he gets out of the adventures is knowing some of them have formed friendships from their trips.

BreakAway offers people with disabilities a few days of adventure in nature and Michael says the highlight trip of the year is the five-day stay at Fraser Island off the southern coast of Queensland.

“We want the people to go home with a bag full of dirty clothes and smoke in their hair,” Michael smiles.

• Read more: Young people with disabilities deserve stellar experiences

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