It is a quintessential part of the Aussie coastal lifestyle, but due to lack of accessibility, a day at the beach is considered a thing of the past for many older Australians.
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For some, the idea of negotiating soft sand, reality of being confined to a wheelchair and lack of amenities is a real deal breaker, but a new online resource aims to change people's way of thinking.
The accessible beach directory is a user friendly website which allows would be beach goers to search the nearest accessible beaches by postcode.
The website - which is run by Accessible Beaches and funded by Deloitte Digital - provides a comprehensive overview of all beaches included on the website, including a run down of each beach's accessible features and a star rating system.
Beach access project officer Bern Walker said the website was built on the belief that the beach should be for everyone.
She said many seniors and people living with disability in Australia currently face a lot of barriers to access.
"For people who might not be steady on their feet any more, just getting across the sand can be a challenge," she said.
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, more than 50 percent of Australians aged 65 or older report living with some form of disability.
Features that can make beaches more accessible include wider pathways which are free of tripping hazards, hand rails, accessible toilets and bathrooms, accessible shade and fresh water, and beach matting, where possible.
Some beaches even offer access to beach wheelchairs, some of which are capable of taking a person into the water up to chest height.
Bern said things like "smelling the salt air, hearing the waves and feeling the sand" can be great for mental health.
"There's also the social inclusion aspect. It would be lovely for more people to be able to go to the beach with their children and participate socially.... Even going down with the family for fish and chips on a Saturday night."
She said a number of people who work in palliative care have also commented on how one last trip to the beach is a common dying wish.
"It would be lovely for them to be able to go regularly, all through their final years," she said.
Bern grew up in the Melbourne beach suburb of Mentone and has fond memories of staying at her cousins' beach house.
"I just remember spending so much of our time at the beach as kids with our family, we were just always in the water."
She now lives in Melbourne's northern suburbs, but still enjoys regular days at the beach in Frankston.
Having an elderly mother living with Parkinson's and a daughter living with a disability, Bern understands the importance of beach access all too well.
So, just how accessible are Australia's beaches? While there are options out there in many parts of the country, the numbers could be a lot better.
Bern says less than 1 per cent of the country's beaches are currently considered accessible, or to have accessible qualities.
Of the more than 12,000 beaches around the country, 125 are either already on the database, or soon to be added.
But Bern says there does seem to be a "momentum" around beach access at the moment, with more councils eager to make their beaches enjoyable for all.
"Not all of them (beaches) could be made accessible... but in some cases, it's actually a relatively simple thing to do.
"We would also encourage readers, if they would like their local beach to be made accessible, to contact their local council and also to reach out to us to see how we can help in advocating for breach access."
Accessible Beaches is also currently working on a project funded by the AUDA Foundation to increase awareness of accessible beaches, how to access them, and how to access accessible beach equipment.
