April 4, 2025 • 12 mins
Annette Leishman is going on the 5-day Trek to New Zealand for Vision Australia's Quality Living Program and Peter greco hears all about it. Annette invites anyone to attend her Easter fund-raising concert on 15th April.
Email: nettie617@gmail.com or go to: Trek For vision 2025
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:04):
We always enjoy hearing from Annette Leishman, who seems to
always be doing some pretty cool things and some very
interesting things. And what is coming up is certainly no exception. Annette,
great to catch up with. Again, thank you so much
for your time.
S2 (00:17):
Thank you Peter. Great to be on again.
S1 (00:19):
Five day track.
S2 (00:20):
Yes. So it's in New Zealand. So in the far
north of the South Island of New Zealand. We're going
to be trekking through the Abel Tasman National Park and
having a wonderful time there. Um, quite a few of
the other trekkers have got low vision and yeah, it's
(00:42):
going to be great time, but it's, um, not just
about the trek, it's about raising money for Vision Australia.
They're quality living groups.
S1 (00:51):
We'll come to that in a second. What made you
decide to do this? Because these have happened before, haven't they?
Have you considered them before? And this time you've said yes.
Or how did that all play out?
S2 (01:01):
Well, I hadn't, uh, ever done a trek like this before. Well, actually,
I have never done a trek as such before, but
I got a member of Vision Australia. So I got
one of their emails and I had a look and
I thought, I really love to do that and I'm
so glad I signed up for it because it's something
different and it will help, not just the people who
(01:24):
are actually doing the trek to, uh, have a lovely
time and get to meet some other people that are
in the same position as themselves, but also to help
other people.
S1 (01:35):
That we've spoken to a few times. And you are
a very active person and you like the outdoors, so
you're going to be in your element and that.
S2 (01:43):
Oh, absolutely.
S1 (01:44):
Yeah.
S2 (01:46):
Yes.
S1 (01:46):
Tell us about what you know about it. I'm thinking
that there's probably a few things that you don't know,
or that you're going to find out as you go.
S2 (01:53):
Uh, well, there's going to be a lot of different landscapes. Um,
we'll be, uh, walking through lush beech forest and rata forests,
and we'll be going through beaches on some days. There
may be an opportunity to do some canoeing to get
one from one location to the next. If we feel
(02:16):
that we have done enough walking and there'll be, uh,
will be picked up each day from the last point
of the location and then taken to our accommodation. So
it's not going to be really hard. Nice. We're going
to have nice accommodation, but the days will be quite
an effort because we'll be walking 53km over the five days.
S1 (02:41):
Yeah. Now, um, for those that might have missed our
chats in the past, tell us a bit about your
vision impairment. How much sight have you got? Have you
got enough sight to kind of take in some of the,
you know, sights that you'll be going through?
S2 (02:52):
Yes, I have I've got retinitis pigmentosa. So my vision
is like looking through a pinhole. I've got about 6%
of my vision left. Unfortunately, my visual acuity, which is
the bit that's left in the middle, is starting to, um,
be compromised at the moment. And, uh, so I'm starting
(03:12):
to lose my colors a bit, but it's degenerative and
for me it's been quite slow, so I'll still be
able to take in some of the sides. It just
takes a lot of concentration, moving my head around a lot,
that kind of thing. But it will be great. It's
just the fact about being there and being able to
(03:33):
do some of these things that we've often been told
that we can't do or we shouldn't do, because it
would be too difficult for us. So, uh, it's. Yeah,
all of those.
S1 (03:44):
Great message. Now, I know from our chats in the
past you've got very good hearing or you've got very
good listening skills, so I'm sure they'll be coming to
the fore.
S2 (03:53):
Oh, yes. Yes. I'm hoping.
S1 (03:54):
To.
S2 (03:54):
Be able to hear some birds that I've never heard before.
So all that will be really good. I should actually
read up on the birds of New Zealand in that
particular area, because there may be some species. Well, there
will be species that I've never heard of before. So. Yeah,
it'd be good to know about those, I'm sure.
S1 (04:14):
And what are you doing it on your own? Uh,
as in, are you doing it? Uh, are you the
only one doing it? That kind of, you know. Or
are you doing it on a with a group of
other people? How does that all work?
S2 (04:24):
I am actually the only, I don't know any of
the other people that are doing it. I've heard of
one other person, but the rest of them I don't know.
That's another thing that I'm really looking forward to.
S1 (04:37):
Yeah.
S2 (04:37):
Always enjoy meeting more people who have, um, similar or,
you know, vision impairments. I really enjoy that because it, uh,
it's a, you know, you grow from that. And a
lot of the friendships I will make on this trip,
I'm hoping that we will be able to continue those friendships,
(04:57):
even though we're not all in the same area we've got.
We're coming from different parts of Victoria, but, um, we'll
all meet together on the 29th of April at Nelson,
where we will start the trek. And that that is
when I will meet all of the other people for
the first time.
S1 (05:15):
Fantastic. What about as far as preparation for it? Have
you he been told, or if he had any sort
of quote unquote professional advice as to how to prepare,
or are you just doing what you think you might
need or how do you approach that?
S2 (05:28):
Well, we've just been advised to just keep active and
do as much as we can every day as part
of our training regime. So I've been trying to walk
at least eight kilometres a day.
S1 (05:41):
Mhm.
S2 (05:41):
Uh, and just around the area where I live, and
there's a three park walk that I do once a
week in the Glenora area. They have a lot of
parks in the area where I live. And uh, I've
also joined the Achilles, uh, walking running club, which is
specifically for people who are blind or visually impaired. So
(06:02):
I do my weekly run around the town in Melbourne,
which I'm really enjoying, and meeting lots of other people
through that. But my, um, greatest achievement was to, uh, walk, uh,
to the top of Mount Wellington in Hobart. So every
year on the last week of November. Last Sunday of November,
(06:25):
there is a walk up to the top of Mount Wellington.
Some people run. It's supposed to be the world's toughest
half marathon, so it's 21.5km to the top. But that's
only for people who are running. It's a marathon, but
I actually walked it and I was absolutely, uh, very,
very pleased with that achievement. This might be my greatest achievement.
(06:48):
So after doing that, I've stepped up my training every day.
So just to be really fit for this, this try.
S1 (06:57):
To do it. After doing that, this New Zealand thing
is going to be just a snack. Yeah, yeah, actually
I don't talk about myself in it, but I've also
been to the top of Mount Wellington. I went in
a bus.
S2 (07:08):
Oh good on you.
S1 (07:10):
And we actually we did actually get out and sort of, uh,
climb to the top of that particular peak. But, uh, yeah,
we went, uh, mainly by bus, but certainly, uh, yeah,
it was we went in the middle of summer. It
was still quite cold. And so I wouldn't say snow,
but a little bit of, uh, kind of, uh, sleet
that was coming down, so. Yeah. Yeah.
S2 (07:30):
Oh, fantastic. I'm really happy to hear that. I will
be going that way every other time from now on
that I go to mount up to the top of
Mount Wellington. I will be going in a bus. Someone
will be driving me in a car.
S1 (07:43):
So actually, I do remember on a serious note that, uh,
when the way down there was, uh, well, I guess
pretty treacherous. And so the weather conditions weren't great. And,
you know, the bus driver was, uh, well, I think
he was quite pleased that he got us all down
quite safely, because, uh, it's got a bit of a reputation. Anyway,
enough about, uh, that. Now, you said it's for a
great cause. This, uh, five day trek of New Zealand.
(08:06):
Tell us a bit about that.
S2 (08:07):
So we're raising money for, uh, quality living groups that
are run by Vision Australia. So, as we know, Vision
Australia is a not for profit organisation. So we need
to raise money to keep the programs afloat. Uh, so
each participant on the trek has a goal, a fundraising
goal of $3,500. I'm almost there. Some people have raised
(08:30):
well over that amount by having different shows and concerts
and things like that, to raise the money that I've
raised so far. I've got about $100 to go, but
I've had, uh, for online trivia's and uh, I've had, um,
I've advertised it on social media and I've done a
(08:52):
lot of emails and text messages and got some lovely donations, uh,
that way. But my, um, last fundraising event, which is
coming up on the 15th of April, I'm going to
host my own Easter variety show, um, for Trek provision.
So if, uh, there are anyone. Yeah. Is anyone listening
(09:13):
that knows me and knows the area, you're quite welcome
to come. It's on. Uh, I'm doing a bit of
advertising now at 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the
15th of April, and. Oh, I'm sorry.
S1 (09:26):
It's a Tuesday.
S2 (09:28):
Yes, yes. And so, um, people would like to come.
It's just a $10 donation to support Vision Australia quality
living groups. But if you want to donate more, that
will be fantastic. And so I've got a couple of
great acts. I've got two people. Am I allowed to
mention names? I'm sure I won't, but Janine. Sardou.
S1 (09:50):
Oh, Janine.
S2 (09:52):
Janine is going to be playing.
S1 (09:53):
What a.
S2 (09:53):
Trooper. Sorry.
S1 (09:55):
What? She's an absolute trooper, Janine.
S2 (09:58):
She is. And I met Janine in 2018 at the
Quality Living Group. Okay. That absolutely changed my life. I
moved over from Tasmania.
S1 (10:07):
Right?
S2 (10:08):
That was the first thing I did was join the
Quality Living group. And, uh, Janine was doing peer support there,
and we've been friends ever since. And she's going to
play piano and sing at my variety show. And the
other person is Alan Bartlett. I don't know if anyone
know of Alan, but he's a fantastic musician as well,
(10:30):
and he's going to be playing guitar and he's going
to be singing Drive by the Cars, and we're going
to have a general knowledge trivia. And, uh, I've got
a very small harp, so I'm going to share it
around in a section that I've called. Everyone can be
a musician and we plenty of Easter eggs. I'm going
to be buying a couple of thousand Easter eggs.
S1 (10:52):
Oh, good. That's amazing. That's just before Easter, of course. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh,
it's it's, uh, online or it's, uh, at a physical place.
S2 (11:01):
Oh, no, actually, at Vision Australia. Okay. Yeah. Um, so
if anyone would like to come, maybe I could share
my email address somehow or other, because we'll need to know. Uh,
I've hired a room there in Australia, so we will
need to know how many chairs to set up and
all that sort of thing. But it would be great
(11:22):
if we could get some more people there.
S1 (11:24):
Yeah. Do you want to give that email address on
air or we just put it?
S2 (11:27):
Yes. Yes, that'd be great.
S1 (11:28):
Yeah. Go. Yep.
S2 (11:30):
Nettie n e double TE617 7@gmail.com.
S1 (11:36):
All right. We'll also put that up with our show notes.
So if people have missed it they can check it
out there and always give us a call if they
missed it and that good luck. It sounds fantastic. And
we had a quick chat before coming to air, and
I said it'd be good to catch up with you
after the event as well. So probably, I guess the
middle of may give you a chance to catch your
breath and get your land legs back, as it were.
(11:58):
We'd love to catch up and you can tell us
how it all goes.
S2 (12:00):
I would love to do that. Peter, thank you so much.
S1 (12:03):
And you're doing it for a great cause, doing that
quality of living and that, I guess, encouraging independence and sharing. Um, yeah.
Lived experience is so important. So good luck and we
wish you all thanks for speaking to us. Always great
to speak to you and that you light up our well,
our evening as it is at this station.
S2 (12:19):
Great. Thank you Peter, I enjoy talking to you too.
Thank you so much.
S1 (12:22):
Yeah, that's at least one. That will be fantastic. Well,
both the concert on April the 15th and then the, uh,
the five day trek, a little bit different, but certainly very,
very important as well. Any details? Either go to our
show notes or get in touch with us here at
the radio station.
We always enjoy hearing from Annette Leishman, who seems to
always be doing some pretty cool things and some very
interesting things. And what is coming up is certainly no exception. Annette,
great to catch up with. Again, thank you so much
for your time.
S2 (00:17):
Thank you Peter. Great to be on again.
S1 (00:19):
Five day track.
S2 (00:20):
Yes. So it's in New Zealand. So in the far
north of the South Island of New Zealand. We're going
to be trekking through the Abel Tasman National Park and
having a wonderful time there. Um, quite a few of
the other trekkers have got low vision and yeah, it's
(00:42):
going to be great time, but it's, um, not just
about the trek, it's about raising money for Vision Australia.
They're quality living groups.
S1 (00:51):
We'll come to that in a second. What made you
decide to do this? Because these have happened before, haven't they?
Have you considered them before? And this time you've said yes.
Or how did that all play out?
S2 (01:01):
Well, I hadn't, uh, ever done a trek like this before. Well, actually,
I have never done a trek as such before, but
I got a member of Vision Australia. So I got
one of their emails and I had a look and
I thought, I really love to do that and I'm
so glad I signed up for it because it's something
different and it will help, not just the people who
(01:24):
are actually doing the trek to, uh, have a lovely
time and get to meet some other people that are
in the same position as themselves, but also to help
other people.
S1 (01:35):
That we've spoken to a few times. And you are
a very active person and you like the outdoors, so
you're going to be in your element and that.
S2 (01:43):
Oh, absolutely.
S1 (01:44):
Yeah.
S2 (01:46):
Yes.
S1 (01:46):
Tell us about what you know about it. I'm thinking
that there's probably a few things that you don't know,
or that you're going to find out as you go.
S2 (01:53):
Uh, well, there's going to be a lot of different landscapes. Um,
we'll be, uh, walking through lush beech forest and rata forests,
and we'll be going through beaches on some days. There
may be an opportunity to do some canoeing to get
one from one location to the next. If we feel
(02:16):
that we have done enough walking and there'll be, uh,
will be picked up each day from the last point
of the location and then taken to our accommodation. So
it's not going to be really hard. Nice. We're going
to have nice accommodation, but the days will be quite
an effort because we'll be walking 53km over the five days.
S1 (02:41):
Yeah. Now, um, for those that might have missed our
chats in the past, tell us a bit about your
vision impairment. How much sight have you got? Have you
got enough sight to kind of take in some of the,
you know, sights that you'll be going through?
S2 (02:52):
Yes, I have I've got retinitis pigmentosa. So my vision
is like looking through a pinhole. I've got about 6%
of my vision left. Unfortunately, my visual acuity, which is
the bit that's left in the middle, is starting to, um,
be compromised at the moment. And, uh, so I'm starting
(03:12):
to lose my colors a bit, but it's degenerative and
for me it's been quite slow, so I'll still be
able to take in some of the sides. It just
takes a lot of concentration, moving my head around a lot,
that kind of thing. But it will be great. It's
just the fact about being there and being able to
(03:33):
do some of these things that we've often been told
that we can't do or we shouldn't do, because it
would be too difficult for us. So, uh, it's. Yeah,
all of those.
S1 (03:44):
Great message. Now, I know from our chats in the
past you've got very good hearing or you've got very
good listening skills, so I'm sure they'll be coming to
the fore.
S2 (03:53):
Oh, yes. Yes. I'm hoping.
S1 (03:54):
To.
S2 (03:54):
Be able to hear some birds that I've never heard before.
So all that will be really good. I should actually
read up on the birds of New Zealand in that
particular area, because there may be some species. Well, there
will be species that I've never heard of before. So. Yeah,
it'd be good to know about those, I'm sure.
S1 (04:14):
And what are you doing it on your own? Uh,
as in, are you doing it? Uh, are you the
only one doing it? That kind of, you know. Or
are you doing it on a with a group of
other people? How does that all work?
S2 (04:24):
I am actually the only, I don't know any of
the other people that are doing it. I've heard of
one other person, but the rest of them I don't know.
That's another thing that I'm really looking forward to.
S1 (04:37):
Yeah.
S2 (04:37):
Always enjoy meeting more people who have, um, similar or,
you know, vision impairments. I really enjoy that because it, uh,
it's a, you know, you grow from that. And a
lot of the friendships I will make on this trip,
I'm hoping that we will be able to continue those friendships,
(04:57):
even though we're not all in the same area we've got.
We're coming from different parts of Victoria, but, um, we'll
all meet together on the 29th of April at Nelson,
where we will start the trek. And that that is
when I will meet all of the other people for
the first time.
S1 (05:15):
Fantastic. What about as far as preparation for it? Have
you he been told, or if he had any sort
of quote unquote professional advice as to how to prepare,
or are you just doing what you think you might
need or how do you approach that?
S2 (05:28):
Well, we've just been advised to just keep active and
do as much as we can every day as part
of our training regime. So I've been trying to walk
at least eight kilometres a day.
S1 (05:41):
Mhm.
S2 (05:41):
Uh, and just around the area where I live, and
there's a three park walk that I do once a
week in the Glenora area. They have a lot of
parks in the area where I live. And uh, I've
also joined the Achilles, uh, walking running club, which is
specifically for people who are blind or visually impaired. So
(06:02):
I do my weekly run around the town in Melbourne,
which I'm really enjoying, and meeting lots of other people
through that. But my, um, greatest achievement was to, uh, walk, uh,
to the top of Mount Wellington in Hobart. So every
year on the last week of November. Last Sunday of November,
(06:25):
there is a walk up to the top of Mount Wellington.
Some people run. It's supposed to be the world's toughest
half marathon, so it's 21.5km to the top. But that's
only for people who are running. It's a marathon, but
I actually walked it and I was absolutely, uh, very,
very pleased with that achievement. This might be my greatest achievement.
(06:48):
So after doing that, I've stepped up my training every day.
So just to be really fit for this, this try.
S1 (06:57):
To do it. After doing that, this New Zealand thing
is going to be just a snack. Yeah, yeah, actually
I don't talk about myself in it, but I've also
been to the top of Mount Wellington. I went in
a bus.
S2 (07:08):
Oh good on you.
S1 (07:10):
And we actually we did actually get out and sort of, uh,
climb to the top of that particular peak. But, uh, yeah,
we went, uh, mainly by bus, but certainly, uh, yeah,
it was we went in the middle of summer. It
was still quite cold. And so I wouldn't say snow,
but a little bit of, uh, kind of, uh, sleet
that was coming down, so. Yeah. Yeah.
S2 (07:30):
Oh, fantastic. I'm really happy to hear that. I will
be going that way every other time from now on
that I go to mount up to the top of
Mount Wellington. I will be going in a bus. Someone
will be driving me in a car.
S1 (07:43):
So actually, I do remember on a serious note that, uh,
when the way down there was, uh, well, I guess
pretty treacherous. And so the weather conditions weren't great. And,
you know, the bus driver was, uh, well, I think
he was quite pleased that he got us all down
quite safely, because, uh, it's got a bit of a reputation. Anyway,
enough about, uh, that. Now, you said it's for a
great cause. This, uh, five day trek of New Zealand.
(08:06):
Tell us a bit about that.
S2 (08:07):
So we're raising money for, uh, quality living groups that
are run by Vision Australia. So, as we know, Vision
Australia is a not for profit organisation. So we need
to raise money to keep the programs afloat. Uh, so
each participant on the trek has a goal, a fundraising
goal of $3,500. I'm almost there. Some people have raised
(08:30):
well over that amount by having different shows and concerts
and things like that, to raise the money that I've
raised so far. I've got about $100 to go, but
I've had, uh, for online trivia's and uh, I've had, um,
I've advertised it on social media and I've done a
(08:52):
lot of emails and text messages and got some lovely donations, uh,
that way. But my, um, last fundraising event, which is
coming up on the 15th of April, I'm going to
host my own Easter variety show, um, for Trek provision.
So if, uh, there are anyone. Yeah. Is anyone listening
(09:13):
that knows me and knows the area, you're quite welcome
to come. It's on. Uh, I'm doing a bit of
advertising now at 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the
15th of April, and. Oh, I'm sorry.
S1 (09:26):
It's a Tuesday.
S2 (09:28):
Yes, yes. And so, um, people would like to come.
It's just a $10 donation to support Vision Australia quality
living groups. But if you want to donate more, that
will be fantastic. And so I've got a couple of
great acts. I've got two people. Am I allowed to
mention names? I'm sure I won't, but Janine. Sardou.
S1 (09:50):
Oh, Janine.
S2 (09:52):
Janine is going to be playing.
S1 (09:53):
What a.
S2 (09:53):
Trooper. Sorry.
S1 (09:55):
What? She's an absolute trooper, Janine.
S2 (09:58):
She is. And I met Janine in 2018 at the
Quality Living Group. Okay. That absolutely changed my life. I
moved over from Tasmania.
S1 (10:07):
Right?
S2 (10:08):
That was the first thing I did was join the
Quality Living group. And, uh, Janine was doing peer support there,
and we've been friends ever since. And she's going to
play piano and sing at my variety show. And the
other person is Alan Bartlett. I don't know if anyone
know of Alan, but he's a fantastic musician as well,
(10:30):
and he's going to be playing guitar and he's going
to be singing Drive by the Cars, and we're going
to have a general knowledge trivia. And, uh, I've got
a very small harp, so I'm going to share it
around in a section that I've called. Everyone can be
a musician and we plenty of Easter eggs. I'm going
to be buying a couple of thousand Easter eggs.
S1 (10:52):
Oh, good. That's amazing. That's just before Easter, of course. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh,
it's it's, uh, online or it's, uh, at a physical place.
S2 (11:01):
Oh, no, actually, at Vision Australia. Okay. Yeah. Um, so
if anyone would like to come, maybe I could share
my email address somehow or other, because we'll need to know. Uh,
I've hired a room there in Australia, so we will
need to know how many chairs to set up and
all that sort of thing. But it would be great
(11:22):
if we could get some more people there.
S1 (11:24):
Yeah. Do you want to give that email address on
air or we just put it?
S2 (11:27):
Yes. Yes, that'd be great.
S1 (11:28):
Yeah. Go. Yep.
S2 (11:30):
Nettie n e double TE617 7@gmail.com.
S1 (11:36):
All right. We'll also put that up with our show notes.
So if people have missed it they can check it
out there and always give us a call if they
missed it and that good luck. It sounds fantastic. And
we had a quick chat before coming to air, and
I said it'd be good to catch up with you
after the event as well. So probably, I guess the
middle of may give you a chance to catch your
breath and get your land legs back, as it were.
(11:58):
We'd love to catch up and you can tell us
how it all goes.
S2 (12:00):
I would love to do that. Peter, thank you so much.
S1 (12:03):
And you're doing it for a great cause, doing that
quality of living and that, I guess, encouraging independence and sharing. Um, yeah.
Lived experience is so important. So good luck and we
wish you all thanks for speaking to us. Always great
to speak to you and that you light up our well,
our evening as it is at this station.
S2 (12:19):
Great. Thank you Peter, I enjoy talking to you too.
Thank you so much.
S1 (12:22):
Yeah, that's at least one. That will be fantastic. Well,
both the concert on April the 15th and then the, uh,
the five day trek, a little bit different, but certainly very,
very important as well. Any details? Either go to our
show notes or get in touch with us here at
the radio station.
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In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.