September 10, 2025 • 27 mins
Sam speaks with Joanne Cabot, who recently returned from competing in the blind and low vision category of iFly, an indoor skydiving competition for participants of all abilities.
She talks to us about this as well as her Dinner in the Dark events, trying her hand at surfing, but most importantly raising awareness and encouraging more people from the blind or low vision community to come and try indoor skydiving.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:21):
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host, Sam Colley.
S2 (00:31):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:38):
I want to put it out to all the people
with low vision or blindness. Try this now. Don't be scared.
All the eye flies across Australia have an all abilities
day once a month, and you can actually go. And
there's going to be people of all abilities and amazing
instructors that are going to help you.
S2 (00:59):
Welcome to the program. That voice you heard there was
Joanne Kabat. She's recently returned from competing in the blind
and low vision category of an indoor Or skydiving competition
in Melbourne called iFly. And she tells us all about that.
(01:19):
Alongside her experiences with dinner in the dark and attending
an inclusive, fashion and accessible design festival in Sydney. All
that and more coming up very shortly this week. And
then to finish up, we've got a reader recommended from
(01:41):
Frances Kelland. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode of
Talking Vision. Our guest today on Talking Vision is all
about living well with vision loss. She's recently returned from
an indoor skydiving competition in Melbourne. She's tried her hand
(02:04):
at surfing lately, as well as getting involved with a
few more dinner in the dark events, one of her specialties.
But she's also recently been pleased to have the opportunity
to attend an all fashion and inclusive design festival in
(02:24):
Sydney and to tell us all about these things and more.
It's my pleasure to welcome back Joanne Cabot. Jo, welcome
back to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.
S3 (02:38):
Thanks so much, Sam. It's wonderful to be back here again.
S2 (02:41):
And great to have you. Now, Jo, I understand you've
been up to quite a lot as always, including an
indoor skydiving competition recently, which just concluded. Tell us a
bit about that one.
S3 (02:55):
Oh my gosh, that was incredible with the most wonderful
people I've ever met. Like, seriously, we just had such
a phenomenal time. So to kind of lead into it,
how this came about for me is I went indoor
skydiving earlier this year with a friend who is also blind,
and we both wanted to try it and it was amazing.
(03:19):
And this actually led to somebody from Sydney seeing me skydive,
and I was invited to Australia's first open handy. Well,
they call it handy fly skydiving event. And this was
actually a part of the World Series Handy Fly event.
(03:39):
And we had international handy flyers there. It was amazing.
S2 (03:45):
And how does blind and low vision indoor skydiving differ?
What are sort of the, um, additional accessibility elements or
safety elements that come with that in comparison to perhaps
other forms of skydiving and skydiving for sighted people?
S3 (04:05):
Yes. Yes, absolutely. So pretty much the first time I
went indoor skydiving, I was with, you know, some instructors,
and it was more about just being moved around in
there and getting a feel for it, whereas this was
actually a competition. And there were people in wheelchairs, people
(04:26):
with autism, a variety of different disabilities. But there were
two of us and the incredible Tom Kennedy. He is
amazing and I know he's quite connected with Vision Australia. So. Hi, Tom. Hi.
The blind flyer out there. He's just such an inspirational
young man. Him and I were the two people that
(04:48):
had the vision impairments and we had to assist the team.
This was at iFly in Penrith in Sydney, on how
to set it up so that we could both see
where the targets was, because in this type of situation,
when it's a competition, you actually have to hit targets
on either side and do it as quickly as you can.
S2 (05:11):
How does that even work for somebody with very little
to no vision? I mean, it's, you know, hitting targets
and getting involved in a sport that's so visual.
S3 (05:23):
Absolutely. It was interesting, too, because I have lost my
central vision and I've got a bit of peripheral, but,
you know, it's mostly cloudy. And then for Tom. Tom
has light perception only. So they had to cater for
two very different forms of vision loss as well. So
what they decided to do, and it took a little
(05:45):
bit of work and Tom got on board and helped
them till quite late. They actually had to light up
where these letters were. So they put like green, like
strobe lighting around all of these letters on one side.
And then on the opposite side it was blue And
then it was a matter of turning the main lighting
(06:08):
off so that those two lights stood out. And then
also where we had to push buttons, which was like an, A, B,
C and D, they lit those up and they had A, B, C,
and D written very large. So between all of those elements,
plus us doing some practice runs, we were both able
(06:29):
to hit the buttons.
S2 (06:31):
Okay. And Joe, just to recap for people out there
who are completely new to this idea of indoor skydiving,
let alone indoor skydiving for people who are blind or
have low vision, what does the sport involve and how
does one win?
S3 (06:50):
Yeah, yeah. So out of Tom and I, Tom came first.
S2 (06:54):
Oh, wonderful.
S3 (06:55):
Yeah, yeah. So he's been doing it for, I think
about 4 or 5 years. And he's really getting into
this and he's quite fast. So essentially when we jump
into that tunnel, you've got somebody on hand just in case,
like for safety precautions, just the same as most of
the people in the wheelchairs as well, except for the pros.
(07:18):
And essentially you're flying across, you're hitting that a button,
you're coming back up to the top, hitting B, circling around,
hitting B again. And then you come across to C,
you hit it. Then you do another circle, hit it again,
come down to D and then across to A. And
(07:38):
the aim is you're trying to stay stable but do
it quickly. And Tom was so fast. It was just amazing.
And he was top of one of the top ones
because we competed in a couple of competitions. So there
was one for just Australians and I came seventh in that,
and I think Tom might have come fourth. Wow. In
(08:01):
that particular one, which was fantastic. And a gorgeous young
man called Heath, who's only 12 and has autism. To
my knowledge, he was actually the winner. Oh, wow. So
he he was so fast. It was incredible. Yeah. And, um,
then there was the World Series event, which unfortunately, at
this stage, people with vision impairment can't compete in the
(08:24):
World Series. So that's something we're working heavily on because
this was the first time it's come to Australia. And
next time it comes here, Tom and I so want
to compete, and I want to put it out to
all the people with low vision or blindness. Try this now.
Don't be scared. All the eye flies across Australia have
(08:46):
an all abilities day once a month and you can
actually go. And there's going to be people of all
abilities and amazing instructors that are going to help you.
S2 (08:57):
Perfect. And how can people get involved with iFly. How
did you get in touch with them? Maybe that's the
best way for people to get in touch.
S3 (09:07):
Yeah. That's right. So I with my friend who lives
in Brisbane, there's an iFly there and we got in
touch with them and that's when we heard about the
All Abilities Day, which also gives a discount, which is
really handy to know. And we booked in for a
session there and I was lucky to fly three times
and that was incredible. And then it was through adaptive athletes.
(09:32):
Now you'll find them on social. They're an amazing group
of people as well. As I fly Down Under and
I fly Down Under in Sydney as well as on
the Gold Coast, and they encourage everybody to get involved. Now,
I know there's an iFly in Melbourne and there's one
over in Perth as well. So if you're in any
(09:54):
of those regions, just contact iFly and they will look
after you from there on.
S2 (09:59):
Perfect. So that's it. And just chuck that into a
Google search. I'm sure there's going to be quite a
few search results that will point you in the right direction.
Now we've alluded to this a little bit already, Joe,
but we're looking to raise some awareness of indoor skydiving,
(10:22):
in particular the blind and low vision component of competitions to,
you know, spread that around and make that more available
for people, including Olympic and Paralympic versions one day. So
fingers crossed that does come about. So what's your hope
(10:43):
with regards to that? And what would you love to
see happening there in terms of the timeline and how
that pans out and what that would look like?
S3 (10:55):
I think, um, both Tom and I, as you know,
the visually impaired athletes at the event. We would love
to see more vision impaired athletes joining this. And there's
actually another event coming up. And if you have done
indoor skydiving before, and even if it's only once, if
(11:16):
you've done this before, you have the opportunity to come
and join me. Tom will be there as well in
Sydney at a camp, and it's going to be a
training session on October the 17th there, and it will
be a wonderful opportunity to be trained by a world
(11:37):
class instructor at iFly in Penrith. So that's all leading
into it. We want to get the ball rolling and
see more people trying this sport and join in more
training iFly camps as well, because I think. And fingers
crossed Hopefully by the time we have the Olympic Games here,
(11:59):
it's going to be a Paralympic sport and it would
be incredible to have people with low vision or blindness
joining in that.
S2 (12:13):
I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision. On
Vision Australia Radio, associated Stations of Disability Media Australia and
the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed the first
half of my interview with Joanne Cabot. If you missed
any part of that interview or you'd love to hear
(12:34):
it again. Talking vision is available on the podcast app
of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. You
can also find the program through the Vision Australia Radio
website at VR radio. That's VA radio. All one word dot. org.
But now back to the second half of my chat
(12:57):
with Joanne. Going closer to home now Joe, and touching
on your work within the local community. I understand you've
recently been involved in another dinner in the dark, the
Eclipse Dinner in the dark, which has been so successful
in the past. Tell us a bit about how that went.
S3 (13:17):
Oh, it was just the most special evening. And I'm
just so grateful for for everybody who donated auction items
and the community as a whole for, you know, joining
this event. And we had business leaders and, and people
that really wanted to feel what this experience was like.
(13:38):
So essentially, at one of the local restaurants here in
Hervey Bay, time at the vineyard, which has a fabulous
view down at the Esplanade, we held the event there
and it was a sellout. We had 50 people. Everybody
was blindfolded as soon as they arrived, and they got
(13:58):
to experience eating with their blindfolds on, being guided to
the bathrooms, as well as some incredible events that really
made it fun. Like we did a textual trivia. So
at their table I put a box of items and
we revealed it and they had to with the people
(14:18):
sitting at their table. Guess within a time period what
all of these items were. And that was just such
a laugh. It was so much fun for me to
just watch and feel the energy in the air. And
then we also did a taste tester, where each table
was given an item to taste and they had to
together guess what? The ingredients were so really tuning into
(14:43):
their tastes. And we did a blind auction where everybody
was standing up. And then the last person standing was
basically the person who wanted that particular auction item. So
it was amazing. And we managed to raise over $5,000
for the low vision and blind community, which was brilliant.
S2 (15:03):
That's fantastic. Now you've hosted quite a few dinners in
the dark now, and this has been quite an experienced
campaigner in that sort of area. What's really improved every
time you've done a new one, what have you sort
of learned works and what doesn't work?
S3 (15:22):
Um, I certainly wouldn't go more than 50. And I
think really you need to have a venue where you
can be heard really well. So on this particular case,
we had a debrief after this particular dinner, and we
were thinking, we probably need to, like, speed up the
(15:42):
pace of it, keep it fast paced as well, and
also have, um, like we didn't have a roving microphone,
and that would make it so much easier to, like,
be in the center of the room, able to access
and be heard by everybody. So there's a few things
you need to keep in mind if you want to
keep it managed and flowing really well, so that the
(16:05):
experience is felt by everyone.
S2 (16:08):
But it has been a great success, as you've mentioned.
It was a sellout and you raised so many vital
funds for the blind and low vision community, which is
absolutely fantastic to hear that. It's got such a warm reception,
and everyone's been so generous and really bought into the
(16:29):
whole idea, which is just amazing to hear. But you've
also been involved in the world of fashion lately.
S3 (16:38):
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Well, when I think about this year,
it's just been phenomenal. And I have another dinner in
the dark coming up as well. And I just recently
did a breakfast in the dark.
S2 (16:48):
Oh my God.
S3 (16:50):
So. But I can talk to those in a minute.
Let's talk. Molly. Let's talk.
S2 (16:53):
Fashion. Absolutely.
S3 (16:54):
I was so lucky. I boarded a plane from Brisbane
to Sydney. I knew that Molly and her lovely partner
had arrived in Australia. And I heard that they were
going to Gari, which many people know as Fraser Island.
But I never expected to be on the same plane.
And this cane came past where I was sitting and
(17:15):
I just thought, oh, there's a cane on the plane
right next to me. You know, I can see enough
to tell that. And I just looked up and said,
Molly Bourke. And she said, yes. And I said, It's Joe.
I'm blind too. I'm from Livwell with vision loss because I've,
you know, commented on her posts, etc. and she said, oh,
we must talk when we land. So we were both
(17:40):
in quite a buzz. And so when we landed, one
of the fortunate things here at Harvey Bay, it takes
a while for the luggage to come off. So it
gave Molly and her partner and I plenty of time
to chat about fundraising and promoting awareness and what she
was up to here in Australia. She was really excited.
She'd only just arrived. So it was it was great.
(18:02):
And she mentioned that she was attending in Sydney, Australia's
first inclusive design beauty seminar. It was called Boundless Beauty
and I just thought, wow, that's such a wonderful idea
because inclusivity and beauty products is increasing. And here in Australia,
(18:24):
which is so great to see, we've got incredible designs
like by Storm and Occhio mascara made by a Melbourne ophthalmologist,
and it has Braille on it. It's for sensitive eyes.
You know, it's so good to see. Well, I actually
contacted Doctor Jackie Beltz in Melbourne because we've become friends
(18:45):
through social media, and she arranged a ticket for me
at the event, which was just incredible. So I flew
down to Sydney just for the day, met Molly again,
met some amazing people, saw lots of guide dogs and
seeing eye dogs, which was wonderful. And a lot of
a lot of the top beauty brands were there.
S2 (19:07):
I'm keen to hear a bit more about that accessible
mascara for people with sensitive eyes and eye conditions. So yeah, let's, um,
let's jump into that a bit more.
S3 (19:19):
Oh, absolutely. That's, um, Jackie Beltz's mascara. And yes, you can,
you can buy it online. It's fabulous. I've got both
the brown and the black. And Jackie's made this specifically
for people with sensitive eyes, because she was hearing quite
(19:39):
a lot in her early years of being an Ophthalmologist
that other ophthalmologists were saying, no, you shouldn't wear mascara
because you've got an eye condition or an eye disease.
And she thought, no, let's just actually have a look
at the ingredients and see what's causing the problem, which
is often in your waterproof mascaras and what could actually work.
(20:04):
And so Jackie's created that. But she's not only created
that because she's an ophthalmologist and has patients who have
low vision or are blind. She made it inclusive. So
it's actually square. So if you put it down it's
not going to roll away. And it's got Braille on
the side on the packaging is navy lens. So anyone
(20:27):
can scan it. If you've got the app and actually
find out all about the product. And there's Braille also
on the packaging and it's two tone. So in my
case I can tell that the lighter end is actually
the end that I open it up with. Just incredible.
So much thought.
S2 (20:45):
Yeah for sure. Now, just to wrap up, Joe, how
can people get in touch with you and find out
a bit more about what you're up to in the
next little while? You've always got a lot of things
going on. As we've discussed already, there's always something new
that you're involved with and a lot of great initiatives
(21:07):
coming up. So how can people perhaps find out a
little bit more about those events that you're involved with?
S3 (21:15):
I've got such an exciting month ahead, and I'd love
for people, you know, to to tap in and ask
me questions, if you like, about what it was like,
you know, doing these activities, I'm going to go surfing
again because I fell in love with it. So when
I head down to the Gold Coast soon to celebrate
my birthday, I've got a birthday coming up with my parents.
(21:37):
I'm going to go surfing down at Burleigh, Burley, and
I'm also going to go to the indoor skydiving iFly
on the Gold Coast and just try, you know, my
techniques out there again. But in October I'm actually going
indoor surfing at the Wave pool Urban Surf in Sydney,
(21:58):
as well as indoor skydiving and doing a camp there
and a dinner in the dark and a whole bunch
of incredible things. Because our theme is actually about site
the Art of human site. So it's going to be
a really cool event. So if you want to find
out more about these things, then jump onto socials. You'll
(22:20):
find me at Live Well with Vision Loss and it's
all one word. Live well with vision loss. I'm on Facebook,
TikTok and Instagram, so you'll definitely see more of what's
happening as well as my upcoming flight to Gary.
S2 (22:39):
All right, well, we could talk forever, Joe. And, you know,
it's just been an absolute pleasure to catch up with
you and try and pack all these things into one show.
It's almost impossible. It's so much stuff going on. So, yeah,
as you said, if people would love to find out more,
(23:01):
just head to live Well with Vision Loss. Give Joe
a follow and find out about all the incredible, exciting
things you'll be up to in the next little while.
I've been speaking today with Joe Cabot, indoor skydiver budding surfer,
(23:21):
dinner in the dark host, social media extraordinaire that just
doesn't even scratch the surface of what you're involved with.
But it's just been an absolute pleasure to catch up
with you and hear about everything you've been involved with lately.
S3 (23:39):
Thank you so much, Sam. I think my key message
is you can live well with vision loss. Yes. You're
going to have those tough days. Find ways to pull
yourself out of that as quickly as you can, and
get on with doing the things that you love.
S2 (24:01):
And now here's Frances Kalen with a reader recommended.
S4 (24:05):
Thanks, Sam. Today's reader, recommended from the Vision Australia Library
is killing for Country by David Marr David Marr was
shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal native
police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for
country is the result of a soul searching Australian history.
This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power
(24:28):
in the colonial world of land seized, fortunes made and lost,
and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies
fought for possession of the country, a war still unresolved
in today's Australia. Let's hear a sample of killing for
Country by David Marr. It's narrated by the author David Marr.
S5 (24:47):
It was spring 1835. Is it not a good place?
Asked you, his guide agreed. But I should not like
to put my sheep on it and drive away the
cattle of those who have sat down here. Two huts
could be seen standing on the far side of the river.
You didn't care. They are a set of cattle stealing rascals.
(25:08):
And I should have no compunction. His guide agreed. They
were rascals. But I should not trouble myself about that.
I should go farther and look out for myself. They
are here. You was not persuaded. This quarrelsome 21 year
old had crossed the range with orders to seize a
swathe of the finest land in New South Wales. My sheep,
(25:30):
he said, will soon scatter the cattle. The two men
rode 12 miles along the muki, claiming 150,000 acres of
the Liverpool plains for the merchant Richard Jones. The soil
was deep and black. This is Kamilaroi country, but neither
Jones nor Edmund Ure doubted for a moment the land
(25:51):
was theirs for the taking. Jones paid nothing for these acres.
His only obligation was to stock them. His young brother
in law would soon be running 30,000 sheep along the river.
The colony was perfecting a unique form of conquest, invasion
by sheep.
S4 (26:08):
And that was a sample of killing for Country by
David Marr, available from the Vision Australia Library. To join
the library or to find out more about how the
library works, there is a phone number 1306546561300654656 or email.
Library at. At Vision Australia.
S2 (26:33):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
So please get in touch anytime on our email at
Talking Vision at Vision Australia. That's talking vision all. One
(26:58):
word at Vision Australia. But until next week it's Sam
Culley saying bye for now.
S1 (27:08):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 746
or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host, Sam Colley.
S2 (00:31):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:38):
I want to put it out to all the people
with low vision or blindness. Try this now. Don't be scared.
All the eye flies across Australia have an all abilities
day once a month, and you can actually go. And
there's going to be people of all abilities and amazing
instructors that are going to help you.
S2 (00:59):
Welcome to the program. That voice you heard there was
Joanne Kabat. She's recently returned from competing in the blind
and low vision category of an indoor Or skydiving competition
in Melbourne called iFly. And she tells us all about that.
(01:19):
Alongside her experiences with dinner in the dark and attending
an inclusive, fashion and accessible design festival in Sydney. All
that and more coming up very shortly this week. And
then to finish up, we've got a reader recommended from
(01:41):
Frances Kelland. I hope you'll enjoy this week's episode of
Talking Vision. Our guest today on Talking Vision is all
about living well with vision loss. She's recently returned from
an indoor skydiving competition in Melbourne. She's tried her hand
(02:04):
at surfing lately, as well as getting involved with a
few more dinner in the dark events, one of her specialties.
But she's also recently been pleased to have the opportunity
to attend an all fashion and inclusive design festival in
(02:24):
Sydney and to tell us all about these things and more.
It's my pleasure to welcome back Joanne Cabot. Jo, welcome
back to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.
S3 (02:38):
Thanks so much, Sam. It's wonderful to be back here again.
S2 (02:41):
And great to have you. Now, Jo, I understand you've
been up to quite a lot as always, including an
indoor skydiving competition recently, which just concluded. Tell us a
bit about that one.
S3 (02:55):
Oh my gosh, that was incredible with the most wonderful
people I've ever met. Like, seriously, we just had such
a phenomenal time. So to kind of lead into it,
how this came about for me is I went indoor
skydiving earlier this year with a friend who is also blind,
and we both wanted to try it and it was amazing.
(03:19):
And this actually led to somebody from Sydney seeing me skydive,
and I was invited to Australia's first open handy. Well,
they call it handy fly skydiving event. And this was
actually a part of the World Series Handy Fly event.
(03:39):
And we had international handy flyers there. It was amazing.
S2 (03:45):
And how does blind and low vision indoor skydiving differ?
What are sort of the, um, additional accessibility elements or
safety elements that come with that in comparison to perhaps
other forms of skydiving and skydiving for sighted people?
S3 (04:05):
Yes. Yes, absolutely. So pretty much the first time I
went indoor skydiving, I was with, you know, some instructors,
and it was more about just being moved around in
there and getting a feel for it, whereas this was
actually a competition. And there were people in wheelchairs, people
(04:26):
with autism, a variety of different disabilities. But there were
two of us and the incredible Tom Kennedy. He is
amazing and I know he's quite connected with Vision Australia. So. Hi, Tom. Hi.
The blind flyer out there. He's just such an inspirational
young man. Him and I were the two people that
(04:48):
had the vision impairments and we had to assist the team.
This was at iFly in Penrith in Sydney, on how
to set it up so that we could both see
where the targets was, because in this type of situation,
when it's a competition, you actually have to hit targets
on either side and do it as quickly as you can.
S2 (05:11):
How does that even work for somebody with very little
to no vision? I mean, it's, you know, hitting targets
and getting involved in a sport that's so visual.
S3 (05:23):
Absolutely. It was interesting, too, because I have lost my
central vision and I've got a bit of peripheral, but,
you know, it's mostly cloudy. And then for Tom. Tom
has light perception only. So they had to cater for
two very different forms of vision loss as well. So
what they decided to do, and it took a little
(05:45):
bit of work and Tom got on board and helped
them till quite late. They actually had to light up
where these letters were. So they put like green, like
strobe lighting around all of these letters on one side.
And then on the opposite side it was blue And
then it was a matter of turning the main lighting
(06:08):
off so that those two lights stood out. And then
also where we had to push buttons, which was like an, A, B,
C and D, they lit those up and they had A, B, C,
and D written very large. So between all of those elements,
plus us doing some practice runs, we were both able
(06:29):
to hit the buttons.
S2 (06:31):
Okay. And Joe, just to recap for people out there
who are completely new to this idea of indoor skydiving,
let alone indoor skydiving for people who are blind or
have low vision, what does the sport involve and how
does one win?
S3 (06:50):
Yeah, yeah. So out of Tom and I, Tom came first.
S2 (06:54):
Oh, wonderful.
S3 (06:55):
Yeah, yeah. So he's been doing it for, I think
about 4 or 5 years. And he's really getting into
this and he's quite fast. So essentially when we jump
into that tunnel, you've got somebody on hand just in case,
like for safety precautions, just the same as most of
the people in the wheelchairs as well, except for the pros.
(07:18):
And essentially you're flying across, you're hitting that a button,
you're coming back up to the top, hitting B, circling around,
hitting B again. And then you come across to C,
you hit it. Then you do another circle, hit it again,
come down to D and then across to A. And
(07:38):
the aim is you're trying to stay stable but do
it quickly. And Tom was so fast. It was just amazing.
And he was top of one of the top ones
because we competed in a couple of competitions. So there
was one for just Australians and I came seventh in that,
and I think Tom might have come fourth. Wow. In
(08:01):
that particular one, which was fantastic. And a gorgeous young
man called Heath, who's only 12 and has autism. To
my knowledge, he was actually the winner. Oh, wow. So
he he was so fast. It was incredible. Yeah. And, um,
then there was the World Series event, which unfortunately, at
this stage, people with vision impairment can't compete in the
(08:24):
World Series. So that's something we're working heavily on because
this was the first time it's come to Australia. And
next time it comes here, Tom and I so want
to compete, and I want to put it out to
all the people with low vision or blindness. Try this now.
Don't be scared. All the eye flies across Australia have
(08:46):
an all abilities day once a month and you can
actually go. And there's going to be people of all
abilities and amazing instructors that are going to help you.
S2 (08:57):
Perfect. And how can people get involved with iFly. How
did you get in touch with them? Maybe that's the
best way for people to get in touch.
S3 (09:07):
Yeah. That's right. So I with my friend who lives
in Brisbane, there's an iFly there and we got in
touch with them and that's when we heard about the
All Abilities Day, which also gives a discount, which is
really handy to know. And we booked in for a
session there and I was lucky to fly three times
and that was incredible. And then it was through adaptive athletes.
(09:32):
Now you'll find them on social. They're an amazing group
of people as well. As I fly Down Under and
I fly Down Under in Sydney as well as on
the Gold Coast, and they encourage everybody to get involved. Now,
I know there's an iFly in Melbourne and there's one
over in Perth as well. So if you're in any
(09:54):
of those regions, just contact iFly and they will look
after you from there on.
S2 (09:59):
Perfect. So that's it. And just chuck that into a
Google search. I'm sure there's going to be quite a
few search results that will point you in the right direction.
Now we've alluded to this a little bit already, Joe,
but we're looking to raise some awareness of indoor skydiving,
(10:22):
in particular the blind and low vision component of competitions to,
you know, spread that around and make that more available
for people, including Olympic and Paralympic versions one day. So
fingers crossed that does come about. So what's your hope
(10:43):
with regards to that? And what would you love to
see happening there in terms of the timeline and how
that pans out and what that would look like?
S3 (10:55):
I think, um, both Tom and I, as you know,
the visually impaired athletes at the event. We would love
to see more vision impaired athletes joining this. And there's
actually another event coming up. And if you have done
indoor skydiving before, and even if it's only once, if
(11:16):
you've done this before, you have the opportunity to come
and join me. Tom will be there as well in
Sydney at a camp, and it's going to be a
training session on October the 17th there, and it will
be a wonderful opportunity to be trained by a world
(11:37):
class instructor at iFly in Penrith. So that's all leading
into it. We want to get the ball rolling and
see more people trying this sport and join in more
training iFly camps as well, because I think. And fingers
crossed Hopefully by the time we have the Olympic Games here,
(11:59):
it's going to be a Paralympic sport and it would
be incredible to have people with low vision or blindness
joining in that.
S2 (12:13):
I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision. On
Vision Australia Radio, associated Stations of Disability Media Australia and
the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed the first
half of my interview with Joanne Cabot. If you missed
any part of that interview or you'd love to hear
(12:34):
it again. Talking vision is available on the podcast app
of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. You
can also find the program through the Vision Australia Radio
website at VR radio. That's VA radio. All one word dot. org.
But now back to the second half of my chat
(12:57):
with Joanne. Going closer to home now Joe, and touching
on your work within the local community. I understand you've
recently been involved in another dinner in the dark, the
Eclipse Dinner in the dark, which has been so successful
in the past. Tell us a bit about how that went.
S3 (13:17):
Oh, it was just the most special evening. And I'm
just so grateful for for everybody who donated auction items
and the community as a whole for, you know, joining
this event. And we had business leaders and, and people
that really wanted to feel what this experience was like.
(13:38):
So essentially, at one of the local restaurants here in
Hervey Bay, time at the vineyard, which has a fabulous
view down at the Esplanade, we held the event there
and it was a sellout. We had 50 people. Everybody
was blindfolded as soon as they arrived, and they got
(13:58):
to experience eating with their blindfolds on, being guided to
the bathrooms, as well as some incredible events that really
made it fun. Like we did a textual trivia. So
at their table I put a box of items and
we revealed it and they had to with the people
(14:18):
sitting at their table. Guess within a time period what
all of these items were. And that was just such
a laugh. It was so much fun for me to
just watch and feel the energy in the air. And
then we also did a taste tester, where each table
was given an item to taste and they had to
together guess what? The ingredients were so really tuning into
(14:43):
their tastes. And we did a blind auction where everybody
was standing up. And then the last person standing was
basically the person who wanted that particular auction item. So
it was amazing. And we managed to raise over $5,000
for the low vision and blind community, which was brilliant.
S2 (15:03):
That's fantastic. Now you've hosted quite a few dinners in
the dark now, and this has been quite an experienced
campaigner in that sort of area. What's really improved every
time you've done a new one, what have you sort
of learned works and what doesn't work?
S3 (15:22):
Um, I certainly wouldn't go more than 50. And I
think really you need to have a venue where you
can be heard really well. So on this particular case,
we had a debrief after this particular dinner, and we
were thinking, we probably need to, like, speed up the
(15:42):
pace of it, keep it fast paced as well, and
also have, um, like we didn't have a roving microphone,
and that would make it so much easier to, like,
be in the center of the room, able to access
and be heard by everybody. So there's a few things
you need to keep in mind if you want to
keep it managed and flowing really well, so that the
(16:05):
experience is felt by everyone.
S2 (16:08):
But it has been a great success, as you've mentioned.
It was a sellout and you raised so many vital
funds for the blind and low vision community, which is
absolutely fantastic to hear that. It's got such a warm reception,
and everyone's been so generous and really bought into the
(16:29):
whole idea, which is just amazing to hear. But you've
also been involved in the world of fashion lately.
S3 (16:38):
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Well, when I think about this year,
it's just been phenomenal. And I have another dinner in
the dark coming up as well. And I just recently
did a breakfast in the dark.
S2 (16:48):
Oh my God.
S3 (16:50):
So. But I can talk to those in a minute.
Let's talk. Molly. Let's talk.
S2 (16:53):
Fashion. Absolutely.
S3 (16:54):
I was so lucky. I boarded a plane from Brisbane
to Sydney. I knew that Molly and her lovely partner
had arrived in Australia. And I heard that they were
going to Gari, which many people know as Fraser Island.
But I never expected to be on the same plane.
And this cane came past where I was sitting and
(17:15):
I just thought, oh, there's a cane on the plane
right next to me. You know, I can see enough
to tell that. And I just looked up and said,
Molly Bourke. And she said, yes. And I said, It's Joe.
I'm blind too. I'm from Livwell with vision loss because I've,
you know, commented on her posts, etc. and she said, oh,
we must talk when we land. So we were both
(17:40):
in quite a buzz. And so when we landed, one
of the fortunate things here at Harvey Bay, it takes
a while for the luggage to come off. So it
gave Molly and her partner and I plenty of time
to chat about fundraising and promoting awareness and what she
was up to here in Australia. She was really excited.
She'd only just arrived. So it was it was great.
(18:02):
And she mentioned that she was attending in Sydney, Australia's
first inclusive design beauty seminar. It was called Boundless Beauty
and I just thought, wow, that's such a wonderful idea
because inclusivity and beauty products is increasing. And here in Australia,
(18:24):
which is so great to see, we've got incredible designs
like by Storm and Occhio mascara made by a Melbourne ophthalmologist,
and it has Braille on it. It's for sensitive eyes.
You know, it's so good to see. Well, I actually
contacted Doctor Jackie Beltz in Melbourne because we've become friends
(18:45):
through social media, and she arranged a ticket for me
at the event, which was just incredible. So I flew
down to Sydney just for the day, met Molly again,
met some amazing people, saw lots of guide dogs and
seeing eye dogs, which was wonderful. And a lot of
a lot of the top beauty brands were there.
S2 (19:07):
I'm keen to hear a bit more about that accessible
mascara for people with sensitive eyes and eye conditions. So yeah, let's, um,
let's jump into that a bit more.
S3 (19:19):
Oh, absolutely. That's, um, Jackie Beltz's mascara. And yes, you can,
you can buy it online. It's fabulous. I've got both
the brown and the black. And Jackie's made this specifically
for people with sensitive eyes, because she was hearing quite
(19:39):
a lot in her early years of being an Ophthalmologist
that other ophthalmologists were saying, no, you shouldn't wear mascara
because you've got an eye condition or an eye disease.
And she thought, no, let's just actually have a look
at the ingredients and see what's causing the problem, which
is often in your waterproof mascaras and what could actually work.
(20:04):
And so Jackie's created that. But she's not only created
that because she's an ophthalmologist and has patients who have
low vision or are blind. She made it inclusive. So
it's actually square. So if you put it down it's
not going to roll away. And it's got Braille on
the side on the packaging is navy lens. So anyone
(20:27):
can scan it. If you've got the app and actually
find out all about the product. And there's Braille also
on the packaging and it's two tone. So in my
case I can tell that the lighter end is actually
the end that I open it up with. Just incredible.
So much thought.
S2 (20:45):
Yeah for sure. Now, just to wrap up, Joe, how
can people get in touch with you and find out
a bit more about what you're up to in the
next little while? You've always got a lot of things
going on. As we've discussed already, there's always something new
that you're involved with and a lot of great initiatives
(21:07):
coming up. So how can people perhaps find out a
little bit more about those events that you're involved with?
S3 (21:15):
I've got such an exciting month ahead, and I'd love
for people, you know, to to tap in and ask
me questions, if you like, about what it was like,
you know, doing these activities, I'm going to go surfing
again because I fell in love with it. So when
I head down to the Gold Coast soon to celebrate
my birthday, I've got a birthday coming up with my parents.
(21:37):
I'm going to go surfing down at Burleigh, Burley, and
I'm also going to go to the indoor skydiving iFly
on the Gold Coast and just try, you know, my
techniques out there again. But in October I'm actually going
indoor surfing at the Wave pool Urban Surf in Sydney,
(21:58):
as well as indoor skydiving and doing a camp there
and a dinner in the dark and a whole bunch
of incredible things. Because our theme is actually about site
the Art of human site. So it's going to be
a really cool event. So if you want to find
out more about these things, then jump onto socials. You'll
(22:20):
find me at Live Well with Vision Loss and it's
all one word. Live well with vision loss. I'm on Facebook,
TikTok and Instagram, so you'll definitely see more of what's
happening as well as my upcoming flight to Gary.
S2 (22:39):
All right, well, we could talk forever, Joe. And, you know,
it's just been an absolute pleasure to catch up with
you and try and pack all these things into one show.
It's almost impossible. It's so much stuff going on. So, yeah,
as you said, if people would love to find out more,
(23:01):
just head to live Well with Vision Loss. Give Joe
a follow and find out about all the incredible, exciting
things you'll be up to in the next little while.
I've been speaking today with Joe Cabot, indoor skydiver budding surfer,
(23:21):
dinner in the dark host, social media extraordinaire that just
doesn't even scratch the surface of what you're involved with.
But it's just been an absolute pleasure to catch up
with you and hear about everything you've been involved with lately.
S3 (23:39):
Thank you so much, Sam. I think my key message
is you can live well with vision loss. Yes. You're
going to have those tough days. Find ways to pull
yourself out of that as quickly as you can, and
get on with doing the things that you love.
S2 (24:01):
And now here's Frances Kalen with a reader recommended.
S4 (24:05):
Thanks, Sam. Today's reader, recommended from the Vision Australia Library
is killing for Country by David Marr David Marr was
shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal native
police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for
country is the result of a soul searching Australian history.
This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power
(24:28):
in the colonial world of land seized, fortunes made and lost,
and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies
fought for possession of the country, a war still unresolved
in today's Australia. Let's hear a sample of killing for
Country by David Marr. It's narrated by the author David Marr.
S5 (24:47):
It was spring 1835. Is it not a good place?
Asked you, his guide agreed. But I should not like
to put my sheep on it and drive away the
cattle of those who have sat down here. Two huts
could be seen standing on the far side of the river.
You didn't care. They are a set of cattle stealing rascals.
(25:08):
And I should have no compunction. His guide agreed. They
were rascals. But I should not trouble myself about that.
I should go farther and look out for myself. They
are here. You was not persuaded. This quarrelsome 21 year
old had crossed the range with orders to seize a
swathe of the finest land in New South Wales. My sheep,
(25:30):
he said, will soon scatter the cattle. The two men
rode 12 miles along the muki, claiming 150,000 acres of
the Liverpool plains for the merchant Richard Jones. The soil
was deep and black. This is Kamilaroi country, but neither
Jones nor Edmund Ure doubted for a moment the land
(25:51):
was theirs for the taking. Jones paid nothing for these acres.
His only obligation was to stock them. His young brother
in law would soon be running 30,000 sheep along the river.
The colony was perfecting a unique form of conquest, invasion
by sheep.
S4 (26:08):
And that was a sample of killing for Country by
David Marr, available from the Vision Australia Library. To join
the library or to find out more about how the
library works, there is a phone number 1306546561300654656 or email.
Library at. At Vision Australia.
S2 (26:33):
And that's all the time we have for today. You've
been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision
Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the
show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you.
So please get in touch anytime on our email at
Talking Vision at Vision Australia. That's talking vision all. One
(26:58):
word at Vision Australia. But until next week it's Sam
Culley saying bye for now.
S1 (27:08):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 746
or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
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