Since then, ive been on a mission to use social media to showjust because im blind, it doesnt mean im broken. How does a Blind Girl Play tennis . Girl organise her wardrobe . How does a blind girl ride a motorbike . She revs the engine. I dont my dad does. Im going to get off this now because its scary. She screams. When i first lost my sight, it felt like my world had shrunk forever. But now im embarking on a great big african adventure in kenya. With the help of my cane and a guide, ill tackle some challenging terrain. And you were using my cane, werent you . She laughs. Its the toughest. The toughest thing that ive ever done. Come face to face with the effects of rhino poaching. You know, hes meant to teach people a lesson. Hmm. He was meant to. He was meant to be here to get people to understand that you shouldnt be poaching these beautiful animals. And end up metres away from some very hungry lions. Roaring. The lions here. Here he is. I can hear a lion and a buffalo. Yes. 0h he wanted to hunt. Lion snarls. But the real highlight of my trip will be experiencing whats been called one of the great spectacles of the Natural World the Great Migration. So this is the eighth wonder of the world. Each year, tourists from around the globe flock to see over 1. 5 million wildebeest risk their lives, avoiding predators like lions and crocodiles, as they make their way from the serengeti in tanzania to the masai mara in kenya, in search of fresh grass. But how can someone like me experience a must see spectacular like this . Well, im going to try and find the answer to. How does a Blind Girl Go On Safari . This is my little make up bag. I like to have things all in their set places, so i get everything on the bed first. Then im like, right, let mejust, you know, sort my life out. I was 17 years old when i lost my eyesight. And since then, ive had to discover a load of life hacks to make tasks like packing a suitcase a lot easier. Where is it . Oh, yeah, there it is. So, these are little packing cubes. Basically, i put bottoms in one, tops in the other. Ill zip it up and i might even label, like, day one in braille, and then ill just pack it. I live in the uk with my two guide dogs olga, whos now retired, and miss molly. Oh, i want you two to come so badly, but i dont want you to be eaten by lions. You are. Youre going to be eaten if you come. So youve got to stay with nanny. Got to put you in the car now, my lovelies. Its like my left arm is being chopped off, girls she ultimately allows me to experience the world in a way where i dont get overwhelmed, because shes got it. You spin me right round. And its not going to be like that in kenya. Its going to be me and my cane. Not being able to take molly, it does scare me. So ive got a new passport, and it has braille on, it says passport there. The flight from london to Nairobi Takesjust under nine hours. I cant articulate properly, im like. Are we going to be ok . bye now. Bye bye. Bye bye now. Oh, its somewhere here. It says 0. 3 away. Here it is. No, thank you nairobi. Kenyas capital has a population of around 4. 5 Million People and is the countrys largest city. Its my first ever morning here in africa, and im in a completely new environment, without the help of my guide dog miss molly. Nairobi is a place where many safaris begin. Right, going from. Left to right. But as im only staying here for a couple of days, im going to try and explore a bit, and my first challenge is to cross this busy road. That was so close. 0k. Still hear it coming. Yeah, im crossing. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thats lovely of you. This is the middle section. Nairobi is very overwhelming. Zero out of ten accessibility when crossing the road. Actually, possibly one out of ten because of the lovely people. Broken pavement. A guy actually grabbed my cane, but i didnt know what was happening. And that to me kind of puts me in a panic mode because im like, how can i control the situation . What am i going to do . I really wanted miss molly because she just tells me with her little face, she, like, tilts it to the left or right where shop doors are and things. So, relying on my cane, its, like, theresjust so much stuff in the way. Music playing. It feels like im in a festival, actually, with all the crowd noises. A matatu is a party on wheels. And a Very Popularform Of Public Transport here. Each one is decorated with images of famous tv shows, rappers and sports teams, which is great, unless youre visually impaired. Untranslated speech. Hello, there. Hi. Can i get on the bus . Yeah. Is that 0k . Thank you. Let me help you. Thank you so much. Slowly, slowly, slowly. Yeah. Right foot up. Yeah, slowly. Step here. This is really not like the 110 to birmingham that i used to get to school. Loud music plays. I cant hear anything other than the music. How am i meant to know where i am . I dont know. Finally, ive come across a market. But notjust any market a masai market. Lovely. These are people, these are sailors. A masai market means that we as the kenyans, we have to maintain our traditional culture, and the traditional parts. The masai are a tribe in kenya whose homeland is the masai mara, a savanna wilderness in southwestern kenya, and the scene of the Great Migration that ill be heading to when i leave nairobi. This is the wildebeest. This one is the wildebeest. So what does he look like . These are the legs. Here . Yeah. Here is the ears. Oh, thats the ears . Yeah, the ears. So. Oh, theyve got weird ears i didnt know they felt like that. Yeah, yeah. They are this ones, yeah . Yeah. How much is he . 500. Could you do me for a00 . I can do for you. The market was great fun, and ifelt like i really got to experience nairobi. But beneath the smiles, i must admit, im completely overwhelmed and really missing my guide dog, who helps me to make sense of the world. Back in the hotel room, and its currently. Electronic interference. 10. 26pm in nairobi, and its been such a full on day, full of so many emotions. I am so excited for whats in store, but i cannot believe this is only day one. I am one of the 340,000 people in the uk whos registered blind or partially sighted. But visual impairment is on a spectrum, and everyone is different. And if youre wondering what i can see, its pretty much this, wherever i am in the world. When i first went blind, the world became a scary place, and i never dreamed that one day id be going on a safari in africa. Ive come a long way since those early days, but theres no doubt im going to need some help. So im heading to the Nairobi National museum to meet william, who says he will be the perfect guide to take me to the masai mara. Hi. Hello. Are you william . Lovely to meet you. Im lucy. Im william. Pleasure to meet you. I know that this is a little bit forward, as weve just met, but i wondered if you could audio describe yourself, just so i can build a picture of you in my mind. So i am 59. 0k. Yeah, i can hear where your voice. Yeah. Im 59. I like short hair. You can touch my hair. I love short hair. 0h, 0k. Lovely. I dont have any beard. 0h, 0k. And what are you wearing . Im wearing a green sweater. Lovely. Fluffy sweater. Oh, yeah. And im wearing khaki shorts. Shorts. Yes, ill be your eyes for today. And i have a small surprise for you. You do . I do. 0h, 0k. That sounds really cool. My big surprise is getting to meet some of the stars of the savanna. The great hall of mammals is a collection of taxidermy animals which have been in the museum for years. But not every visitor gets to get up this close and personal. So, a zebra has one colour, and the other colour on the top. The whole of the mouth is black. 0k. So we say a zebra is black, and white on the top. I think. Touching taxidermy animals, initially, was like, oh do the teeth look like traditional human teeth . Like human teeth, but much bigger than human teeth. Two times bigger. Theyre a bit, you know. How are they going to smell . How am i going to feel when im touching these dead animals . Lets put it bluntly. So, yes, i want you to touch the eyebrows. I was like, no, lucy. Like, just experience it completely and wholly. This is one of your main senses now touch. And how you know an elephant is right handed or left handed is by the tusk. So this elephant is right handed. Is right handed. Hes right handed. The shorter the tusk, thats the side that it uses most, most of the time. And another thing, when he wants to warn you, you will see him flapping one, two, three. Another thing about the giraffe, it has the biggest heart. The heart of a giraffe is if to 15 kilos. Wow . So that it can pump the blood up there. For me, i last saw nine years ago. So when i think of visual memories, or anything that i used to be able to see, its like someone has taken a picture and put that picture in a drawer and locked it away for nine years. So thats what today was about. It was reimagining things that i used to be able to see and now cant. The next day, it was time to leave nairobi and begin my journey to the masai mara with will as my guide. After a couple of hours on the road, it was time for a spot of lunch and a chance to use another of my senses that ive come to rely on more since going blind and thats taste. Jambo jambo. Oh, my gosh. It feels spiky, like a pine cone. What colour is it . Its green. Oh, yeah. It smells. And yellow. It smells like a green apple. Thank you. Yes. Oh, wow. The thorn melon was like nothing ive ever tasted before. It was a cross between a banana and melon. Thank you. Because i cant see the world around me, i need to be able to taste it. And how i digest a culture is through their delicacies. 0l pejeta. Leaving the city far behind, we reach ol pejeta a 90,000 acre conservancy located on the equator in central kenya, and home to some of the big five including lions. This is where im hoping to have a First Encounter with the animals that have made kenya a top safari destination. The smell is different here, as are the sounds. Im told 60 to 70 lions called ol pejeta home. But with many Endangered Species also living here, its important to keep a track on the lions and check they arent preying on any of the rare animals. We have managed to put a collar on one of the lionesses neck, and once were able to track and find that one lioness, well be able to see the other members. So this is a sample collar. Can i have a feel . Yeah, you can have a feel. Its not that heavy. You know, lions are strong, because we have the gps tracking machine. And then im going to put it on so you can hear the sound, which comes from it. Interference. 0nce. Once the machine communicates with the collar, the sound will change. 0k. To a kind of a heartbeat. In front of me are elephants. And elephants. So these two are young males. 0h. Theyre very close. I want you to listen to them. Mm hm. Because they are eating grass just close to me. 0k. Soft crunching. So. Whispers thats so beautiful. Yes. Its making me cry. She laughs. I feel really emotional. I dont know. I havent been able to. Watch documentaries in years about nature, and they used to be my favourite. So. It� s really sweet. She sobs. Thank you so much, will. Its really lovely that i can hear them in real life. I didnt know it would make me this emotional. 0k. Its good you can hear them. Yeah. Its a good moment for me. Yeah. I really feel it inside of my heart. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing it with me, because it means the world to me that youre talking to me about all of this amazing culture around you, because its just so special, because i cant see it. Ican hearthem. So, yeah, thank you. Youre so welcome. She sobs. So i hope well see more. Yeah, hopefully. And i want you to listen and smell the environment. Yeah. And ill try my level best to teach you whatever i have inside my heart, and whatever i know, i will try my level best to do that. Sounds amazing. I will. Safari is said to be a game of chance, and you arent always going to be lucky and find what you set out to seek. But when it feels like all hope is lost. Interference. Eight. Louder. So theyre in this direction. I know that the lions wont get me, but i. Yeah. Do they come close to the car . Can you hear them . Theres so many things running through my head at the minute. When the signal is strong enough, samuel is allowed to take his vehicle off road. They are there. Do you. . Do you see them . Whispers oh, ican hear her a little bit. Shes breathing quite heavily, isnt she . So we have two female lions. We have one which is called lucy. So this is lucy. Behind me . Yeah, behind you. How far away . Its very, very close. And vanessa is just on the branches sleeping. So they are two sisters. And theres a cub. Lucys cub is just right in front of you. Just about six metres just from me. Lions are like cats. Mm hm. Daytime, they are sleeping. Yes. They are. They hunt early in the morning or at night. Does she look like The Lion King . That she would come out of The Lion King . Because thats the last memory of lions i have. Yes. She looks like The Lion King. Yes, she does. Lucy laughs. And the cub that we see there looks like. Exactly like the cub which was in lion king. Aw exactly. I dont really look at photos like everybody else and i dont remember things through looking at a photo. Iwould. Bird tweets. Remember the sound of that bird. And remember the time i spent here. Im going to take an Audio Recording tonight. Sound is an important sense for me, but sight no longer is. So when night falls around here and darkness descends, im no longer at so much of a disadvantage, as the bush really comes to life. Ok, lovely. I prefer Night Safaris because i feel like all the animals are at my level. She laughs. And ifeel quite equal with my environment at night time. Rustling. Animal calls. There he is. Whispers oh, you can hear a lion. Yes. They wanted to hunt. Where . Animal growling. No way see the lion chasing them . Do you see . Are they running away . Yeah, from the lion. 0h. Hes chasing them two lions yes. Lets get closer. Lets go, lets go, lets go. Loud snarling. They have already killed a young buffalo. No. Way its on your left. Urgh, what are they doing now . Are they. . And it was. You heard the rip. And that smell, its so disgusting. Yeah, the smell. It was like they were chewing something really soft. That smell can attract other scavengers, like the hyenas. Lions groan loudly. The sounds and smell of a bush kill are like nothing ive ever experienced before. Things have just turned wild. I cant believe ive just heard what ive just heard. Singing. Hello. The weekend is upon us and low pressure once again is paying us a visit. And low pressure once again well have a look at the forecast for the next seven days, but lets concentrate on the weekend first of all. So sunshine and showers, thats what the low pressure is going to bring us. In fact, if we look at the satellite picture, you can see it spinning around here just to the west, north west of ireland. Then, through the course of the weekend, it will be barrelling to the north of Northern Ireland and also across scotland and then south of it. Weve got a noticeable breeze, which will be quite strong around some of these coasts and you can see the showers moving in during Early Morning on saturday. But, further east, the sun should greet us. The temperatures will be around 16 in london and about that for hull, newcastle and even edinburgh and aberdeen. But out from the west, from the get go, the showers will be streaming in and spreading across the country. So a mixed bag to come on saturday. Some of the showers could be heavy, could be thundery, but there will be gaps in between those spells of rain and certainly some sunshine in the forecast. I think the most lengthy sunny spells may be along the south coast, in the south east, but even further north i think youll be pleased to hear there will be some decent windows of sunny weather. A similar picture on sunday. The low pressure still close by. Its actually a very slow moving low, so it pretty much parks itself over the uk during the course of the weekend. Notice that the showers are more frequent in the north west compared to anywhere else in the uk on sunday. On monday the low pressure is still with us. A bit of a sting in its tail because this area, this weather front, isjust brushing the south east, so i think some more maybe persistent showers and even a spell of maybe more persistent rain, at least for a time in the morning, we think. But out towards the west, the suns out. Fine weather for wales, the north west of england not doing bad at all, Northern Ireland, but a scattering of showers in the forecast for parts of scotland. Then, eventually, that low pressure, whats left of it because it is fizzling away, moves into scandinavia. In its wake, a High Pressure forms, but its a weak area of High Pressure. Enough to slow the low pressure coming in from the atlantic. And, yes, there is another one heading our way so heres tuesday, a decent day, just the odd shower, plenty of sunny spells and very pleasant temperatures typically in the range of 19 to 23 degrees celsius. That was tuesday. This is wednesday. The high is with us and the low pressure is slowly approaching. Its also being pushed by quite a Weakjet Stream in the atmosphere. The jet stream is way above at 30,000 feet, the jet stream is pushing the low pressure towards us, but only very, very gently. Ahead of it on wednesday i think still plenty of bright, if not sunny weather. Now, lets have a look at that jet stream. This is towards the end of the week. Its still more or less over us, so we are in that rain and wind superhighway. That low pressure slow moving to the west of us, but any heat coming in from the south in this position of the jet stream will be deflected towards more central and eastern parts of europe, but it might come close to the south. Notice a little bump here. That heat mayjust about nudge into some southern parts of the uk. Were starting to see that hint in the forecast later next week. You can see more sunshine there for cardiff and those temperatures rising, as well. And even further north, belfast and edinburgh, it looks as though the weather might turn a bit better later in the week. Live from london. This is bbc news. Six migrants have been killed trying to cross the english channel. The french authorities are searching for several people still missing. England reach the semi finals of the womens world cup, beating colombia 2 1. Theyll face australia after the hosts beat france in an incredible 20 goal penalty shoot out. Hello and welcome. The french Authorities Say six people have died and several people are still missing after a Boat Carrying migrants sank in the english channel. More than 50 were rescued. The home secretary Suella Braverman said her thoughts and prayers were with those affected by the loss of life. Richard galpin reports. The french Authorities Say a major Rescue Operation was launched this morning in response to a report that a migrant boat was sinking off the coast of sangatte. About 50 people were rescued, and some were taken to hospital in a serious condition. A number of people were seen being carried off the lifeboat
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