At the end of last week Sarah had a photo shoot with Femina magazine which she had been anticipating for some time.  It’s not really her thing posing in front of a camera.  Joe, however was a different story.  He was like a superstar and loved being in front of the camera.  Normally he hates having his picture taken and turns away as soon as you try and take a shot but not that day.    

We drove to Barrage D’Emosson where there is a beautiful lake, surrounding by snow capped mountains.  We had great weather, with sunshine and blue skies.  Looks can be very deceiving as it was actually about –2^oC and we we’re freezing with frozen hands and chilly noses.  After the photo shoot we were all very exciting to drink some chocolat chaud ? Later in the evening we drove to Neuchatel to meet up with Sarah’s parents as they were going to take care of Joe whilst we went to London for a conference.

We arrived in London after are rather scary landing (due to severe cross winds) and we’re delighted for our feet to touch the ground once again.  The first thing we did when we arrived in our hotel was to eat some fish and chips, something we cannot get in Switzerland.  It was delicious.

The next day we arrived early at the Royal Geographical Society for a conference called the “Hidden Outback” in which Sarah was speaking about her adventures in Australia.  The conference began with a live satellite link to Darwin and an Aussie bloke called, Sab Lord who does tailor made safaris in the outback.  There were lots of interesting talks about everything from safaris to walking to Aboriginal culture and art.  Without sounding biased I have to admit I enjoyed Sarah’s the most.  It was a great day which had us leaving with warm thoughts and dreaming of that amazing country.

P.S. Sarah disappeared for over an hour at one point during the presentation. I later found her chatting and laughing with Charley Boorman who was also going speak about his travels in Australia.

I am very happy to be here in Verbier, Switzerland working with Sarah. I am sat in her log cabin in the beautiful Swiss Alps, surrounded by majestic peaks.

We are very busy now preparing for the expedition and everyone is working non-stop.

On Saturday, our work was disturbed by Joe (Sarah’s dog) barking very loudly. We ran to the window to investigate. It was the famous Heren cows with their loud bells around their necks making their annual descent from the high mountains into the valleys in preparation for winter.

I walked through the forest into the village Le Chable, for the annual raclette cheese festival. My mission was accomplished....I had arrived there with a glass of red wine in hand and had tasted lots of delicious cheese. I then had to make my way back (all up hill) from Le Chable which I did just before a storm came.