Dreaming of Asia – ExplorAsia 2010-2012

One day I dreamt of Asia.

 

I dreamt of its planes that end where the eyes can no longer discern the line between earth and sky. August 14th 2008 the layout of my future journey appeared very clearly to me; a beautiful line that links north and south. From that day forward my journey has become so obvious to me and has been named “ExplorAsia 2010-2012”.
Alone with the elements; my only companion will be the rhythm of my own footsteps. The strength of my legs and the quickness of my feet will carry me through this incredible,  20’000 Km long epic. I have always found a second wind at the end of my personal limits. And so once again, I will set out alone on foot to reunite with a little tree I met a few years back. It grows at this specific location:

GPS : S32°23.002 E124°36.972

It’s where the running wind never stops; where the earth meets the ocean… in Southern Australia.

More than a journey it’s a philosophy of movement...

Specification sheet : ExplorAsia

• Departure: June 20th 2010 from Southern Siberia
• Arrival: planned for June 20th 2012 in Australia

Kilometres: 20’000Km
Estimated time (average): 2 years of hiking – approximately 1000Km per month – 30Km per day
Resting points: Total of 6 – every 3 months – a resting point is a place where Sarah will entirely renew her
equipment and stop for a few days.
• Documentary film (52 mins) directed and co-produced by Sarah Marquis and the Delarive Group.

How will Sarah nourish herself?

For the first part she will be able to do some fishing. She will use surface poppers (a technique learned during her childhood). She is going to have to find the right balance with nature. This explorer has been vegetarian since she was a little girl. She only hunts out of respect and to encounter harmony with Mother Nature. And so she will use a blowpipe and a slingshot to hunt and nourish herself. She has more than one trick up her sleeve… from seed patties on a bed of embers to grilled lizards; her instincts will again surprise us more than ever… she will tell us
about her thrilling life close to the earth.

How will Sarah find water in these desert zones?

Usually Sarah is able to sense water. She perceives it… but when the water doesn’t speak to her she uses an American Army technique: condensation.
- Wrap a bush up in a plastic bag and let it sweat for the day
- Make a hole in the ground and put a tarp over it. Wait until the next day to collect the drops of earth sweat.
But everything is so subtle in those desert zones, says the explorer, you have to manage your
body’s water content.

Aren’t you going to sweat more water than what you will collect?

Water hunting is the hardest: you must be mentally ready to not feel water run through your
mouth. Her house on her back She will start her journey wearing a 30Kg backpack. Each gram has been counted and thought out. She will then alternate, depending on the land, between the backpack and a cart that proved itself worthy during her last expedition in the Andes. Sarah is going to hike with 30Kg on her back.

How is Sarah’s expedition useful to science?

Through Dr. Claudio Sartori (altitude research specialist) a wonderful collaboration has been formed between the CSEM in Neuchâtel, the clinic “La Source” in Lausanne and the CHUV. A cardiac monitoring system called Spo2 will inform the scientists on Sarah’s state of health with only 10min of monitoring a day.

Eco-Energy, communication, press, web

Sarah will be able to communicate using a satellite-phone and a solar panel powered mini notebook. Communication when she desires at the rhythm she desires… that is, keeping in mind the solar panel’s capacity to recharge. This is how she will be able to send us texts, images and mini videos of her incredible immersion in hostile lands.

Sarah & her team

All of this organisation wouldn’t be possible without the precious presence of the ExplorAsia
team:

Expedition manager: Gregory Barbezat
P.A. & resting point manager: Gerry Lee
The Australian: Joe (Sarah’s dingo)

Sarah Marquis’ biography

Born June 20th 1972

Her tribulations

This isn’t her first attempt… when she was eight years old she took off with her dog to spend the night in a cave and didn’t tell anyone where she was going. At seventeen she crossed the Central Anatolia (Turkey) on horseback… without the small detail of knowing how to ride. Her taste for travelling brought her to Australia but it was in New-Zealand that she encountered the full experience of walking. She spent time on the wild lands of Patagonia.
She stayed in Moorea (French Polynesia) where she was attracted to the beauty of the islands. But the Australian Bush beckoned her once again. Over the years she has returned regularly to rejuvenate. She explored Canada by canoe and in 2000 she crossed the United-States, from Canada to the Mexican border… 4 260Km in 4 months and 6 days… it was a path full of obstacles.
From up in her snowy mountains in Switzerland, she thought up a wild plan: crossing the Australian deserts in survival mode. This adventure ended November 25th 2003. It took 17 months to travel 14’000Km across the Australian Bush on foot. She came back changed and accompanied by a dingo (wild dog). By saving his life she ended up with an accomplice named Joe. Then she dreamt of South America’s white mountains… she returned with “La Voie des Andes”. This expedition ended 8months later after 7000Km on foot in the Andes, from Chile to Peru via Bolivia. In 2010 she’s leaving again; his time from Siberia to Australia… from the cold to the desert and from high altitudes to jungles. She will come back and tell us her tale… more than an adventure it’s a philosophy of movement.

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