Sarah Marquis – Expedition in the Great Victoria and Gibson desert

Sarah Marquis

Driven by her mission to bring people and nature closer together again, this Swiss adventurer embarks on solo long-distance hikes. For over 20 years, she has been fascinated by extended adventures that span thousands of kilometers, months, and continents. She travels alone and on foot through the most remote regions. National Geographic named her “Adventurer of the Year” back in 2014. Through her books and lectures, she inspires people worldwide to embark on their own adventures and find their inner strength.

“Things grow outside the comfort zone.”

Sarah Marquis posted this quote on Instagram while crossing the Tasmanian rainforest. Carrying only her luggage, she has been hiking across the globe since 2000 on various expeditions—step by step.

To date, she has covered nearly 50,000 kilometers.

For her longest expedition, she was on the road for three full years and walked 10,000 miles through six countries. In her second book, Wild by Nature:From Siberia to Australia, Three Years Alone in the Wilderness on Foot she takes her readers along on this adventure.

The Swiss woman prefers to travel off the beaten path, making her way through remote regions, speaking to no one for weeks, and relying on her instincts.

Marquis describes a trip to New Zealand in her twenties as her first encounter with the wilderness, which she “truly experienced up close”: She spent a month in Kahurangi National Park without taking any provisions. Her later travels included canoe trips through Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada, camping in Patagonia, and a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in the U.S. In 2000, she crossed the United States on foot in four months, and in 2002–2003, she hiked through Australia for seventeen months, covering a total of 14,000 km. In 2006, she hiked through the Andes of South America for eight months. Also in 2006, she followed a section of the Andes from Chile to Machu Picchu – a distance of 7,000 km – and received support from a guide and her brother, who set up water stations along her route.

In 2010, she began a three-year solo hike from Siberia through Asia and, by boat from Thailand, through Australia. During this time, she had little contact with other people and pulled a 54-kg expedition trailer containing her clothing, equipment, and supplies. In 2011, she had to interrupt her route in Mongolia due to a periodontal abscess, but returned to her starting point and continued her journey. Along the way, she was harassed by a group of Mongolian horsemen, threatened by Laotian drug dealers, and fell ill with dengue fever. For safety reasons, she occasionally disguised herself as a man and took care not to leave any traces so as not to be tracked. She completed her journey in May 2013, reaching a location she had identified on her previous trip to Australia. In total, she covered about 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) on foot during her three-year journey

In 2014, Marquis wrote a book titled Sauvage par Nature (“Wild by Nature”). She was awarded the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year Award in 2014.

In 2015, she successfully completed her solo expedition through the Kimberley region in Western Australia. For three months, starting on June 6, she traversed the region, living off what nature provided, and reached her destination on September 6. Sarah endured the harshest conditions of drought, close encounters with saltwater crocodiles, bushfires, and other dangers of the wild Australian bush. She is one of the few white people capable of surviving in the wilderness. This expedition was the result of 20 years of preparation. All her knowledge came from the Aboriginal people and her own experiences. Yet trial and error remain part of the process. “Taking risks means getting to know yourself better and finding your place on this planet.”

2018 – The Search for the Tasmanian Tiger: Sarah had always dreamed of finding it. So she organized an expedition and faced the unforgettable weather system coming straight from Antarctica all by herself. For three long months, she made her way through the untouched, dense rainforest. It was dark and damp beneath the canopy, and death was to be a part of this expedition. Sarah Marquis was playing with fate when these massive, ancient trees toppled near her—with no way out, she felt trapped and powerless. She set up a camera trap every night, never giving up hope… Until that day, when during a slippery descent through a landslide, she caught a whiff of that unforgettable scent… the tiger was there! But her journey took an unexpected turn. In the middle of a desolate landscape, she wandered deep into a ravine, regained consciousness at the bottom, and realized that the left side of her body was paralyzed. For three long, epic days, she crawled out of the ravine until she could be rescued. An ordeal full of pain and insight. The explorer was bedridden for two weeks; her broken shoulder took six weeks to fully heal, but restlessly, she set out again after fifteen days… and began walking once more… only three weeks remained until her destination. During this time, she broke her shoulder again, but there was one thing she was not ready to do: give up.

On her final expedition, she returned to the Australian desert—accompanied by the Monowalker Fatmate, which carried her water and supplies. For nearly three months, she traversed the Great Victoria Desert and the Gibson Desert, one of Australia’s most remote and arid regions. The Monowalker—equipped with Tannus Armour Antiplatt Mousse to withstand even the toughest desert thorns—carried 60 kg, while she herself carried 22 kg on her back.

Sarah Marquis set out to conquer the wild territories of Australia—an expedition that locals described as “madness,” given the isolation, water scarcity, and food shortages she faced. Amidst the silence of these deserts, she experienced a rebirth.

This book is far more than a classic expedition account; it is an intimate, almost raw exploration of solitude, loss, and inner transformation. Its starting point is an extreme solo traverse of Australia’s Great Victoria and Gibson Deserts—a feat that physically pushes the limits of human endurance. Yet, the true journey takes place within.

Sarah Marquis succeeds in drawing the reader directly into the silence and vastness of the Outback. Her prose is simple yet evocative—often almost meditative. One can feel the heat, the thirst, the fear, and that constant state of vigilance that arises when traveling alone in a hostile environment. Scenes such as nocturnal encounters with wildlife or the sensation of being watched create a dense, almost cinematic atmosphere.

At the same time, the book possesses a powerful emotional depth: the expedition begins shortly after the death of her mother. This grief is no mere subplot; rather, it drives the entire narrative. In confronting extreme deprivation—scarcely any water, little food, total isolation—Marquis describes a kind of “recalibration.” The book demonstrates how experiences at the limits of physical endurance can lead to mental clarity.

What stands out most:

Authenticity: No melodrama, no overdramatization—only honest reflection.
Psychological Depth: It is not merely about survival, but about meaning, instinct, and intuition.
Stripping Down to Essentials: Solitude is not romanticized, but presented as a tool for self-discovery.

*L’étincelle du désert* is a quiet yet powerful book. It is aimed at readers who do not merely wish to consume adventure, but who seek to understand what happens when a person leaves everything superfluous behind. It is a story about extreme nature—and, even more so, about the landscape of one’s own soul.

The book about this journey is available here: https://www.sarahmarquis.com/product-page/l-etincelle-du-d%C3%A9sert

Follow her on her website: https://www.sarahmarquis.com/    or on her youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Sarahmarquis    or on https://www.instagram.com/explorer_sarahmarquis/