The house is strewn with sleeping bags, walking boots, camera gear, polar fleeces, sunscreen and lists. The next big adventure begins tomorrow and it’s a beauty.

It came about like this: after coming back from Antarctica I wanted to write a children’s story about “Stay” – the seeing eye dog that has been an Antarctic legend for the past 20 years (by the way, she’s fibreglass). When I discussed it with my publishers, they said great idea – but what about a series? Having spent my entire childhood avidly reading books about animals (especially horses), I was up for it. We’ve signed an agreement for three children’s novels, aimed at 8-11 year olds, known as the Amazing Animals series. ‘Stay – the last dog in Antarctica will be the first book out (in mid 2013), but my current adventure relates to the second book.

Three years ago I cut out a newspaper story about the wild brumbies in the Kimberley – beautiful horses with strong Arabian bloodlines who live out at Lake Gregory near the Tanami Track in the middle of Western Australia. Seriously remote. It was a great feeling to dig that story out of my filing cabinet and know that it will come to life at last. I can’t say too much about what I’m writing yet, but it will focus on those horses and a most unexpected journey they make.

So – you guessed it – Andi and I are off to the Kimberley tomorrow to track down the horses. There was only a small window of opportunity to go, and we’ve taken it. Together with a friend of Andi’s, we’ll head out from Broome into the desert on the trail of stars and horses.

No blogging from out there I’m afraid, but I’ll give you an update and some pix when I get back to civilization in 10 days or so – just in time for the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival.

If you want to know a little more about the horses, check out the wild horses kimberley website. Thanks to Libby Lovegrove for this picture, of a stallion out at Lake Gregory known as Pavarotti.

Over and out!

Jesse xx