ARARAT - A family of Swiss adventurers were in Ararat on Thursday to visit the Challicum Hills wind farm, just one of many stop-offs on their long journey to every climate in the world.
The Top-to-Top expedition is led by climatologist Dario Schworer who travels with his family of wife Sabine and children Salina (3) and Andri (18 months).
The Schworers' journey is supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), as they travel around the world in the hope of drawing attention to the environment and the impacts of climate change.
The Schworers were very impressed by Ararat's wind farm and were thrilled to see Australia is starting to make the most of its enormous potential for renewable energy.
Mr Schworer was very taken by the size of the wind towers and said his children were also quite excited to see them.
"I actually find the towers quite attractive to look at,'' Mr Schworer said.
"They are much nicer on the eye than the terrible nuclear power stations we have in Switzerland.''
Mr Schworer was also quick to point out the positive environmental impact of the wind farm in that there are no carbon emissions and that farmers could still make use of a majority of the land if needed.
"Wind farms are new, so some people are uncertain about how things work but Australia is an adventurous country and it would be silly to not make the most of the natural wind conditions,'' Mr Schworer said.
Travelling in a purpose built sail boat the core team of the Schworers', along with many volunteers, will sail 70,000 nautical miles, bike 18,000 and climb 400,000 altimeters before completing their monumental journey.
The boat itself is something of a marvel, being solely powered by renewable energy sources.
Using half wind, half solar power the Schworers are able to produce up to 1.5 kilowatts of power, something that is a great promotion for renewable energy.
"Our boat is proof that renewable technology can work well, it's now up to all of us to get behind the initiative for more use of it,'' Mr Schworer said.
The expected 10 year expedition began at Mount Blanc, France, in 2002, with a goal of finishing at the same place in 2012.
However, due to the need for repair of their faithful boat and the time needed for well earned sight-seeing, the Schworers anticipate to now finish their journey closer to 2014.
Also while in Ararat, the Schworers took time to speak with senior students of St Mary's Primary School, who have recently been recognised for implementing a recycling program.
The Schworers were thrilled to see the St Mary's children taking up recycling and said they were very optimistic for the future of renewable energy, having seen many great initiatives in their travels of the world.
Despite the heavy burden of constant travel, the Schworers do not plan to stop anytime soon, as they seek to climb the highest peaks of the seven continents they visit before concluding their journey.