7 Day South Gobi Trip

We were really interested in doing a long trip while in Mongolia to get a better insight into the nomadic way of life. On returning from our 2 day trip in the nearby National Park we found enough people interested to join us on a 7 day tour through the Southern Gobi region. We were so lucky as we couldn't have chosen a better 4 travel companions for the trip.

Day one and after a long bumpy ride we reached some amazing mountains and interesting rock formations. En route we spotted countless buzzards and griffons. The Griffon is way bigger than a golden eagle and we were all pretty chuffed to see one close up. The pic below shows Tenae holding a Griffon feather. At night we got our first real taste of Mongolian hospitality. Our hosts were incredibly generous and friendly. I was happy to share a wee dram with them after dinner.

Day two was a really long drive across the Steppe. Miles and miles of not much. It was amazing to see how much wildlife was able to survive in such arid conditions. We saw massive herds of camels, sheep, horses, and goats in what seemed to us like the middle of nowhere. Our long drive was made all the more interesting by our drivers choice of pop classics such as: mc hammer, 2 unlimited and madonna. We spent the night in the outskirts of the metropolis of the south, Dalazadgad, which as a population of 13,000.

Day three we stopped off at Yol Valley which takes its name from the large numbers of Griffons which inhabit the mountainous area. We spent 2 hours slipping our way down the ice valley and scrambling our way up it. At night we stayed in a tourist ger resort to the north of the massive Gobi sand dunes. Unfortunately we arrived in the middle of a sand storm and in complete darkness. The local folks didn't know what we were fussing about even when one of the doors blew off our ger and there was a massive hole in the roof. Both of these problems were fixed quickly with Scotch tape (magical insulating properties) and a what looked kind of like Christmas tinsel (bommer and most definitely gale proof). If you look closely below you can see the door hanging off:


On day four we kicked off the day with a game of rounders followed by a mammoth climb to the top of one of the highest nearby sand dunes. It was so hard work but well worth it. The views from the top were incredible and running down was one of the coolest things we'd ever done. After another 5 hours drive we reached the Flaming Cliff which are famous for some of the worlds most significant dinosaur findings.

On arriving at our new home for the evening we found the guest ger was already taken by another group of tourists. We were offered the family ger and our hosts headed off to sleep at their neighbours place about 2km away. We thought this family were by far the most generous and gracious hosts we had yet encountered and were so glad we were spending 2 nights with them. After sharing dinner with the family it was again time to crack open a hip flask of Scotland's finest. With a palate more attuned to Vodka our hosts put a brave face and polished off the lot. In return Tenae and I sampled some of the local snuff which almost blew our heads off.

We woke the next morning (day five) excited at the prospect of helping the family move home to their summer grazing site. After a short and painful (especially for Rich and Eric) camel ride we arrived at their new site. As you can see below Tenae was a natural:


When we arrived the ger building had already begun and we were champing at the bit to help out. Here is a good pic of Tenae getting stuck in.

Our hosts shown below. The old lady was definitely the boss throughout.

As you can see from below a 6ft + European is vital for any Ger building operation. Eric and Rich were quickly enlisted to help out with any high rope work.


Rich loving every moment!

We were told the night before that it would take an hour to erect the ger but it turned out to be a very social affair and it took the entire afternoon. We couldn't figure out whether we were a help or a hindrance. Regardless everyone involved seem to have fun and we really appreciated being given the chance to witness the whole process. We all felt that over the last two days we started to experience real Mongolia.

On day six we were sad to leave our hosts. We helped them out again in the morning by separating the lambs from the sheep before saying our goodbyes. Days six and seven were fairly non eventful. By this stage we had all started dreaming of hamburgers, pizza, and salad and most importantly ....... a shower!

It was a real privilege to be able to travel in Mongolia. We couldn't believe how the animals and the people could survive in such extreme conditions. The temperatures range from - 40C in winter to +35C in Summer. Mongolians are some of the toughest yet most hospitable people we have ever met.

One of the greatest things about travelling is the cool people you meet along the way. Mongolians are great but the people that made the trip so fantastic were the folks we travelled with and our driver Bira. Our last pic is of team Gobi and our host on night six. The seven day trip was one I don't think either of us will ever forget.