Shortlisted
Greetings from Gobi Holidays!
Harrow International School Hong Kong, Oliver Jamison, 7
T
hank you for choosing a Gobi Desert Trip. I am writing to you to tell you what we will be
doing on the trip, and what the trip is about. We will be seeing rare camels, Golden Eagles,
wolves and snow leopards (from a distance, obviously!), we’ll be feeling the heat and cold of
the desert, learning what the Mongols are like and how they treat people.
First of all:
What to Pack: we’ll need winter clothes, because the Gobi Desert can be extremely cold (the
average Winter temperature is -40 degrees Celsius). But it also gets scorching in Summer, so
bring sunglasses, trousers you can convert into shorts, a light-coloured top (to reflect heat). Water
is scarce (the desert only gets 8 inches of rain a year - about a big cupful) so you’ll need dry
toothpaste and dry shampoo.
The Six Best Things to do in the Gobi Desert
Number 1: Camel-riding: the Gobi has the rare two-humped Bactrian camel. This is an
opportunity for us to ride into the heart of the desert. We’ll see the nomadic people of the desert,
and we’ll be looking out for wildlife such as wolves, eagles etc.
Number 2: Gold prospecting: the Gobi is famous for its copper and gold. We will provide the
pick axes.
Number 3: Seeing the Gobi Mummies: Egypt is not the only country with mummies! The Gobi
mummies date back as far as 1800 BC, and were found in the ancient towns of the Silk Road on
the edge of the Gobi.
Number 4: Following Marco Polo’s trail: Marco Polo was one of the first people to travel from
Europe to China in 1271. He went along the Silk Road, which runs right past the Gobi Desert. You
can track Marco’s steps on his 3-year journey to China.
Number 5: Dinosaur Egg Hunt: There are lots of dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert, especially the
Velociraptor which lived 75 million years ago, so there is a good chance you will be able to find
your own dinosaur fossil.
Number 6: Camping in a Yurt: a Yurt is a Mongolian house. The outside is made of felt and the
inside is a frame of bamboo. It will be fun to construct our own yurt in a village in the desert and
to camp out in the desert. We can go out and meet some local people and say “Hello”.
Something you shouldn’t miss is our evening by the campfire on the last night. The desert
people gather wood and camel dung and make the fire from it. They cook the food on sticks over
the fire and tell traditional tales to one another under the stars.
See you soon in the Gobi Desert. Bye!
