Mongolia 4 - North Hovsgol Lake & Boorog Desert

Thursday 23rd August: Last night, the temperature continued to drop to a very cold and windy 5 degrees. It is still raining and low cloud obscured any views of the mountains surrounding the lake. Occasionally the sun would break through and show us the light dusting of snow on the hills not so far from where we are camped. No point staying here, so after studying the maps we think we can short cut our way north to Moron about 200Kms. It is over the mountains, so driving in the wet and cold conditions would be great.
The tracks were in places slippery and some deep (about 1 metre) water crossings; however the views as we drive up and down the vast Granite mountains are specular. Some of the Granite boulders are balancing, but most are so large, they are the whole mountain - just one vast domed rock. At one pass we are at 2,350metres and a light snow is evident on the side of the road. The heater is on maximum in the cab.

Driving lush green valleys, you look up to the mountains capped with snow, pine trees about half way down, and the valley floor filled with grazing horses. The scene strongly reminds us of the Neanderthaloid images created in the book ‘Valley of the Horses’, a part of the ‘Clan of the Cave Bear’ series. When on top of the mountains it is ‘Sound of Music’ country. Hard to believe it is Mongolia after the vast deserts and open plains of the south.

The weather is kinder to us now and we make an early 3.30 stop in the place of an old ger camp site. It is beside a small creek and there are the remains of the circular ger pattern on the grass and some scattered timber for our fire. Tonight is lamb roast night so we need a couple of hours cooking time. Whilst the camp oven is on, and we are tinkering with the trucks we have a couple of local visitors who come and sit and watch what these strange foreigners are doing. After about an hour or so, their curiosity satisfied they move to check on their stock.

The Lamb Roast is beautiful.


Friday 24th August: Six degrees this morning but with no wind it is not really cold. Reaching the town of Moron, it is different again to others we have seen before; perhaps more frontier. Timber buildings like we saw in northern Russia and many of the locals in traditional attire, some riding horses through town. A real mixture of old and new. We really enjoyed the lamb roast so off the markets. A two kilo leg of lamb 6,400T (A$6.40) and two and half kilo of beautiful rump steak 7,000T (A$7.00) plus some potatoes onions etc we are set to go.

The road north to Hovsgol Lake was typically a mix bag of good road, tracks, and trails. We decided on the western shore and coming over the pass ahead of us was the most beautiful area in Mongolia. It is what I had imagined Lake Baikal would be like, but this is very special. Pine trees coming down from the bare 3,000metre slopes to a grass and pine tree lined blue lake. Not just blue but rich blue like the most tropical waters of a coral reef, and crystal clear. It is the clearest lake water I have ever seen.

We parked the vehicles on a small escarpment above the waters edge. As the sun goes down, the moon come up, and the storm clouds on the eastern horizon give off a great sunset display. We will stay here a couple of days.

The steaks were cut thick, about 30mm, and although a little tough tasted really good.


Saturday/Sunday 25/26th August: Two very relaxing days. The first, I guess we had trouble winding down from being always on the move. As Lyn washed everything in site – clothes, bed sheets, and even the truck, I went over the vehicle from front to rear tightening every nut and bolt. Even managed to finally get the squeak from the windscreen wipers fixed and the Ipod working again. Both couples seem not to stop doing something, but we were happy that we had the chance to tidy up and catch up on repairs etc.

We had been visited during the day by the woman from the local ger camp, she had bought over some yak’s milk to say thank you for the kangaroo gift we had given her son earlier. That evening we follow up her invitation to see her milk the yaks. We also tasted yak meat, which is not so different to cow, and sampled some yak yogurt, which I liked very much.

For dinner we cooked in the camp oven, the frozen chicken we had been carrying since Russia. I stuffed it with apple, bread, onion, and any spices I could lay my hands on. With baked potatoes, onions and carrots, it was a feast.
Sunday, was Gays birthday, and a do nothing day other than eat, drink and relax. The weather had unfortunately turned windy and hence was really cold at the shore line; hence we backed the vehicles up into the tree line some 100 metres back and in the lea of the pine trees enjoyed a much better climate. Really the day just drifted slowly by.

Finally in the afternoon we enjoyed a bottle of Chilean Red wine, purchased in Russia, and drunk in Mongolia – how very cosmopolitan. This we had with some fruit cake from home that Lyn had decorated with local flowers in honour of Gay’s special day.

It was lamb roast, again! As the roast was cooking, we were joined by a young man who could not talk – but he certainly could smell that leg cooking. He had been collecting wild onions and offered some for the pot, then collected some more wood for the fire, and water for the camp. Naturally he had to stay for dinner. After a second helping he happily departed on his push bike with a smile and a wave.


Camp 58-60: Hovsgol Lake Camp

Highlights: “Valley of the Horses” and “The Hills are alive with the etc.” country, Lamb Roast, Mongolia’s most beautiful spot – Hovsgol lake,
Total Distance to Date: 13,521 Kilometres

Monday 27th August: After leaving Hovsgol Lake and resupplying at Moron we start our journey west. 25Kms out of Moron is the world’s best Deer Stone site. These one to two metre vertical stones date back to Bronze Age man. Most still have the syllabized deer carving on them and carvings of knives belts, fish hooks, hammered into the granite stone. This area has a collection of nine deer stones plus other piles of rocks in circular or square patterns. We have often seen these concentric circles of rocks all over Mongolia. Apparently the round ones are burial places for animals, particularly the owner’s favourite horse, and the square ones are human burial sites. These all date back to around 500B.C.

We were rather pleased with ourselves for also finding another deer stone some 100Kms further on in our travels. Apparently they are scattered all over western Mongolia and southern Russia.

Tonight we camped well off the track, high up on the edge of the timber line. Most of the valleys are devoid of any trees and it is increasingly hard to have a fire to cook on. Fortunately most of the slopes of the mountains are gentle and allow access up the tree lined ridge. These types of camp sites also allow us great views of the valley spread out before us.


Tuesday 28th August: We reached Tsetserleg around 1pm, it was here that a child died about 3 weeks ago and the road had been recently been closed for fear of a plague outbreak. The bubonic plague or Black Death of medieval Europe initiated from this part of Mongolia. It is transferred from handling marmot skins. A marmot is a local type of ground squirrel which they eat. We decided not to have our lunch in Tsetserleg!

Many times the tracks split and it becomes less obvious which one to take; many decisions are based on both the GPS arrow, the lay of the land, and which is the most used track. Not always does this work out. Many times the well used track becomes nothing more than one old wheel rut in the dust, some times not even that and we just follow that GPS arrow. This afternoon was no exception as we follow very old wheel ruts up and down hills. Finally passing a ger on the edge of the river, I hesitated and decided to ask directions. The middle aged gentleman was only happy too confirm we were on the correct track, but also invited us all in for chai (tea).

This was our first true invitation into a family ger. The six family members; husband, wife, two daughters and two sons live in the one room ger. It is kitchen, lounge, prayer room and bedroom for all. The floor was covered with lino and some scattered carpets. In the centre of the ger was the fire place with a big pot of molten sheep’s fat bubbling away.

The lady of the house was cooking pastries in the fat. The elder daughter was rolling the flour mixture, whilst the others looked on. In the room were also 4 other friends or related family members what had dropped in to visit
On the walls on one side of the entrance hung two full carcases of the recent killed sheep and goat; they did neither smell nor where there any flies. As you scanned the walls, actually the lattice supporting the circular ger, it was also the place to store all their possessions; two, at least 1st World War, very used, bolt action rifles, coats, hats, cooking utensils, and drying skins. At the northern end (the entrance always faces south) was the small orange alter. Around the floor edge was bags of flour, more cooking pots, and their bed rolls. By the time the four of us entered the ger the fourteen of us made it very crowded but homely.

The husband immediately offers us chai. Hot, very milky, and slightly salty, we accept it gratefully with both hands, the Mongolian symbol for thank you. I spread our map of Mongolia on the floor and explain where we have travelled from and are going to. The only words of English they know is ‘thank-you’. As the wife continues to cook the pastries, we are offered a bowl of delicacies – Sheep’s liver, sheep’s heart, and sheep’s intestine stuffed with fat and meat of some kind.

The dark red and grey colour mixture is still warm from cooking. Being rude not to accept this generous offering, we all tentatively try a little. The husband thinks we are just a little too polite and cuts each of us a large chunk of intestine, which naturally we must accept and eat with a smile. Then wash it down with the milky salty tea.

The Polaroid camera was a big hit again here. The teenage daughter in typical style had to grab a comb from the lattice roof to comb her fringe. Following many inside photos and some outside around the vehicles we made a move to leave. Bill was very surprised, and I think quite worried when the husband jumped in and started his vehicle and proceeded to do a lap around the yard. But all ended well and the truck returned to its rightful owner. We parted company having had a real insight into Mongolian herding life.

That evening we camper below towering granite tors


Wednesday 29th August: Continuing west, we travelled varied terrain, rough mountain tracks, some through pine timbered country, and then open plains, then deserts. As we were 15 kilometres out of Baruunturuun a man stopped us and asked if we could take his two sons to town. The small boys of 6 and 9 approximately were standing next to him. We are surprised at the trust that still exists in this society, and wonder where it has gone in ours. We obliged and dropped the boys in town, much to their delight.

The open flat deserts around Dzuungovi are more that I imagined we would have found in the Gobi. This is the Boorog Desert, the world’s most northern desert, flat for as far as you can see to the west, east, and to the north. Waves of sand dunes and to the south a rough treeless blue mountain range hugs the horizon.

Dzuungovi, is just as forbidding. Dusty rough streets, broken shanty wooden houses, and children who had forgotten to smile. We stopped to buy a drink in the magazine, but the only drink available was the row of room temperature beer or vodka on the top shelf. One shelf had some cans of food then three shelves of lollies. I imagine the only happiness for the locals was the vodka on top for the adults and the lollies on the lower shelves for the children. Not a happy town.
The track west across the flat desert was good travelling at 50-60 KPH, so we travelled till 7.30pm. Without a tree, or depression in site we drove about 2 kilometres off the road and set camp. Nothing could be seen for miles, and then three horse men appeared from nowhere to check us out. Following the acceptance of some biscuits from us and a cup of orange juice, they left happy that we were OK and their curiosity satisfied.

Tomorrow we will head to Ulaangom the capital of the province of UVS, about 75Kms

Camp 63: Sand Dune Desert Camp

Current Position: Boorong Desert – Western Mongolia
Highlights: Deer stones, Ger visit, Crossing Boorog Desert.
Total Distance to Date: 15,700 Kilometres