Part 2.
You will hear a radio talk by Naomi Green, who runs a travel agency
specializing
in desert holidays.
First you have some time to look at questions 14 to 16.
Today we welcome Naomi Green, who runs a travel agency specializing in organizing
tourist
trips to desert areas.
Naomi, what's so special about traveling in the desert?
Well, I always remember what really started my love affair with deserts.
We had driven all night through the southwestern United States and the sun was just
coming
up.
I shouted to my husband, stop the car!
The sky had become much bigger and more impressive than any sky I've ever seen and
the rocks
took on the colors of the sunrise.
I stood there by the roadside for about an hour.
I was hooked.
So how can you book for a desert trip?
Well, we managed to keep our overheads down by not actually having a physical
outlet like
a store.
We have a website of course, but we stick to phone bookings because our clients
tend
to have a lot of questions.
For example, people are often most concerned about it being incredibly hot and what
clothes
they should wear.
Our representative can reassure them that they won't need maps and compasses.
Our highly trained guides are extremely reliable.
What we tell them they really need is an un-prejudice mind and to be prepared for
anything.
Of course, the whole basis for this type of so-called adventure travel is going in
a
group.
A lot of people worry about this, saying things like, how can you guarantee that
we'll all
get along for five weeks or however long the tour is?
I say, in some cases our clients build relationships which will last a lifetime.
For me, the great thing is everyone sitting down together at the end of a long day
in
a sun, eating together and exchanging jokes and generally just enjoying the
company.
For you here the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 17-23.
Now listen and answer question 17-23.
Which places does your company run tours to?
Well, we run tours to a number of different locations and each of these has its own
unique
attractions.
In the Atacama, which is the driest location on earth, we offer excursions into the
desert's
most punishing terrain, salt flats, volcanoes and other mountains and geysers.
You can go by Jeep, horse or bike according to your preference.
A quite different desert is the skeleton coast of Namibia in South West Africa, so
named
because of the animal bones you find there.
This is a coastal wilderness of moon-like sand dune landscape.
For the inland, the desert is dotted with canyons and mountains, where we organize
trips for
the hardy traveler to scale the peaks.
We also run tours to the Moroccan section of the Sahara.
The world's largest hot desert covers 9 million square kilometers.
We organize 15 day tracks on the back of camels and on foot, sleeping under canvas
and traditional
tents.
It's far from luxurious, but the stars, sunsets and sense of isolation in the
mountainous
landscape of dunes will more than compensate.
In Almeria, in Spain, there is a savage red landscape with very striking mountain
scenery.
Here we offer special tours to see the locations where many famous films were made,
including
westerns such as a fistful of dollars.
We go by horse to make it more realistic and are accommodated in the simple wooden
huts
once used by the film crews.
Moving eastwards, the Gobi Desert.
As you travel by four-wheel drive, you follow Marco Polo's route and imagine
yourself in
the great caravans which cross the grassland, scorched rock and bleak expanses of
gravel.
The Gobi is home to back-trian camels and the world's only desert bear, and we
arrange
special excursions to view them in their native habitat.
In Rajasthan, in India is the great Indian or Thar Desert.
The beautiful dunes are unmissable and you stay an excellent accommodation with
very
high standards of service and comfort.
You'll have an opportunity to go on a nighttime excursion where you'll be able to
see animals
and gazelles in their natural habitat.
Finally, in Uluru Kata, in the heart of Australia, you stay in eco-sensitive
encampments of
five-star tents with a view of unique and spectacular 36 deep-sided red dome-like
rocks.
Please note that we don't organise climbing trips to Uluru Rock, as this is a place
of
great cultural significance, but there are lots of other walks you can do.
It all sounds really fascinating and like a lot of fun.
