Our story

Welcome to Mongol Trails. I'm Oyuka Johnson, and it is my privilege to share the Mongolia I know and love with you.

I was born into a nomadic Mongolian family and was raised from a young age by my grandmother, a true nomadic woman who was strong, resilient, independent and deeply connected to the land. That connection to my roots has stayed with me throughout my life.

Even from the boardrooms of the world-leading mining industry, the call of my homeland's wild nature — its vast steppe and majestic mountains — has always stayed close to my heart. Australia has become part of my life, but my roots, my beginnings and my strength remain in Mongolia.

There is no comparing the feeling of stepping away, even briefly, from the busy, hurried pace of modern life and being drawn toward the crisp air of summer, the wind across the steppe and the energy felt at the mountain peaks. While living in Australia, I came to see how the First Peoples of this land honour the earth and country they belong to, and it made me long all the more for the place where I grew up. Year by year, that pull toward Mongolia grew into the idea for a travel business — and that idea has come true.