A day trip to Korgalzhyn Nature Preserve Area

Steppe in spring

On Saturday, May 2, we took a day trip to Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve, the largest preserve zone in Kazakhstan located about 160 km northwest of Astana. The area has had a National park status since 1968 and in 2008 became one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites but it still remains surprisingly unknown, even within Kazakhstan. It is a combination of virgin steppe and lakes, and wetlands and is a home to wolves, marmots and saiga. However the main attraction is the birds including … pink flamingo! The first time I heard that there are flamingo in Kazakhstan I didn't believe it! What?! Flamingo that far north?! But the National park is located right on the crossroads of two bird migration routs and it’s largest lake Tengiz is a final stop for the great pink flamingo coming here for the summer from southeast Asia. They usually come at the beginning of May and stay until the end of August. In that short time they manage to raise a new generation of flamingos that are strong enough to fly back to southeast Asia. This year, though, due to the late spring and possibly flooding, the flamingos haven’t arrived yet. We’ll have to make another trip sometime in the future to see them.

But even without the flamingos the trip was an exciting one. It was organized by Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (Link) specifically for NU faculty and their families. We totally took advantage of this great opportunity. There were 15 of us plus our English speaking guide and ecologist, Vera.

The long road to Korgalzhyn Nature Preserve Area

We arrived at Korgalzhyn Aul (village) which is near the National park at about 10:30 in the morning. The roads there were in a really bad condition and what could have taken us a little over an hour on American freeways, took us two and a half hours and a very bumpy ride to get to our destination. On our way there we also saw some flooded areas. At one of the places MES (Ministry for Extreme Situations, kind of like 911 for nature disasters) set up some pumps to pump water from one side of the road on which there was a totally flooded village to another where they had just steppe.

Flooded barns

Pumps that were pumping the excess water from this side of the road to the other.

Once we arrived at Korgalzhyn aul we had a guided tour of the National Park museum. It was a small but a very nice museum which had exhibits of the wild life found in the area and also a history of the Korgalzhyn National Park. After the tour we stopped by a little gift shop which had the crafts made just by local kids. We were really impressed with one picture made out of fish bones, so we bought it.

A view of the main hall of the musium

A hall about wildlife in steppe.

A little insect exhibit. We were told that unfortunately nobody really studies insects in Kazakhstan.

 

This picture was made by one of the local kids out of fish bones!

Our next stop was a lunch at a guest house – a home of a local family who prepared a nice meal for us: manty (Kazakh dumplings filled with meat), a couple of salads and baursak (kind of like a scone). And of course tea. Kazakhs do not have any gathering without serving tea at some point! We do not drink regular tea (but we love herbal tea), and so we politely declined the offer and turned our energy to treats instead. I forgot the name of our host but she was a super nice lady. She has 3 daughters one of whom was helping her serving lunch, and so she was totally spoiling our girls making sure they had plenty of candy to eat (reminded me of their babushka)! She said she’s kept a guest house for 17 years now and loves all of the visitors that come. There are a lot of students that come from different countries to study birds there, so they stay with her.   

The guest house

Our yummy lunch. On the big plate in the middle is the manty, and a little further away is a plate with baursak.

Our girls with their new "Kazakh babushka"!

Getting ready to get back on the road. Those white covers are the protectors from ticks.

After lunch we got back into our minibus, picked up a National Park rep to get us through the park’s border and went to the park making a few stops at the lakes to see some birds there. Our guide, Vera, had some nice optical equipment with her, so we could watch the birds and animals without getting too close to them and scaring them off. Some of the wild life we saw: grey heron, two kinds of swans, demoiselle crane, dalmation pelican, bittern, gulls, shelduck, great crested grebe, marsh harrier, swallow, steppe eagle, black lark, yellow wagtail, and other birds along with gophers, ground hogs and even a fox.  And of course, the vast steppe, lots of it! We were told that the soil is too salty to cultivate because of the lakes. Half of the lakes in the park’s lake system are fresh water lakes but the other half is salty. In the summer the water level in the lakes are much lower, and the salt from them is picked up by the wind and carried through the steppe.

One of the species of wild tulips. 

Spring came late this year, so the flowers are just barely starting to come up.

Our girls! And our minibus in the background.

Lexa is such a cutie!

Going to see the swans up close.

These are whooper swans.

I don't know why but I just love this picture!

Watching the wild life is much easier when you have the right equipment! There is Spencer talking to our guide-ecologist, Vera, about some birds.

I spotted some horses on the other side of the lake. 

Stilt!

I had no idea I would enjoy bird watching so much!

A pair of demoiselle cranes

Barn swallow

Watching for gophers

Found one!

This one is a different kind of wild tulip. Beautiful!

We found a lizard.

Mute swan in all its beauty!

A bittern. These are very hard to see. Our guide said that in 8 years of bird watching she has only seen them twice! So, we were very lucky to see one right there.

A female marmot.

At our final stop at one of the lakes we had a picnic style dinner, rested, and went back home arriving in Astana at about 9pm.

Our last stop of the day. Isn't this beautiful?

The girls found some swings to play on

And we found some frogs. Now, how many frogs can you see in there? I counted at least six!

Watching for frogs off the pier that was destroyed by moving ice in early spring.

Coming back home we saw some interesting cemeteries.

Some are dated a few hundred years old and just about each one had a legend to go with the name of it.

Exhausted Lexa and Sophie!

It was a long but an awesome day, and we all learned a lot about the wildlife in steppes of Kazakhstan. Hopefully we can come back some time and see the famous pink flamingos.

A gorgeous sunset over the wetlands. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful view out of our window!

Spring in Astana

Spring has finally arrived to Astana. The weather has being beautiful for the last week or so. It is actually more summer like if only we had more greenery around. The trees are just starting turning green. The grass is still yellow and dry in a lot of places but quickly turning green, and the first flowers are shooting up out of the ground. We’ve had a very, very long winter and I don’t think I have ever being so excited for spring to come. Finally it decided to visit this part of the world!

On Friday, May 1, was a Unity Day here in Kazakhstan. It is a federal holiday held in place of a Labor Day celebrated during the Soviet Union Era. Kazakhstan is a multinational country, so this day is to celebrate unity of all peoples who live in the territory of Kazakhstan. As with every other holiday here there were a lot of things going on in the city to entertain anybody who wanted to be entertained. We decided to take a walk from Knan Shatyr to Bayterek. One thing I noticed that people weren’t sure how to dress yet. It was about 75F but some people still wore heavy jackets, especially little kids. I’ve seen some little kids being dressed in snow pants and winter coats with winter hats! We in our short sleeve t-shirts probably looked out of place.

A street concert on the square across from Khan Shatyr

a Kazakh folk dance group performing at the square

Everybody must be really anxious for spring to come because they put up these fake blooming trees in a lot of public squares! 

I loved these mother-daughter outfits! We saw a couple of them that day.

We are so glad they finally turned on the fountains!

See those birch trees? They are finally turning green!

People! They are still not sure what to wear.

Movie Dates

One of the unforeseen benefits of knowing Russian and living in this part of the world is that we often get to see movies 2-3 weeks before they come out in the theaters in America. Today a movie starring Russell Crowe (it was also directed by him) and a Ukrainian-born actress and model Olga Kurylenko called “The Water Diviner” was released in the US. Spencer and I went to see it 3 weeks ago in the local movie theater at Keruen Mall. Of course we saw it in Russian but it was great! We absolutely loved the movie and would definitely recommend it though it is probably not for kids under 12 years old as there are a few pretty graphic war scenes.

A scene from "The Water Diviner"

It has become one of our favorite activities here in Astana. Usually once or twice a month (depending on if there is anything worth watching at the moment in the theaters) Spencer and I go on a movie date, and every other month or so we take our girls out to the movies and dinner. The kids have really picked up Russian lately and have been enjoying these family outings. 

A night view of Astana and the Keruen Mall where we go for our movie dates.

Superhero for a Week!

During the fall semester I had a student approach me after class.  She asked if it would be okay if she took my picture so that she could paint me as Buzz LightYear for her art club project.  I didn't know anything about the art club, but she was a good student so I said sure.  I was not sure if the whole thing was a practical joke, or what, but I didn't think too much of it.  She brought her camera to office hours, took some pictures of me from various angles, and that was that. I also made her promise to show me when she was finished.

In January, another student of mine from a different class that I taught in the fall asked me if she could come and take a few more pictures of me.  I asked her why.  She said that she had traded with the other student and was going to do the Buzz LightYear picture of me instead.  I agreed, she came and took my picture, and the transaction was completed.

On Tuesday I received an email from the ArtStudio club at the school to attend the unveiling of the portraits in the main atrium of the university.  I invited Yulia to come over on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. for the grand unveiling.

Unveiling ceremony

The secret revealed!

Standing with the opening ceremony crowd.

What a pleasant and awesome surprise.  The painting that was done is very good. I don't know if I look like Buzz LightYear, but that Buzz Lightyear that she did of me definitely looks like me.  In the painting I have the beard that I grew over the winter.  The depiction of me is very realistic and looks good.  She captured a certain twinkle in my eye that makes the face really look alive.  The only thing that I could (but won't) complain about is the fact that my eyes are blue in the picture.

Buzz LightYear!

A closer look.

Missing my beard!

An isolated view.

The close up!

There were about seven other paintings of various figures in the university: the president and vice president, the dean of the engineering school, a chemistry professor, etc.  We think mine is the best.  We were offered the opportunity to purchase the painting to help the art club fund itself for supplies next year.  We are going to buy the picture to hang and keep.

The most fun thing that has come from this experience has been the reactions from students. "Professor Willardson, have you seen the painting of you as Buzz LightYear?" "It looks just like you!"  I have had a few students email me pictures of the painting since it is on display all this week in the atrium.  I asked, Ainur, my student to pose with me next to the picture and to sign it since we are going to buy it.

Ainur, a very talented artist and an economics student! 

This will definitely be a memento to cherish our time here in Kazakhstan.