The Travel Giraffe

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Welcome back to Stellan and Gerry !!
What a wonderful surprise to have you back !!

As stated before, the views and plants are fabulous !! 
We'd like to see many many more !! 

[Lesley Cox]

A warm welcome home Stellan and it's great to see Gerry looking so well and healthy. His appreciation of beautiful plants grows daily it seems. What a wonderful time he had among the pulsatillas. We look forward to seeing more of you both and the lovely Khazak plants. Thanks so much for your postings under what must be difficult circumstances sometimes.

[Peter Maguire]

It's good to see Gerry has not lost his wanderlust.
Good to have you back Stellan.

[stellan]

What a welcome return of Gerry and Stellan this is.

Stellan are all the Fritillaria pictures from the same location? There seems to be two species one with leaf tendrils and one without.

The Fritillaria pictures are from two locations and it's about 400 km between the locations. One is in norteast part of Aktobinsk Oblast and the other is in the south part in same oblast on the banks of the river Igriz.
The north location has the Fritillaria with leaf tendels but there was also plants with leaf tendels at the southern locations. On that locations 1 plant of 100 has the leaf tendels. At the north nearle every plant had it.

I think it's only one species...

/Stellan

[stellan]

Here is some new pictures. The photos are taken in the area northwest of Lake Aral

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Goodness me.. how empty can a place be ?? 

Stellan, I see not many cyclable roads out there... 

Thanks for keeping us up to date on your proceedings ! 

[ashley]

Goodness me.. how empty can a place be ?? 

Uncluttered rather than empty I'd say Luc

[Lesley Cox]

The uninitiated says "barren, dead, desolate, empty" but the person willing to get down on hands and knees will find all sorts of interesting and even exciting plants. We have some similar areas in New Zealand's high country and they are always fascinating and rewarding of study.

[cohan]

i love these open spaces! great views and plants..
i think many years of city dwelling- and the rest of my years forest dwelling! -gives me a great yearning for this sort of landscape with nothing between me and the sun!

[ashley]

Over the years our family trips were regularly punctuated by a small voice from the back of the car: "More desolate wasteland!"

[cohan]

Over the years our family trips were regularly punctuated by a small voice from the back of the car: "More desolate wasteland!"

ahh, family negotiations

[stellan]

Here are some more pictures from Kazakhstan. These pictures are from the area northwest of Lake Aral about 100 km from the town Aralsk

[arisaema]

Great pics, that Corydalis is amazing!

[stellan]

Pictures from the sand dunes area about 200 km from Aralsk

[stellan]

Last two pictures from today. Dry area about 350 km NW of Aralsk