95. Day 64 – From Taldyqorghan to Zhangistobe

Saturday 20 October 2007

We departed from Taldyqorghan at 8.00 am.  We found that we were actually parked in a parking area opposite the Police Station.

We parked here overnight

A friendly Policeman arrived at about 7.00 am and told us that we were parked in the wrong direction – it appears that you should park east/west in that parking area and we were parked north/south.  We gave him a smile and said we would be going soon.  We couldn’t quite see the reason for the difference because the parking area was huge (it would take at least 80 cars) and there were only 2 cars there.  Then again, rules are rules.

We find the Police in Kazakhstan to be incredibly friendly.  Most of them are Kazakhs who always have a friendly smile.  Whenever we have been waved over, all they have wanted to do is to climb in and have a look at the Earthroamer.

We refuelled at a nearby fuel station
Apartment building in the city of Taldygorghan with white painted tree trunks
Autumn trees beside the road outside Taldygorghan
We passed some Military Barracks with the troops out exercising
A farmer and his son on their Chinese made tractor
Homes beside the highway
Farmers we passed
A little boy beside his home in BYNEM village
We passed these Kazakhs taking their load of potatoes along the highway and noticed the driver was wearing a cap from Australia

As we headed north, we found out why it is rumoured that Kazakhstan is where apples originated.  There were apple stalls all the way and we bought about a dozen beautiful sweet tasting apples – both small and large – from a lady with a roadside stall.  We could see the apple trees beside the road.  We paid $2.50 for the apples.

We stopped to buy some of the famous apples from Kazakhstan
Young boy sitting with his mother who sold us the apples
People in the village of Capkah
A horse and cart in Capkah

As we drove north the roads deteriorated from good quality (where we could sit on about 100 kph) to bad quality, where 50 kph was about the maximum we could maintain without bashing the vehicle to pieces.

The road heading north
Rough, bouncy road

We were driving through sage bush.  Once again, it was similar to the arid zones of western NSW.  Occasionally we would pass a salt lake.

A salt lake

Yes, we could have been driving just about anywhere in Australia.  The difference was that instead of herds of cattle, there were mobs of assorted animals – horses, a few cattle, goats and sheep.  Horse meat is popular here.

A shepherd on horseback watching his flock
Kazakh shepherd with his flock

Each time we stopped we would have a look under the Earthroamer to see how the oil was going.  It was dripping out at quite a rate, but in checking the oil in the engine it was still above the full amount.  We think that the Ford dealer in Almaty actually over filled the oil, so it will be a while before we know how much is leaking out and whether it will be a problem.

On the hills were the unusual Kazakh graveyards which consisted of buildings and pyramid structures.  Obviously the more important people had a pyramid built (made from bricks) whereas people of lesser importance had smaller structures.

Kazakh graveyard

We were waved over by the Police and asked to wander into their little checking room, where they took our passport details, and details of the vehicle registration – which were duly written down in a book.  Oh well, bureaucracy has to be satisfied.  Everyone was very friendly.

Alexey talking to the policemen who pulled us over

Today was a day of worry about roads – some of them are just so terrible you couldn’t believe it.  At times there is the contrast of really good roads.

These piles of sand are left beside the road to be used when the road is icy
A man pulling his water container in the village of Komean

We drove a little while in the darkness.  We don’t like doing this but we wanted to try to get as many miles behind us as possible.  We stopped at a small town called Zhangistobe.

Alexey and Pip enjoying dinner in the roadhouse at Zhangistobe.  If you want to try to find it on Google Earth, it is N 49.22292, E 81.32940.

We drove 699 km for the day – which wasn’t bad on such rough roads.

On the night before, Alexey had stayed in a small hotel at $25 per night.  We thought that was pretty good, but tonight’s roadside café and hotel for Alexey was AUD $6 for the room, and we shouted Alexey a meal at 1095 Tenge, which is $10.95.  This included meat, bread, potatoes, juice, and a cup of tea for the three of us – quite a bargain!

We are parked beside a small roadside stop and we are going to accurately measure the amount of oil we have been losing.  We had to stop at different times and put in a total of 2 litres.  It looks as if we could be losing about 4 to 5 litres per day.  This is serious.  We are going to end up spending more on oil than petrol.

Today  699kms    23,540kms since Anchorage, Alaska 

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