Vladimir Ragulin, chemical engineer:
- Six people on two rubber boats started the rafting from the village of Michurino to the village of Naberezhnye Chelny. The total length of the route was 39 kilometers with several stops along the way. The camp for the night was set up on the right Bank of the Irtysh River, a little above the village of Zhana Kala. The guys were rafted about twelve hours.
Azamat Isenalinov, military historian, PhD, Nur-Sultan:
– Meeting with members of the Pavlodar house of geography took place in the morning. I was sincerely glad that such experienced hikers as Anastasia Sasko, Alina Blinova and Vladimir Ragulin joined the rafting. The last person knows everything about rafting and camping. I think that's why he was appointed our manager. Looking ahead, I will say that Vladimir did a great job with the management. The newcomers were Stepan Gordienko and Olga Shirshina.
Arriving in Michurino, we began to make inflatable boats. It turned to a most difficult task. The process of assembling the boats reminded the designer "LEGO". Through trial and error, we assembled the boats and started the trip. Anastasia, Alina, and Vladimir boarded the «hummingbird», while Stepan, Olga, and I boarded the larger «Frigate». A wanted to be in one boat with experienced Vladimir, but Stepan and Olga showed their best side.
During the trip Stepan helped Olga to work correctly with the oar, and I suggested and encouraged her. In fact, she was learning to row that morning. I showed Stepan and Olga the simple actions of rowing and told them about the rafting I took part in.
One thing I didn't take into account was Stepan's strength and height. Thanks to the length and strength of his arms, he raked more, and I found it difficult to keep up with him. Stepan and I decided that we would row in turn.
I would like to note that both Stepan and Olga turned out to be very interesting interlocutors. It turned out that Stepan is a supporter of healthy nutrition, told about the benefits of products and what vitamins and trace elements they contain. Olga admitted that she did not know how to swim. She told how come to the Pavlodar house of geography and gets the pleasure of communicating with the members.
During a short stop, Vladimir told me to take photos and videos of our rafting. Well, this is an honorable instruction. Until the end of the rafting I tried to meet Vladimir's expectations. The boys made good jokes at each other's expense, but we did not forget our main goal – collecting garbage and cleaning the banks of the Irtysh.
After walking more than 20 kilometers on the first day, we stopped on the left Bank of the Irtysh River, below the village of Zhana Kala (formerly Grigoryevka). The certain part of the road is behind. Now we need to get to the village of Naberezhnye Chelny.
The next day we decided to switch boats. Now Stepan, Olga, and I got into the «Hummingbird», and Anastasia, Alina, and Vladimir got into the «Frigate». On the way, we joke about whose crew is better, who is faster? I will note that Olga was no longer mistaken and rowed more confidently. But we are all grateful to Vladimir, who chose one island, which had a beautiful one-and-a-half meter sand dune. I had never seen a dune before, and the view was fascinating. One thing only remains - to photograph this miracle, we fortunate to see with our own eyes.
At the end, when we arrived at the embankment, Alina jokingly said that she was ready to continue the rafting and not return home. I think our team mentally supported her. But, unfortunately, this wonderful moment - long rafting came to an end, and we returned home.
Despite the fact that the rafting lasted only a day and a half, I enjoyed life all the time of our trip. Once again, I am convinced that the Irtysh is a great river and our duty is to come together and to preserve it for future generations.
Thank you to all the guys who gave me the honor to be on the same team in this trip. Thanks to them, I acquired more knowledge and became a little wiser.
Anastasia Sasko, cartographer:
- The Pavgeo team made the final third (in the course of the ongoing project on cleaning up rivers and forests from garbage, which is being implemented as part of the mini-grant competition of the National project "Birgemiz: Taza Alem" – A. S.) ecological rafting. Apart from civilization and gadgets, we not only fulfilled our social mission, but also spent our leisure time with interest. Some were fishing, some were improving their cooking skills over a fire, and some were trying out rowing for the first time and learning to steer a boat.
Olga Shirshina, SMM specialist, copywriter:
- Rafting has become an amazing adventure for me, an opportunity to test myself for strength, to do a good deed that makes my soul warm and clean on the beaches. It's nice to be useful, to see the nature of the Irtysh such as I could not even imagine, to sit by the fire and dream, to think, to enjoy the silence, and also to meet interesting people and listen to many stories, to recharge your energy for future achievements and understand that happiness is just live such moments.
Stepan Gordienko, graduate of the specialized educational and scientific center (Novosibirsk):
– It still feels like it's swinging back and forth. Rowing strengthens the team spirit, and the overall goal makes you move smoothly. People often hide garbage under trees, they want to hide it from view, but if it was in the most visible places, it would be easier. If you leave garbage, then - do not hesitate. No matter, who leaves it or when. The thing is that it will remain there for centuries.
How do I repeat it? To make a similar trip, you can go from Pavlodar North to the village of Michurino, which is located 30 kilometers from the city on the M38 highway, which leads to Omsk. There you can inflate the boat and launch it on the water of the Irtysh river. Arriving in the village of Naberezhnye Chelny, it is very convenient to inflate the boat at the pier.
Anton Sergeev
Photos provided by participants of the trip