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June Update

Tabachnaya Orphanage Excursion

Last month a trip to the Askinia Nova Reserve for the Tabachnaya orphanage eventually became a reality. It was a trip that was a long time in the planning with the weather, transport, guides, excursions and accommodation all needing to be organised as best they could. Once again we would also like to say a huge thank you to the Slavootich Brewery near Dnipropetrovsk for assisting in the funding of this trip, with Slavootich covering the cost of the travel and accommodation for the kids.

The translation of Askinia Nova is New Germany, and it received this name thanks to the number of Germans that settled in the area in the late 19th century. One such German, Friedrich Falz-Fein, founded the reserve around 1875 where it slowly grew until eventually being designated a National Park in 1919.

It was decided that the trip would start early on the Saturday morning and would try to take in a couple of short visits to places of interest on the way to Askinia Nova. The kids would then have an overnight stay in the Askinia Nova village hotel before spending a full day at the Askinia Nova Reserve on the Sunday.

Day 1

And so it was on the Saturday morning, following a 6.30am rise, that Ira witnessed the kids from the Tabachnaya orphanage rush the bus (for the best seats). It was now 8.00am and, with a light breakfast behind them and a long bus journey ahead, the adventure was underway.

The first scheduled stop on the way was about 3 hours into the journey at General Popov Castle, the mansion of one of the nobles of the Russian Empress Catherine the Second.

The mansion has been turned into a museum, with most of the historical information military related from the 19th century through to the end of WWII.

Ira tells us that whilst the castle and museum are very beautiful and steeped in history but the kids had much more fun exploring the grounds, rolling in the grass, chasing small lizards, and taking in the breathtaking scenery of the area round about (whilst “wolfing” down their packed lunches).

A further hour up the road on the bus and it was time for the next scheduled stop, an archaeological site called “Kamyan Moghula” (or “Stone Tomb”).

The site is covered in huge sandstone rocks, possible deposited by a large river that has long since re-routed itself, and is also believed to be a ancient burial ground. With caves and paintings believed to date back to Bronze and even Neolithic ages it is a site of very historical interest, but the kids simply treated it as a large playground exploring under, over and through the large sandstone rocks.

After the kids had eventually exhausted themselves it was back on the bus and a short drive up the road to the village of Askinia Nova, where the kids would have an overnight stay at a local hostel.

Once their belongings had been transferred from the bus to the hostel the kids were provided with a healthy dinner and allowed to spend a couple of hours wandering around Askinia Nova, a village that thrives on the tourism attracted by the Askinia Nova Reserve.

However, with a big day ahead of them, the kids were rounded back up and into the hostel nice and sharp for a goods night rest. Ira tells us the kids put up a little bit of a fight about an early night, but not much as they were all pretty tired after a busy first day and most realised it would be an early start again the next day.

Day 2

It was a 7.30am rise on the Sunday to ensure that the kids could get washed, packed and a decent breakfast inside them before a busy day at the Askinia Nova Reserve. Breakfast was prepared for them at a local café and Ira had a little surprise for the kids once breakfast was finished.

Thanks to the generosity of Joanne Saunders and Darren Gerrard each of the children had their own personal water bottle to keep them from getting too thirsty on a beautiful sunny day at the Reserve.

Once through the main gates of the Askinia Nove Reserve the tour guide took the children round the botanical section of the reserve. Here there are nearly 1,000 different types of plants, with the Reserve particularly proud of its collection of conifers.

The children were divided into 2 groups with each group having its own guide which, according to a relieved Ira, also helped curb some of the “misbehaviour” experienced the previous day from a large group of over-excited children.

The children all seemed to enjoy their stroll around the magnificent botanical section of the Reserve but Ira noticed that the kids certainly got a little bit more excited when they reached …. The ZOO!

There is not a zoo in Dnipropetrovsk so this was probably the first time that the children will have experienced first hand so many different species of animals.

And with bison, camels, llamas, zebras, antelopes, deer, wild horses, ostriches, eagles and flamingos just a few of the animals on display I’m pretty sure that it will be a trip that the children will remember for a long long time.

At the end of the day the kids were taken to the café at the Reserve and had themselves a nice big dinner to counteract the appetite they had worked up during their guided tours. And with their bellies filled it was time to head to the bus for the journey back to Dnipropetrovsk.

It had been a hectic two day excursion which the kids had thoroughly enjoyed with them visiting many new places and experiencing many new things. However the trip was starting to take its toll on the kids and whilst they were clearly very happy they were also exhausted … which, for the journey back, suited Ira and the teachers just fine!

Thank you all once again for your continued support, without which none of the above would have been possible.

Yours,
Steven Carr,
Dnipro Appeal Committee.
www.dniprokids.com

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