Welcome to Russia’s “wild east” a remote peninsula jutting down toward Japan from the north easternmost part of Russia. There are no roads connecting this place to Russia and connections are via air or sea. A region that was closed to outsiders until 20 years ago it is not a place that many tourists have heard of and even fewer come here.
Our drive from Petropavlovsk to Kluychevskaya National Park on the far north of Kamchata is only 700km but takes 2 long days of driving. Most of it is through the wide valley between the eastern and western ranges the road crosses multiple wide muddy rivers and is flanked on either side with birch and larch forest. The peninsula is home to a variety of wildlife including elk and brown bears but the only ones we have contact with is the swarms of mosquitoes that appear out of nowhere any time we venture out into the open.
Our campsite is set up at the feet of the mountains and is a wild windswept area. I am amazed that our little tents don’t blow away. There is no soil the ground is covered with thick black gravel from the volcanic eruptions. Against the odds pretty little wildflowers battle thir way in this harsh, forbidding environment. Tiny little marmots scurry around making high pitched squeaking noises looking for food scraps.
Our days are spent exploring the multiple craters that are scattered everywhere some of which have erupted in the recent past leaving behind lava rivers and lakes. The effect is very otherworldly as fumeroles still continue to emit fumes and the rocks strewn around are an assortment of colours reflecting the mineral diversity underground. In places the ground and the rocks are still quite warm where the underground lava comes close to the surface.
