Cholpon from Kyrgyzstan : From the Switzerland of Central Asia to the Tasmanian seaside

Kyrgyzstan is not a country many Tasmanians would know much about, and probably most would be surprised to know that there are Kyrgyz living on this island so far from their homeland.  Kyrgyzstan is a small country in Central Asia, a mountainous land of some 7 million inhabitants nestled between giant neighbours, China and Kazakhstan.  It gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991,  though it has followed a somewhat different path to it's neighbouring countries and look to tourism as its future, being to blessed with energy and mineral resources that its neighbours possess.Cholpona comes from a region called Issyk-Kul, a centre for skiing and winter activities and an area of tremendous natural beauty.  Kyrgyzstan is also a country of many tribes, where your name and ancestry count for something and family includes virtually everyone in your village.  Cholpona's journey to Tasmania involved a chance meeting with a Tasmanian man, Luke, on a plane, and a long long wait to get a visa while in Dubai, where she also worked for many years.Photo : Andrew Wilson Photography