Plitvicka Jezera National Park - Croatia

After leaving Krka National Park we travelled north into the mountains. We wound around narrow roads witnessing some of the most spectacular views. As we drove through the occasional village it is safe to say we witnessed our fare share of odd behaviour. We pulled up to a wild camp we had intended to stay at and were greeted by an Ostrich peering over a fence at us. We parked the van and got out to investigate. As we got closer we could hear all kinds of squeaks and squawks. What we stumbled across next was really quite strange. There was a pen with four alpacas tucking into a fresh bale of hay, two donkeys, two Shetland ponies, four little piglets, a wallaby, an owl, two monkeys a deer and a flamingo. Right in front of us. There was nobody around to talk to just this fairly odd mixture of animals chilling by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.    

An unusual welcome committee

Two Ringo's

The Parrot



Fluffy Alpacas

Two Shetland Ponies

Two Donkeys

One of four Piglets

Billy Goats Gruff

After taking a few photos and making a little donation towards some food for the animals we continued on our journey. As we crawled uphill and around a bend we spotted an old man perched on a donkey moseying right along the mountains edge. Scarily close to the edge in fact. The donkey was laden with what looked like a lifetimes possessions and a small dog followed. We stopped to take a picture of the old man and his pets, he was more than happy to oblige and gave a right rye smile for the camera, bless.

The happiest man on earth. And his donkey <3

After an eventful journey we reached our next stop, we spent two nights at an Auto-Camp in Muškovci. It was so peaceful and at times annoyingly quiet, but beautiful all the same. Breathing in the crisp fresh air and feeling the morning dew on the grass has been a thing of the past for the last few months although the sun had burnt away all that freshness by about 9am we enjoyed it while it lasted. After a relaxing couple of days we got straight back on the sightseeing wagon and set of for Plitvicka Jezera National Park.

120 km north towards Zagreb we reached Plitvicka Jezera National Park (NP). The park was awarded NP status in 1949 making it the oldest in Croatia. It has become one of the most valuable features of natural interest in Croatia and wider Europe. It is the largest National Park in Southeast Europe extending over 29,500 hectares, forest covers 22,300 ha whilst 217 ha are covered by water and the remaining 7000 ha are occupied by villages. There are 16 lakes linked together by cascades and waterfalls fed from numerous brooks and streams.

We paid 70kn for parking and claimed half price admission (55kn) because of flooding. There are eight walking trails to follow ranging from 2-8 hours. We brought a map and set about exploring. The first trail we followed was centred around the largest lake Jezero Kozjak, three smaller lakes, Milanovac, Gavanovac and Kaluderovac and Veliki Slap, the largest waterfall at the NP and lasted 3-4 hours. We took a boat from west to east on the Jezero Kozjac and began our trail around the Milanovac Lake. A short distance in we realised most of the paths on our trail were closed due to flooding although we were desperate to see the Veliki Slap so we decided to walk it anyway. We ducked under the yellow tape and continued along the trail. We wound around crystal clear ice cold lakes and along flooded pathways sticking close to the foot of the rocks when we couldn’t see the paths edge.  The wooden pathways were slippery underfoot and the rapid like waters were spilling over onto stairways and bridges although the pathways were quiet so we were able to take our time. Jac kept an eye on Oscar as I clung onto handrails for dear life frequently losing my feet in the fast current.

We reached the Veliki Slap and were the only ones there. Towering 78m above us it was breathtakingly beautiful. We were showered in fresh cold spray from the waterfall whilst we stood trying to capture it from every angle. Its hard to do it any justice with words and harder to capture the enormity of it in a photo, this really is one of those things you need to see to appreciate.

After all the excitement we decided to find a table to sit at a eat our pre-packed pic-nic. How super organised and money conscious we have become!! We sat in the sun studying the map and enjoying our marmalade sandwiches before heading off on another trail. We were both shattered and walking around with sopping wet trainers but wanted to see as much as we could. We squelched back to the jetty to wait for the boat back down the Jezero Kozjak.

Our next trail was around the 7 smaller lakes, Gradinsko, Galovac, Malo, Vir, Batinovac Veliko and Okrugljak. We saw smaller waterfalls and made our way around most of this on narrow wooden footpaths crisscrossing back and forth over the lakes. After a long day of exploring these enchanting lakes we decided to head back to the camper and find somewhere to stay for the night. We drove to a small Autocamp 2km down the road and stayed there for the night. We paid 10€ each for a pitch with electricity and use of the toilet and shower facilities.

The following morning we woke to rain and thunderstorms so decided to stay in the van and eat our own bodyweight in toast. By early afternoon the weather had cleared up and we made our way to Zagreb, the capital and our last stop before leaving Croatia after almost a month.




A wooden pathway from above

Taking the boat across Jezero Kozjak

The boat stop on Jezero Kozjak

Plitvicka Jezera National Park



Plitvicka Jezera National Park

Deserted pathways

Oscar sniffed out this frog

Water cascading over the walkways

Water cascading over the walkways

Veliki Slap

Jac & Oscar posing at the Veliki Slap

Closed pathways

Plitvicka Jezera National Park

Plitvicka Jezera National Park

Krka National Park - Croatia

After waving goodbye to Kelly and Lloyd in Dubrovnik we drove 27 km north where we stopped at Slano, a small village known for olive, herb, fruit and tobacco growing. We stopped along the way at the Bacina Lakes just outside Dubrovnik and arrived fairly late in the evening so didn't get to see much along the way. The only thing we saw when we drove into the village was a man sat in the middle of the road on a chair. Fishing down a drain. At that point we decided we'd stay one night, no more! The following morning we packed up and left for our next stop Stobrec. 7 km outside Split and the first campsite we stayed on when we arrived in Croatia almost a month ago. We stayed in Stobrec for one night before heading the Krka National Park the following day.

 

Bacina Lakes, Dalmatia

Bacina Lakes, Dalmatia

Bacina Lakes, Dalmatia

 

We travelled 92 km north west to Krka National Park just outside Šibenik where the River Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. The park was announced as Croatia's seventh national park in 1985 and was formed mainly to protect the river. It is now used to host an array of scientific, cultural, recreational and tourism activities. The park boasts 109 square kilometres along the River Krka which is 72.5 km long making it the 22nd longest river in Croatia. We parked the camper (for free) and paid 110 kn each for admission (unless you take the bus you probably wouldn't need a ticket as nobody checked ours). We took a bus 1 km down to the entrance to the Skradinski Buk the longest and most famous waterfall on the River Krka, also considered one of the most beautiful calcium carbonate waterfalls in Europe.

River Krka

River Krka

River Krka

Skradinski Buk

Skradinski Buk

We followed the 2.5 km walking trail around the waterfalls, following winding wooden slatted pathways weaving back and forth around the river. Oscar had his nose to the ground the whole time and was in and out of the shallow water when he could find it. The recent heavy rainfall has obviously increased the depth of the river as in some areas it was spilling over onto paths and walkways.



Krka National Park



Whilst wandering around in full tourist form, backpack and camera included we read about the different inhabitants of the park including the European pond turtle and the Hermanns tortoise. There are various species of snake such as Grass snake, Dice snake, Balkan Whip snake and the Four Lined snake as well as several species of lizard including the Dalmatian wall lizard and the Balkan green lizard. There are also twenty species of fish, eight species of amphibians and forty six species of mammals residing in the park.



One of the many wild flowers growing in the park



Birds on the River Krka

Heavy rainfall has caused water levels to rise dramatically



Krka National Park



Krka National Park

The waterfalls were amazing and unlike anything either of us had ever seen. There were small collections of waterfalls cascading through what looked like hillsides and there were grand waterfalls causing complex water systems that had pulled down trees. We walked across a large wooden bridge where we were sprayed with ice cold water from the waterfalls. Probably the most beautiful place we have visited to date. We spent the majority of the day at the park before heading back to the camper and setting off for our next stop 122 km north east.




Krka National Park

The spray created a rainbow over the waterfalls



The church of Saint Nicholas made from deposited calcium carbonate

Enjoying the sunshine at the national park