{"id":1551,"date":"2024-09-06T16:06:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T16:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/?p=1551"},"modified":"2024-09-30T19:39:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T19:39:47","slug":"2-3-september-2024-edegem-antwerp-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/?p=1551","title":{"rendered":"Slovenia & Croatia: September\/October 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

30 September: Lake Bohinj<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We moved about 8 miles to the Zlatorog Bohinj campsite on the western end of Lake Bohinj. A spectacular setting with the Julian Alps surrounding the glacial (Ribbon) lake that is Lake Bohinj. The site was busy but we were lucky to nab a spot next to the water. We wasted no time getting boats off the van and paddled the 6.5 miles around the lake. Tomorrow we will start the long journey home\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n

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We had checked out the Bohinj
campsite two days earlier after the heavy rain which threatened to burst the banks if the Sava River downstream. The lake level was 2-3 metres higher than normal, swamping the campsite. The picture above is of the pitch we occupied two days later after the lake had begun to empty and get closer to normal levels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Our lakeside pitch (once the flooding had receded). I think a few other campers were thinking of Noah and enviously looking at our boats!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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After a cloudy start, the weather couldn\u2019t have been better for our paddle on Lake Bohinj.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A bizarre photo with Alan appearing to paddle in a rocky kaleidoscope.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Nice spot for a picnic!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The far end of the lake, where it empties through the terminal moraine and becomes the Sava River. From here it flows 945km through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, where it finally joins the Danube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

28-30 September: Kamp Danica Bohinj<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stayed a few miles west of Lake Bohinj on the Danica Bohinj campsite. The campsite was just recovering from severe flooding and all the touring Germans had fled. This gave us the choice of pitches and we soon had our towels out to reserve the best one right next to the swollen River Sava. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately it stopped raining and the river depth went down by over a metre overnight. On the 29th we did a 16 mile cycle\/hike\/run to explore the spectacular Mostnice Gorge. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Here comes the rain! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The swollen Sava River. Just two days later it had dropped by at least a metre but was still flowing fast.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
On route to the gorge. Idyllic alpine pasture and farms. Plenty of logs for firewood!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Village produce on sale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Devils Bridge at the start (bottom) of the Mostnice Gorge. We had to leave the bikes here and hike uphill through the gorge and up to the plateau.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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A Gorgeous Gorge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The river drops steeply gouging out the limestone <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Above the gorge the landscape changed to this beautiful high plateau where Slovenian cows are lucky enough to spend their summers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Coffee with a view at a mountain hut at the plateau. They only served Turkish coffee and it put hairs on our chests!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

24-28 September: Lake Bled, Slovenia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stayed at the Camping Bled campsite on the west shore of Lake Bled.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Bled castle with storm clouds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The classic shot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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View of Lake Bled from a viewing point via a \u201crugged\u201d trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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View of the lake from an even higher vantage point.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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12.5 mile cycle alongside the Sava Bohinjka river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Sava Bohinjka river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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The Bled campsite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

23-24 September: Ljubliana, Slovenia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stayed overnight at the Ljubliana Resort campsite. Very convenient for visiting the city with a bus stop a few metres away.<\/p>\n\n\n

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River through the centre of the old part of Ljubliana.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The triple bridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Great architecture – somewhere between Austrian and Swedish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The dragon on the Dragon Bridge <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Another dragon <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The walls of Ljubliana castle <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Spooky door entrance into the Nicholas cathedral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Nicholas Cathedral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Meanwhile at the sausage shop\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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One of the few plains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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21-23 September: Camp Slavic, Duga Resa, Croatia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lovely campsite next to the River Mre\u017enica. Some stunning rock formations on the drive north to the site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our camping pitch was next to the River Mre\u017enica.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Waterfalls on the River Mre\u017enica.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A lot of takes on a size 16 grey wulf fly but it needed to be size 20 or 22 given the massive course fish (about 3 inches long\u2026.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Nice diving platform<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dramatic limestone of the Velebit Mountains, on our journey north<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A rather hazy view back over the Dalmatian coast (where we just came from) from the pass over the Velebit Mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Like an owl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

20-21 September: Krka National Park<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stayed overnight in the Skradinske Delicije campsite in Skradin and cycled into the Krka National Park to see the splendid waterfalls on the Krka river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Krka waterfalls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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The whole landscape in this part of Croatia is karst limestone, and the stepped waterfalls here and elsewhere are created by Tufa (see photo) and travertine deposits from the water.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The lower part of the spectacular Krka falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The Krka river below the falls (our cycle path was parallel to the river). Most visitors seemed to arrive by boat from Skradin, no doubt a lovely trip but hordes of tourists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Krka National Park is home to many native plants, including these lovely wild cyclamen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Our mode of transport in the Krka National Park; a nice ride along the river and discounted entry because we arrived in an eco-friendly manner!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

12-20 September: Zadar district, Croatia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few photos of our time at the Oaza Mira campsite:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The marina next to the campsite with Dalmatian islands in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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A difficult-to-reach high spot overlooking the campsite and marina<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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One of paddles around the Dalmatian coast. This chapel was the only building on a small island opposite Pakostane.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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101 Dalmatians.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A rather warm day for a run into Pakostane .<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We left Banjole and drove south along the Croatian Adriatic coast road. Beautiful views of the Dalmatian coast with many magnificent limestone islands a few miles off shore. Particularly stunning as most had no vegetation whatsoever! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We stopped overnight in an expensive car park masquerading as a camp site. It was called Camping Raca and it\u2019s only saving grace was it has uninterrupted views of the Adriatic and the Dalmatian islands. That view disappeared however when a particularly severe thunderstorm drifted in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had firsthand experience of a local phenomenon called the Bora Wind – a fierce katabatic (downdraught) wind blowing from the high inland Velebit mountains to the Adriatic Sea. It made the night in Raca very disturbing with the van being constantly buffeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then followed the fantastic coast road to the Zadar district and the impressive Oaza Mira campsite. What a great site – large, level pitches, water and power on the pitch, easy access and\u2026 direct access to a private beach from which we can launch the kayaks.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The drive from Banjole to the Oaza Mira campsite near Zadar. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The edge of the Velebit mountains – the start point of the dangerous Bora wind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Great views of the Dalmatian coastline from the coast road. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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So many islands\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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One of the few settlements along this stretch of coast. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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The grotty Camping Raca site complete with a tunnel too low for our van,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Camping Raca\u2019s one redeeming feature- the view of the Dalmatian coast. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Then the thunderstorm descended on the Raca campsite\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Here it comes and it stayed all night!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Plenty of wind, rain, thunder and lightning <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9-12 September: Pula area of Croatia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drove south out of Slovenia and into Croatia stopping at the Arena Indije campsite near Banjole in the Pula district. The site had direct access to the Adriatic but the vehicle access paths and the pitches were a joke! Most of the pitches were on severe slopes which were littered with large rocks and trees. It had rained heavily the previous night so the access was muddy and slippery. After a couple of frustrating attempts we found a fairly level pitch not too far from the sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had some good weather in Banjole and were able to paddle the sea kayaks around the islands and bays. Alan also had an unsuccessful at temp at sea fishing from one of the islands. The geology was interesting as it was mainly Karst limestone and impossible to walk on in bare feet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Journey from Ankaran, Slovenia to Banjole, Croatia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Evening scene from the Arena Indije campsite showing one of many islands.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The start of the expedition out of Banjole.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kayaking in the Adriatic <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Karst limestone found on the mainland and islands near Banjole. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The weather turned stormy in Banjole. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

8-9 September: Vrsic Pass and Ankaran Slovenia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drive south from the site near Kranjska Gora over the challenging Vrsic Pass to the Slovenian Adriatic coastline. The road over the Vrsic Pass was built by Russian prisoners of war during the First World War. Twenty five hairpin bends on the way up and the same number down the other side. The van\u2019s brakes were smoking badly at the end of the descent and we had to stop for an hour to let them cool. We spoke to a German in a Hymer motorhome – he was not so fortunate as his brake fluid had overheated and discharged leaving him with no brakes! We left him waiting for a breakdown truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our stop that night was on the Adriatic coast at Ankaran near Koper in a site called Adria. All in all it was very unremarkable!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Drive from Kranjska Gora to Ankaran near Koper, Slovenia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Vsric Pass: 25 hairpin bends on both sides\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Vrsic Pass showing some of the hairpin bends<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Locals on the Vrsic Pass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Tourists!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At the bottom of the Vrsic pass – brakes are smoking!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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The So\u010da River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Camp Adria, Ankaran, Slovenia <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Blustery Adriatic sea view from Camp Adria.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5-7 September Camp Spik, Gozd Martuljek near Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The route to Slovenia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Run to a few waterfalls up the Martulj\u0161ka Bistrica River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The route to the waterfalls <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Lovely stone structures (inuksuk in Canada) on the bed of the river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The top waterfall (or Slap in Slovenian!.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Slovenian farmers will make use of any structure, like this road bridge, to keep hay dry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Motorhome (with kayaks) in Camp Spik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Nice views of the Julian Alps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Cycle ride to Kranjska Gora town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Typical alpine pasture. The wooden rail structures are used to dry hay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Julian Alps in the distance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Location of Kranjska Gora<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

5 September – arrived in Slovenia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Arrived in Slovenia having driven through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Italy. The German autobahns had major delays due to road works. Austrian tolls for our 4 tonne motorhome were particularly expensive. We broke the journey up with 2 overnight stays in German campsites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2-3 September 2024 Edegem, Antwerp, Belgium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Met with Alan\u2019s old school friend, Jim Walker, and his wife Jackie. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Jim and Jackie Walker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Jim and Alan in Edegem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

30 September: Lake Bohinj We moved about 8 miles to the Zlatorog Bohinj campsite on the western end of Lake Bohinj. A spectacular setting with the Julian Alps surrounding the glacial (Ribbon) lake that is Lake Bohinj. The site was busy but we were lucky to nab a spot next to the water. We wastedContinue reading “Slovenia & Croatia: September\/October 2024”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1551"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1678,"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1551\/revisions\/1678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apethtravels.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}