Water, Water Everywhere!

Again we slept well - some even slept in! This room definitely reminds us more of rec camp accommodation excluding the bunks. A basic breakfast this morning - not a real surprise - but definitely fuelled us up for the days activity.
At 9am we departed for Plitvice Lakes National Park.We had been told we would spend the day there. The grey clouds overhead threatened to open up and make the day a challenge. Fortunately, we only experienced a few patches of light drizzle throughout the day but even this could not mar the experience and the beauty the lakes have to offer. Jill had her $2 disposable poncho at the ready in her recently purchased smaller bag just in case. It was, however, quite chilly at various sections of the lakes - good for hot chocolate and snuggling close!

Plitvice lakes has a surface area of 294.82 square km. It is the largest of Croatia’s eight national parks. In 1979, it was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. The lakes are known for their cascades: 92 waterfalls in total - we saw about half of these.

We started off with a gentle descending stroll down to a small wharf. Our boat took us across to the other side of the lake. From there we walked for 2 hours along a path, often consisting of timber walkways across the expanses of both still and rushing water - no OHS requirements here! Almost all of our group of 35 people did this with ease. One elderly lady did find it difficult and ended up having to take a different path back to the bus.

Our first stop of 20 minutes was for refreshment and/or comfort. Jill had her first hot chocolate here. We continued walking for another hour or so - of course, this included pausing for Kodak moments. Around every corner, the terrain looked different. Different flowers, different butterflies, different birds and different ponds, rivulets and waterfalls.

At one stage, we boarded the panorama bus which returned us to the wharf where we had boarded the first electric boat. From here we boarded a second boat and sailed to the far end of the lake to a different spot, rather like a picnic ground, where we purchased and consumed lunch and more hot chocolate. Jill felt right at home, as there were 2 school groups on excursions. The first a Croatian group of Yr 5 and 6 students, the second a group of German high school students who sang loudly and had a fair share of couples - doing the usual - holding hands, kissing and cuddling. Glad I wasn’t supervising that group especially at night!

After lunch we continued with the final leg of the walk meeting up with our coach at 4pm. In total we walked just under 8 kms and the number of photos taken will remain undisclosed. It was a wonderful experience.

We were still chilled when we arrived back at the hotel. Jill lay down on the bed under a soft blanket. Within a few minutes the two of us were under the blanket and we woke up an hour later.

The evening meal was an entree of a cold platter of local produce - cheeses, meats, olives. The main was trout with vegetables and potatoes. The dessert was fruit salad. John finally found a white wine on the sweet side that he could almost enjoy. Croatia doesn’t have many sweet wines. John wants to start a SWAG - Sweet Wine Action Group as he feels sweet wine drinkers are discriminated against!

After blogging we will retire at a reasonable hour ready to be up early for an 8.15 am departure. Tomorrow we head to Split on the Croatian Coast - hopefully the weather will be warmer!