Plitvice National Park

The Blue Lake in Mt Gambier is unusual. We expected the Plitvice Lakes to be similar, but with waterfalls. Adam and Eva organized our itinerary and did the research. Boy, did they find a gem. If you are ever passing through Croatia, it is worth going there. We travelled by bus through the mountains and through the many tunnels, the longest was 5.6 kms. The mountains and the forests we passed through were spectacular. We found some fantastic accommodation on our arrival in a little village which looked very Austrian. It was a fantastic home for 2 nights and breakfast was included. In the morning, up early, crisp and cloudy we ventured into the park. Little did we know that 8.5 hours later we would still be there.

Our first sighting of the lakes was breath taking - hopefully our photos will do it justice. Plitvice Lakes http://www.plitvicelakes.com/ . The waterfalls between the lakes were formed by mosses that retain the calcium carbonate that is absorbed in the water as it rushes through the karst (limestone rock). Travertine builds up, sprouting plants that grow on top of each other to create barriers to the river. It is an UNESCO World Heratige site. The turquoise lakes are surrounded by hectares of wooded mountains and linked by a series of waterfalls and cascades. The water is crystal clear and there were lots of fish everywhere. We were able to follow the boardwalks and hiking paths for 8.5 glorious hours. There were caves, but no bears, even though we were told that there may be a possibility of sighting one. At night we took a little train to the restuarant for dinner. During dinner there was a thunderstorm and it started to rain, we had a perfect day with no rain for our sightseeing. We had to run and walk rapidly for 45 minutes through the forest in the pouring run in the darkness, it did not help that Adam had to pretend he was a bear. It was a great ending to a great day to have shared it with Adam and his beautiful wife Eva.