Skradinski Buk, Krka National Park, Croatia

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Wednesday, 20 July

The alarm went off at 7.30am, which was far too early considering the bed was so comfy. We had a prearranged tour booked to explore the Krka National Park. We were picked up at 8.10 and taken to a camping ground, where the driver swapped with his father (at a guess a 75-year-old) and we were joined by a couple, Elizabeth and Thomas from Vienna.

We were driven into the park, expecting to be combined with a large tour group of 20 people… but, it was just the four of us in the car for the whole day! We couldn’t believe our luck. It was like we weren’t students on a budget as were being chauffeured around; we were very excited.

The first stop was the main attraction of the park – Skradinski Buk. A boardwalk guided us through the magical forest with winding streams and creeks full of fish and wildlife. The water was like a recently cleaned window; completely transparent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6fHyGZRR_0

(make sure you watch in 1080HD on youtube!)

Pop’s (I couldn’t pronounce his name) showed us the techniques which the village people many centuries ago used to grind the wheat seeds, dry the clothes and make bread (same way as we make damper). They took advantage of the energy from the flow of the water to engineer some impressive contraptions to assist them.

After a good 45 mins of venturing through the lush bush we came across the falls.

Very hard to describe the magnificence of the falls and in no way did the camera capture the expansive flow and sound of the cascading waterfalls. We all swam and enjoyed the pure, fresh water while taking in the natural beauty of the place.

Pop’s then drove us to a lookout where we saw the island of Visovac. The island is one of the most important monuments in Croatia. It serves as a holiday house for the Popes.

After, we raced to Roski slap where we walked through the expansive riverbed. There were many wild fig trees growing in and around the water and it brought me back to Emmy and Papas back yard!

There was another mill here, which also served food. We ate a cheese, meat and a fresh vegetable platter and savored some great prosciutto. Close by were some ‘Jacuzzi’s’ that Pop’s challenged us to swim in after our lunch. We couldn’t resist.

We all had a great laugh here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFX5CsziFL8 (watch in HD!)

After we were taken to further upstream to the Orthodox Krka Monastery. Underground we witnessed a tomb of the Romans from when they ruled the province many centuries ago. There were a dozen or so skulls and bones lying around.

We saw another notable site with expansive 20m falls.

Elizabeth and Thomas just so happened to be heading north to Slovenia the following day… they very kindly said yes to me hitching a ride with them in their camper van. We organized a meeting place for the follow morning before we were driven back into Sibernik town center at 6pm.

The total cost of the day was 350 kunas each – 75AUD for entrance (100 kuna), lunch and a private tour of the national park. We won!

On the way back to the hostel we visited the ice-cream place again…







Again we went out for dinner with our roommates. I ordered a turkey steak with roasted vegetables as a side. We enjoyed the bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt (maybe had a few baskets…)

I had a 0.5l local beer, and the roommates ordered 1l of red wine… It was the nicest wine I’ve had! We enjoyed great conversation with Pierre and Pascal about many important issues…

As tradition, we wandered around before stopping off at our favourite ice-cream place… The girl serving us recommended kiwi flavour which was a change from my last few (tiramisu, biscuits, caramel – more creams than fruit) and she loaded us up with a great mound of ice cream. Was a super way to complete a very exciting day.

The national park really impressed me, and reminded me not to spend too much time partying and drinking, but also to explore the countryside and the natural landmarks the earth has to offer.

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