Croatia & Slovenja - 16 to 28 Sept 2007 (GR1 only)

GR1 had decided to catch up with the original route and explore beautiful Croatia as a detour from the eastern side of Italy . We were lucky to be on the car ferry from Ancona at 9pm after arriving at 7pm. Again no custom or immigration hassles - it was over in minutes without costing a cent. Arriving in Split at dawn was breathtaking, and we ended up spending a lazy day along the Adriatic coast in central Dalmatia at Camp Stobrec .

After the usual lessons the next morning, we headed off to the island of Hvar . What a coastline - picturesque bays and coves with mountains framing the cutest towns. At Drvenik we took the car ferry to Sucuraj and spent a glorious day at Mlaska camp - half of which is a nudist area! We had a glorious home cooked meal and dined 'Al Fresco' on cushions in front of the van overlooking the beautiful bay at sunset. Crossing this green idyllic island for 75km, we saw why they call this the Croatian Riviera. Medieval Hvar town, with gothic palaces below 13 th century city walls enclosing a 15 th century Franciscan monastery and Venetian fortress, was jaw-dropping. But it was the atmosphere around the harbour and all the small old side streets with their restaurants that had us clicking away. Thanks to the hospitable Croatian/German Antonic family for a great day. We spent the night 'bush camping', along a cove within walking distance to the old town. The next day saw us reverse the route and head south, arriving after dusk at Slano - with 2 more tyres changes en-route! We had also crossed the 15km corridor of Bosnia and at least saw the town of Neum , without any border hassles.

30km of more awesome driving and it appeared, with little evidence of the early 90's Yugoslav bombardment, the beautiful town of Dubrovnik with its monumental defensive walls and towers and dozens of Renaissance churches on the edge of the peninsular. Founded 1300 years ago by Greek refugees, it has grown into what Lord Byron called 'The pearl of the Adriatic '. Once inside the Pile gate and the 6m thick walls, the 15 th century Onofrio Fountain, a 1391 pharmacy, 16 th century Sponze Palace are amongst the gems of this world heritage site. But its beauty isn't only skin deep – this proud city is the site of the world earliest slave prohibition in 1418. After a brief view along the road south as it snakes the broad bay to Cavtat, we were back up the coast to catch the ferry from Makarska to the island of Brac .

Arriving as the sun painted the island in hues of orange, we headed straight for a town called Bol and camping Kito was our rest stop. This was the place to laze and swim on the Zlatni Rat, the most photographed beach in Croatia . We also finished our evening reading of Roald Dahl's Matilda to the kids but I don't know who enjoyed the book more, us or the children! Another scenic drive across Brac and we were on the ferry from Supetar to Split . Exploring Split's old town was fascinating - all contained in the 3 rd century Emperor Diocletian's palace, with numerous additions over the centuries which moulded it into a unique city. Further north via Trogir, we spent the night at the waters edge at Camping Seget and continued to Zadar and a campsite at Zaton. A sad day this 24 th September, being the first anniversary of Lindsay's death.

The next day after having 2 new tubes fitted, we headed across the Velebit mountains east to the Plitvice Lake NP . This world heritage site is made up of 16 lakes connected by tufa waterfalls created by the deposition of travertine (a light calcareous rock) amidst virgin forests of beech and fir. This pristine environment is augmented by trams and boats conveying visitors around. The autumn colours and emerald waters of the upper larger lakes had us snapping away for 3 hours as we hiked along the wooden pathways. On the 26 th September, we were back to view canyon-like lower lakes before heading back to the coast and the bay of Kvarner . Bullet wounded homes and buildings showed clear evidence of the recent turbulent past. We spent the night just north of Opatija bush camping and seeing the typical Mediterranean town the next day, before crossing the Istrian Peninsular.

The Istrian towns, monuments of medieval urban architecture and life, sit like white crowns of stone atop green hills. We spent the night in Rovinj, but rain dampened our exploring. The weather persuaded us to head north via Novigrad into Slovenia sooner than planned.

Slovenia recently joined the EU so the border crossing was a pleasure. We decided to spoil ourselves at a thermal resort in Koper, Aquapark Zusterna, which the kids were ecstatic about before heading to Postojna. The parking lot at the famous caves was free for the night which we spent chatting away to the interesting alternative lifestyle 'Hesketh Family' from New Zealand . We were dazzled exploring the karst caves by cave train and by foot as the wealth of speleothems was amazing. Unfortunately Slovenia was a brief interlude and we had to head back to Italy .

Croatia provided the perfect balance to Italy 's hectic sight-seeing, with just as interesting a history, but the coastline with its dramatic landscape blew our minds and relaxed our souls!

Ciao