31st August
We had arrived at Predjama Castle late last night, in time to see the castle illuminated in wonderous colours and we were up early the following morning to get pictures of this amazing castle in the morning light. It's a wicked looking castle, seemingly growing out of the cliff face. It has been built in the Predjama caves and must have been a pretty robust fortress in it's day.
After we had breakfast we headed east to the "Intermittent" Lake Cerknica. It's called intermittent because during the Summer months the Lake disappears into underground sink holes and caves. The water has no overground exit points which gives the impression that the lake just disappears. During the Spring and Autumn seasons the rainfall is greater than the amount of water escaping into the ground and so the Lake becomes pretty big over a short space of time. It's also home to quite a lot of rare and endangered species of birds, lizards and fish. Quite how the fish stay in the Lake at the height of summer when the Lake completely disappears was a bit of a mystery to us but it happens, and there were plenty of fish on display in the lake following the recent rains. Its part of the Notranjsko Regional park and as such is afforded protective rights which have helped preserve the volume of life in and around the lake. Strolling along the paths there were no shortage of interesting animals and fauna to stop and admire. That's one thing that is very apparent in Slovenia as a whole, they take great pride in the natural attractions in the country and have taken great steps to ensure it can be enjoyed in the future. This is a country of nature lovers. The same goes for man-made heritage and it is hugely rich in this area too, the area being highly colonised by the Romans and fought over for centuries between various factions (see previous posts).
There was also an fairly new Stone circle to celebrate the magic of the Lake which contained some interesting designs to reflect the different aspects of the area.
Later in the day we strolled around other parts of the Notranjsko Regional park to see some lovely natural features which have been cut into the limestone by the waters of nearby river Rak. These included natural bridges, picturesque waterfalls and massive caves, as well as providing some excellent scenery in general.
1st September
We decided to stop where we were for the night so we could explore further in the morning, and we enjoyed an early stroll through the forests and natural wonders of the park. Having just discussed the joys of wilding in the most remote and unspoilt of places, seemingly a million miles from civilization, we immediately bumped into two scientists from the nearby Postojna Caves who had seen us near Bovec and recognised Nails and our British number plate! We shared a brew with them and had a good chat where we found out a bit more about the cave creatures we were about to see and the nearby area. During this chat Nailz decided to chase a passing car (the first time he has done so I might add) and after giving up half a mile down the road came joggng back with a massive grin. We were then told about how this area (and a lot of the woodland in Slovenia) was home to the Brown Bear. Now they are known to be afraid of humans and generally shy creatures but have, in the past, been provoked by dogs who then lead the grizzled grizly back to the owners with grim consequences for the slowest runner! Cene and Slavko were in the area leading a group of around 80 people touring the immediate surroundings. They were on the organising committee of the 20th International Conference on subterranean biodiversity and Rachel was delighted to pick their brains, and don't think she could believe her luck! They were really friendly and kindly gave us some material to read about the caves and the landscape of Slovenia.
Later that day we moved on to Postojna to visit the Vivarium which showcases various species found in Slovenia's most famous atraction, the Postojna Caves such as Cave Lice, pseudo-scorpions, Slendernecked Beetles as well as the famous "Human Fish" or Proteus, a Salamander-like creature which used to be thought of as a baby dragon! They were amazing creatures and had adapted to live in the most hostile of environments superbly. If you are not familiar with them, check them out. They are the largest solely cave-dwelling creature (they cannot survive outside of the cave as they are so highly adapted) and are actually older than the caves themselves!! They can't see but can sense weak electrical fields which helps them find prey.
On our way back to the van we passed a cyclist with a trailer and British flag sticking up from it. As he was walking I caught up with him and had a chat. He had cycled all the way from Manchester and was cycling around the world avoiding all forms of motorised transport, and was headed for the Croatian border before going south to Turkey, possibly Iran and then across to Asia and ultimately the States. His name is Kevin and his website is here. The journey is expected to take about three years! He is a really nice chap and we wish him all the best for his mammoth voyage.
We next went towards the Skocjan Caves, which are not as famous as the Postojna Caves, but are said to be less "touristy", although after seeing the vivarium I would definitely see the Postojna caves if I ever come back to Slovenia. We stopped near the caves and came across this church stuck out on it's own by the main road so we pulled up for a bite to eat in it's shadow. We then went for a lovely walk around the surrounding area and enjoyed the last rays of what had been another lovely hot day.
On the way back to the van we noticed a hub of activity where we had parked, when before there was none. Slightly concerned we got back there to find that the locals were working away around our van to renovate the church with a view to re-opening it to the public as a museum. It was to be another example of how the Skocjan Caves (and Slovenian tourism in general) was providing work for, and involving, the local community. The church used to be the main church in the village before the current one in the village was built many moons ago. As the area around Skocjan was now a UNESCO natural heritage site building work was strictly limited so existing buildings and foundations are being given a new lease of life. This was a good thing, although the place we had planned to wild camp was now very much compromised, so we drove off to the next town where we saw a more than adequate lay-by leading to a field. Soon, however, we were joined by a flatbed truck piled with rubbish and two ladies in a small car. There seemed to be a stand-off between the two new arrivals with neither turning off lights, engine or moving off so I jumped out of the van to investigate. Turns out the two ladies had seen the truck driving slowly round the village looking for somewhere to fly-tip and chased it around until it joined us in the lay-by. Did I say the Slovene's love nature?? We offered to help anyway we could, but were told the situation was under control and that the police were on their way. As we were surplus to requirements, we made our excuses and were on our way!
After that little episode we thought we'd better find somewhere a little safer so headed back to the Skocjan Caves visitor centre and stayed in their carpark!
We had arrived at Predjama Castle late last night, in time to see the castle illuminated in wonderous colours and we were up early the following morning to get pictures of this amazing castle in the morning light. It's a wicked looking castle, seemingly growing out of the cliff face. It has been built in the Predjama caves and must have been a pretty robust fortress in it's day.
After we had breakfast we headed east to the "Intermittent" Lake Cerknica. It's called intermittent because during the Summer months the Lake disappears into underground sink holes and caves. The water has no overground exit points which gives the impression that the lake just disappears. During the Spring and Autumn seasons the rainfall is greater than the amount of water escaping into the ground and so the Lake becomes pretty big over a short space of time. It's also home to quite a lot of rare and endangered species of birds, lizards and fish. Quite how the fish stay in the Lake at the height of summer when the Lake completely disappears was a bit of a mystery to us but it happens, and there were plenty of fish on display in the lake following the recent rains. Its part of the Notranjsko Regional park and as such is afforded protective rights which have helped preserve the volume of life in and around the lake. Strolling along the paths there were no shortage of interesting animals and fauna to stop and admire. That's one thing that is very apparent in Slovenia as a whole, they take great pride in the natural attractions in the country and have taken great steps to ensure it can be enjoyed in the future. This is a country of nature lovers. The same goes for man-made heritage and it is hugely rich in this area too, the area being highly colonised by the Romans and fought over for centuries between various factions (see previous posts).
There was also an fairly new Stone circle to celebrate the magic of the Lake which contained some interesting designs to reflect the different aspects of the area.
Later in the day we strolled around other parts of the Notranjsko Regional park to see some lovely natural features which have been cut into the limestone by the waters of nearby river Rak. These included natural bridges, picturesque waterfalls and massive caves, as well as providing some excellent scenery in general.
1st September
We decided to stop where we were for the night so we could explore further in the morning, and we enjoyed an early stroll through the forests and natural wonders of the park. Having just discussed the joys of wilding in the most remote and unspoilt of places, seemingly a million miles from civilization, we immediately bumped into two scientists from the nearby Postojna Caves who had seen us near Bovec and recognised Nails and our British number plate! We shared a brew with them and had a good chat where we found out a bit more about the cave creatures we were about to see and the nearby area. During this chat Nailz decided to chase a passing car (the first time he has done so I might add) and after giving up half a mile down the road came joggng back with a massive grin. We were then told about how this area (and a lot of the woodland in Slovenia) was home to the Brown Bear. Now they are known to be afraid of humans and generally shy creatures but have, in the past, been provoked by dogs who then lead the grizzled grizly back to the owners with grim consequences for the slowest runner! Cene and Slavko were in the area leading a group of around 80 people touring the immediate surroundings. They were on the organising committee of the 20th International Conference on subterranean biodiversity and Rachel was delighted to pick their brains, and don't think she could believe her luck! They were really friendly and kindly gave us some material to read about the caves and the landscape of Slovenia.
Later that day we moved on to Postojna to visit the Vivarium which showcases various species found in Slovenia's most famous atraction, the Postojna Caves such as Cave Lice, pseudo-scorpions, Slendernecked Beetles as well as the famous "Human Fish" or Proteus, a Salamander-like creature which used to be thought of as a baby dragon! They were amazing creatures and had adapted to live in the most hostile of environments superbly. If you are not familiar with them, check them out. They are the largest solely cave-dwelling creature (they cannot survive outside of the cave as they are so highly adapted) and are actually older than the caves themselves!! They can't see but can sense weak electrical fields which helps them find prey.
On our way back to the van we passed a cyclist with a trailer and British flag sticking up from it. As he was walking I caught up with him and had a chat. He had cycled all the way from Manchester and was cycling around the world avoiding all forms of motorised transport, and was headed for the Croatian border before going south to Turkey, possibly Iran and then across to Asia and ultimately the States. His name is Kevin and his website is here. The journey is expected to take about three years! He is a really nice chap and we wish him all the best for his mammoth voyage.
We next went towards the Skocjan Caves, which are not as famous as the Postojna Caves, but are said to be less "touristy", although after seeing the vivarium I would definitely see the Postojna caves if I ever come back to Slovenia. We stopped near the caves and came across this church stuck out on it's own by the main road so we pulled up for a bite to eat in it's shadow. We then went for a lovely walk around the surrounding area and enjoyed the last rays of what had been another lovely hot day.
On the way back to the van we noticed a hub of activity where we had parked, when before there was none. Slightly concerned we got back there to find that the locals were working away around our van to renovate the church with a view to re-opening it to the public as a museum. It was to be another example of how the Skocjan Caves (and Slovenian tourism in general) was providing work for, and involving, the local community. The church used to be the main church in the village before the current one in the village was built many moons ago. As the area around Skocjan was now a UNESCO natural heritage site building work was strictly limited so existing buildings and foundations are being given a new lease of life. This was a good thing, although the place we had planned to wild camp was now very much compromised, so we drove off to the next town where we saw a more than adequate lay-by leading to a field. Soon, however, we were joined by a flatbed truck piled with rubbish and two ladies in a small car. There seemed to be a stand-off between the two new arrivals with neither turning off lights, engine or moving off so I jumped out of the van to investigate. Turns out the two ladies had seen the truck driving slowly round the village looking for somewhere to fly-tip and chased it around until it joined us in the lay-by. Did I say the Slovene's love nature?? We offered to help anyway we could, but were told the situation was under control and that the police were on their way. As we were surplus to requirements, we made our excuses and were on our way!
After that little episode we thought we'd better find somewhere a little safer so headed back to the Skocjan Caves visitor centre and stayed in their carpark!
No comments:
Post a Comment