Krka National Park

Sibenik is a beautiful old city about 2km up the Krka river from the sea.  The old town is a warren of little streets and old buildings, and like many Croatian cities, it has been fortified extensively to repel the numerous attacks from Venice, Hapsberg, Ottoman and other forces over the past millennia.  One of her most famous citizens was Ante Supuk who constructed the first system of production, transfer and distribution of alternation current in the world, transforming Sibenik into a modern city in the end of the 19th century.  This power came from the hydro-electric plant mentioned below.  The Cathederal of St James stands out above the city roofs and is famous for its row of 72 stone sculptures of common men and women's heads around the outside of the building.  We also enjoyed the Monastery Gardens.

Sibenik from the water with St James Cathederal.

We found this water fountain covered in moss with terrapin statues.  We thought it was pretty cool.  And then they moved!

20km further up the river we arrived at the little town of Skradin.  It was strange to be in a 50ft yacht and drive to a big marina so far from the sea!  

Motoring up the river we had 30m of water underneath us.

Skradin Marina - the top 1,5m is fresh water and then it is salty underneath.

The bell tower lit up at night.

The town is quaint, but the main attraction is the access to Krka National Park. The Krka River has several cascades in it formed from Tavertine.  Tavertine is created when calcium, precipitating from the lime rich water from the river water accumulates on living elements such as moss and algae.  On the Krka River it forms pools with rims of tavertine and the water spills from pool to pool in a series of cascades.  We headed up to Skradinski buk which is the most well known series of waterfalls in the Park. If you want a more detailed explanation of how the falls form mail Geoff and he'll wax lyrical about weak acid-base chemistry and the carbonate species...!?!

Skradinski Buk. We arrived early before there were many people there - definitely recommended.

There are loads of cascades - really pretty.

Geoff and Mike explored some tunnels accessed directly east of the main falls. It was a fantastic find with young, and largely untouched caverns, stalactites and overhanging caverns formed from the now encrusted roots of the trees above!

They have done a fantastic job of building nice walkways and the visitor information and displays are very interesting.  The water from the cascades was used in one of the earliest hydro-electric plants in the world, and started being operational 2 days after the first plant on Niagra Falls in 1895.  The plant was designed by the Croatian/American Nikola Tesla  who's theoretical work formed the basis of wireless communication and the radio.  There are also displays on using water for milling grain and mielies, in woollen fabric production and other trades.  The cascades create a variety of habitats and there is rich diversity in aquatic insects, amphibians, birds and fish.  There were large numbers of trout in the pools and it looked like you could just reach down and catch them with your bare hands!  A series of walkways take you up the side of the cascades, around the top and back down to where you started.  A swim in the river at the bottom of the cascades is a great way to round off your walk.

Geoff on some of the boardwalks around the top of the falls.  Here the water seems to run every which way - under trees, into pools, through vegetation, down cascades.  And everywhere there are fish, frogs and dragonflies.

Some of the natural travertine dams.  In the background are some of the old (industry) buildings which used water as their main power source.

Geoff, Lucy and Mike cooling off in the river.

We were thoroughly impressed with the park and would highly recommend it it anyone visiting Croatia.  The park can be accessed by cars or from Skradin you can catch the (free) parks board ferry or hire bicycles and cycle the 4,5km up the river.  Once you're there, don't think that the cascades are all there is to see.  There are many different options of ferry tours and hikes to additional cool places upstream.  All these are included in your entrance fee, so pack a lunch as you may as well make a whole day of it!

Telascica and Kornati National Parks

The region of Dalmatia holds the bulk share of Croatia's national parks and we were looking forward to exploring some of them. We were thrilled with what we found. The marine life was remarkably more abundant, and the vegetation and bird life diversified significantly.

Sunset over Mir Lake from the top of the mountain.

From the islands directly west of Zadar, we headed slightly south to the Telascica National Park.  This park is densely forested and forms 3 sides of  big bay on the south eastern end of Dugi Otok Island.  The bay is surrounded by peaks and hills right down to the waters edge.  We stayed in a stunning little bay near the salty Mir Lake. 

Mir Lake

The Limestone cliffs on the west of the National Park

Mir is a karst lake but due to its close proximity to the sea is at sea level, even though seemingly cut off from the sea. It is fed through fissures in the limestone, but due to its isolation its temperature varies significantly more than that of the sea (8deg - 33deg range apparently), and evaporation has a significant impact on the salinity of the water. The thick salty mud that forms on its edges was at one stage highly prized for its healing properties, though we felt fit enough not to need to give it a go! On the western side of the park, the land drops into the sea in a series of impressive sea cliffs.  We saw a fair bit of wildlife (especially some great snakes) and the indigenous Dalmation Donkey, which were particularly wary of Geoff. 

Geoff with some Dalmatian Donkeys

Yoga on the cliffs - Jenny H, Diny, Jenny S

We were so impressed with the cliffs that we decided to head there the next day by boat.  The sea is so deep that you can motor up to within 5m off the cliffs and still be in 50m of water! Just spectacular! The diving too became very interesting as the cliff shelf continued into the water. Mike commented that this was very similar to what he had seen on the Great Barrier Reef, only with a fraction of the sea life. Most of us made the most of the opportunity to snorkel and dive. Geoff and Mike even found a tunnel swim which they got very excited about!

 

Looking down on Bracera, our yacht.

Its amazing to be able to sail so close to the cliffs!

The Kornati National Park lies just south of Telascica and consists of 89 islands. It is remarkably barren from a distance and consists primarily of dry grass growing in the bands of limestone with scattered olive groves.  It is uncannily similar to The Burren on the west coast of Ireland, only 20 degrees warmer!  A key feature of the Kornati National Park, continuing on from Telascica are the impressive sea cliffs.  These are reportedly tectonic cliffs which rise steeply from depths of as much as 100m and some of them continue up to 80m above sea level.  The cliffs are due to their location at the subduction edge of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.  Due to the walls exposure to the elements special species have evolved to survive here.  This, together with the rich cultural history of the area, are the main reasons that this area has been declared a national park.  

Some of the Islands of the Kornati Park.

Watching the sunrise from the hill above Vrulje - Lucy and Mike

Interestingly enough, most of the land is privately owned!  There is no electricity on the islands and so power is supplied by generator.  The local people (the Kurnatari) are farmers with a combination of pastures and olive groves.  Everything else has to be brought onto the islands from elsewhere.  We stopped in the pretty village of Vrulje for the night and caught both the sunset and the sunrise from atop the nearby grassy hills.

The little anchorage of Vrulje

As George Bernard Shaw described the islands : "On the last day of the Creation, God desired to crown His work, and thus created the Kornati Islands out of tears, stars and breath."  A really stunning land(sea)scape.

More dry islands

Geoff and Mike enjoying the view in the early morning.

The octopus in his normal colours....

...and changing to black and white as a warning.

We have really started getting into the spirit of cruising and are now into a steady rhythm of sailing during the day and exploring little islands. Then in the cool of the evening we can explore inland features like hills and lakes, or the beautiful, and often medieval towns and marinas we are stopping in. Below are more photos we thought we should include. They speak for themselves.

      The pretty town of Iz Veli.

Can't complain with that water!!!

Jamie at the helm.

This picture sums up our time in Croatia pretty well....

No wonder they call it the Dalmatian Coast!

Breakfast in the cockpit.

Cruising in Croatia

Olive Marina is on the island of Uglijan just off the coast of Zadar.  There we picked up the yacht we'd chartered for 2 weeks.  Our yacht Bracera is a Beneteau 47,4 (16m) and is ideal for us - roomy (4 double cabins plus big saloon), comfortable and easy to get back on to after swimming.  And she sails nicely too!  After finding our way around the boat, we headed across to Zadar to victual at the supermarket and to collect Mike and Kay (Geoff's parents) and his aunt Jenny.

Bracera - our home for 12 days

The Crew (day one, still pale skinned!) - Mike, Kay, Jenny Selfe, Jenny Hart, Diny, Neville, Geoff and Jamie Hart.

Geoff helping through stunningly blue water.

The cruising in Croatia is beautiful.  Hundreds of little islands and bays, warm water and nice breezy to sail in in the afternoon.  The islands that we've been sailing through have fantastic names such as Dugli Otok, Zut, Molat, Iz, Zverinac and Rivanj.  They have dry low forest on them with limestone outcrops.  In many of the protected bays there will be a small cluster of terracotta tiled houses swaying in the heat and the cicada's make an absolute racket (song?) in the olive trees.  We're not quite sure what people do on the islands - we assume they are mostly holiday homes, but we've seen quite a few olive groves and a handful of sheep, so perhaps there's more happening than just tourism and holidaying.  Once it cools in the late afternoon, we've enjoyed exploring the  rocky hills, finding quaint churches and contemplating salt lakes and sea cliffs. 

The foredeck is one of the best places to catch a tan on the boat - Kay.

Sundowners after a swim - Kay, Neville, Jenny S

We celebrated Kay's birthday with fantastic croissant cake for breakfast.

Jamie and Jenny Hart

Off to find ice creams in one of the small villages.

Our little tender works hard getting us to shore in 2 trips

Another pretty anchorage

Cooling down on the shore.

The harbour of Iz Veli

Happy Skipper

Geoff's been working on his tan.

Stunning landscape

The anchorage at Ist.

A largish town on one of the islands.

The snorkelling has been lovely in the warm water, but we have been very surprised at the limited sealife there is down there.  A couple of sea cucumbers and black spiny sea urchins,  the odd octopus and lots of little to medium size fish (max 15cm long), but not much more.  We really take it for granted what fantastic diversity we have in our ocean at home - long may we protect it.  Yet the restaurants all promise delicious seafood meals - at exorbitant prices. this painfully ironic as we found out - we went out or dinner at one of the local little restaurants tucked into a bay.  The fish they serve is Halibut, caught in Canada.  Frozen and shipped to Europe and distributed to all the coastal restaurants so that you can sit at a restaurant on the Mediterranean and eat fish and feel like you're having a traditional/authentic experience.  And the saddest part is that most people we spoke to about this were unphased about it because they've never known a coastline with abundant life like we have it. We've subsequently been eating more red meat and veggies instead!

The du Toit synchronised swimming team - Geoff, Jenny, Mike and Kay.

Our Happy Flag

Motoring on a glassy morning.

Jamie snorkelling around the boat

Sea grass forms one of the keys in this ecosystem.  Here dried sea grass forms thick layers on the beach.

We've all slipped into the laid back life of being on a cruising boat in great weather and are thoroughly enjoying the scenery, our books and the fresh air.

Happy Crew - Diny, Kay, Geoff, Lucy, Neville, Mike, Jenny S, Jenny H, Jamie