โฌ ๏ธ Continued from part I …
Day 5 was the start of the Slovenian section of our holiday, with an exit from Croatia. We drove through to Postojna where we first visited Predjamski grad, an impressive cave castle; afterwards we visited Postojnska jama, an immense cave complex.
In our search for a campsite we nearly became well and truly stuck in the small village of Malovลกe, a little bit of a nailbiter. We skipped the search and found an alternative overnight stop at Kamp David, where we eventually stayed for 2 nights. We were treated to a fantastic sunset, and the next day (day 6) we did a hike in the hills behind Malovลกe, following the Catholic walk a way up to Sveti Pavel, and visiting an old fortification. We were well aware of our location in the Vipava Valley, one of the important Slovenian wine regions, and in the late afternoon we treated ourselves to a wine-tasting at a local family run winery (Fervin), which was really enjoyable.
We left the Vipava Valley on day 7, heading northwest for Tolmin and the Tolminska korita – a spectacular gorge with a loop walking trail where we spent a couple of hours. From Tolmin we headed towards Kobarid and our overnight stop at Kamp Koren. This would also be a 2-night stay once we made the spur-of-the-moment decision to do a white-water rafting trip the next day on the Soฤa River. Day 8 started with a walk from the campsite to the nearby Slap Kozjak, a picturesque canyon waterfall. In the afternoon we were picked up by our guides and transported to the rafting drop-off point; suited up (for the 10ยฐC water) and given a full safety briefing. With just 5 of us in the raft it was really enjoyable, and Maria (our Kiwi steerman/con) coached us well, guided us perfectly, and made us work hard (Party …! ๐).
Our first visit on day 9 was to the Church of St. Anthony and World War I ossuary located there – a combination of a scenic location, and a whole load of history. From Kobarid we then headed via Tolmin through the mountains to Klavลพe, Koritnica & Podbrdo; our destination was the Lajnar (1.549m), where we used the ski-lift to get to the peak and do an hour’s walk; panoramic views in all directions, in the distance we could also see the Triglav (Slovenia’s highest peak at 2.864m) and even further to the Carinthian Alps in Austria; also more World War I evidence to be found here. Fun fact: our ski-lift descent was literally the last of the summer season for this location(!).
This would also be our overnight stop for the next two days, allowing us to visit Lake Bohinj on day 10. With an early start we got to Ribฤev Laz, only to be frustrated by the local (anti-camper) parking policy and the exorbitant tariffs. Thankfully we had the bikes with us, so we parked outside of the village and cycled to where we would start our lake walk – we walked the length of the lake, and took a bus for the return route. What a picturesque and photogenic location, we really enjoyed this spot … ๐
From here we took the decision to return home sooner than planned – weather forecasts were very negative, with unseasonably cold temperatures expected all over the eastern Alps, and no suitable alternative route for us. Day 11 was thus the first day of our homeward journey, taking us through Bled to the motorway, and then on past Villach & Salzburg in Austria, and past Munich & Nuremberg in Germany. Our overnight stop in Herzogenaurach was once again a municipal amenity, this one more rudimentary than all of the previous ones. The next day, day 12, just had an easy drive to get to Claudia in Eitorf, where we would spend our last night before getting back home.
Time for conclusions:
- the experiment with a smaller camper was certainly a success, we didn’t stumble over each other in any way; however, for future camper holidays where ferry crossings will play a role, the camper length will have to be chosen carefully (we had a 6,4m camper for this trip, but 6m is a cheaper ferry category)
- in the future we will make the choice for a camper based on the destination – in Slovenia we were not only surprised by the active anti-camper policies in place around the tourist sites; but, cost-wise, our holiday trip (with a camper rental) was not cheaper than if we had done an Airbnb tour with our own car
- … and Slovenia …?
Yes, we want more – a return trip is on our our list …! ๐
๐ท A photo gallery with more photo’s is available here.