3 August – We followed the coast road winding in and out of the bays and coves. The further north we got the drier the country became until eventually the hills and coast were nothing but gray rock with a few stunted trees. The off shore islands were just a yellow gravel. At some points the road dropped down to the water where there was a small village and sometimes a camp. At one village we fuelled up. I had thought the fuel gauge was faulty as we had done so many kms since our last fill up in Montenegro but it was just the type of driving we had done. Better than 10L/100kms!! We chose a large sprawling camp which was set on a series of terraces down to the beach. We were able to choose any area you fancied as there were no marked sites. We parked under a tree with a great view of the water. The beach was small but there were a series of coves along the camp edge. We swam in beautiful clear warm water again. I think the reason the water is so clear is that where are no rivers or run off from the land to make it cloudy. We found a discarded deck chair (very Paul Seddon like!) so I cut the webbing off it and Val has repaired our dilapidated beach chairs.

4 August – We drove north again and passed the large city of Rijeka, where we shopped, and onto the Istrian Peninsular where we are camped. Just as we set up the thunder and lightning started followed by heavy rain. After it stopped we went for a short walk. This camp is bloody dear so we may stay only one night. We are very near the Slovenian border. This area is called the Medveja Riviera.

5 August – The beach here is about 80% private so everyone is crammed into the rest. We found a spot and had a couple of great swims. If you are sick of me going on about the clear warm sea you will be relieved to know that this will be the last time. We will not be on the coast again until northern Germany in about 7 weeks. After lunch (we made the most of the expensive camp fees, $76 NZ!) we drove north thru the border into Slovenia. What a change. It was like throwing a switch. As we climbed away from the coast came into green forests and villages very much like Switzerland. We stopped at an “Aires” in a car park for the Postojnska Caves. After some investigation we decided to pay the 22 euro and see them. They are huge and attract a large crowd. They are so large that you travel the first 4.7kms into the mountain by a narrow gauge train passing large caverns and down low tunnels. At the end of the train ride you line up with your appropriate language group and are guided for a 2 km walk. We thought it would be hard to top the Perama Caves in Greece but these were better. The tour was less personal but the limestone formations were spectacular. The “Aires” filled up but we were able to sit on grass in the shade behind “Lefty”. It was a very cool night. Great for sleeping!

6 August – 7 degrees when we woke this morning! We drove north following the motorway to bypass Lubljana and turned off to Bled. This is a beautiful lake and we will come back to it in a couple of days. We are now in a great camp on the side of Lake Bohinj. It is cloudy with a few spots of rain. This is a National Park and right in the Julian Alps. After lunch we hoped on our bikes and rode 4kms (up hill) to the start of a short track to the Savica waterfall. It all looks like NZ but the bush is different. When we returned (down hill phew!) we had a swim in the lake. More warm clear water. (Sorry but it’s not the sea).

7 August – It is a cloudy morning but Val did a huge wash. After lunch we walked 4 kms along a track following the lake shore to the village. 1 km from the village the skies opened and it teamed. There was a beautiful church in the village, St John the Baptist, with great frescoes depicting his beheading. We had intended to catch the small ferry back to our camp but as views were obscured by cloud we decide to walk back. The washing was soaking and the rain set in for the night.

8 August – It is still raining and we drove the 20 kms to Bled. The camp is on the lake shore a short distance from the town with a great view of the church on the island. It rained all day so we sat inside, played Scrabble and watched a movie on the computer. We play Scrabble most evenings (with a drink). The score is 37 to 39 in Val’s favour! I have developed a “modified Scrabble” which makes for much closer games. The vowels and consonants are separated into two bags and you draw 4 consonants and 3 vowels. You retain this ratio thru the game. Try it. It takes some of the luck out of the game. I cooked roast chicken, roast potatoes and broccoli for dinner. Not bad with just a sailor’s frying pan!

9 August – It dawned cloudy but the skies cleared and out went the washing, parkas, towels and caps to dry. We set off on the bikes along the lake shore into the town. Great views of the castle on the hill and the churches. We continued on around the lake to the camp. Lake Bled is the venue for the 2011 World Rowing Cup (last year in NZ) The course just fits into this tiny lake. There are very few signs of preparations for this event which starts in 3 weeks. A small media tower and small open grandstand (neither new) and some work clearing a grass area. Perhaps this is why NZ lost $2 million!!! After lunch we hired a lovely wooden boat and rowed to the island and visited the church. There is a tradition that you make a wish and then ring the bell. (casted in 1534) The bell rings all day!! We rowed down part of the World Cup course to return the boat. Dinner at the camp restaurant (cooks night off) with a couple of old guys playing Slovenian songs on a squeeze box and a guitar. Very pleasant.

10 August – A beautiful morning and we headed north out of Slovenia and into Austria. We bought a motorway toll pass as we were heading into the high mountains only to find that it worked for the motorways but we had to pay extra for the two longest tunnels (8 kms and 7 kms.) The drive thru the Austrian Alps was great with spectacular peaks all around. We are now in the north of Austria at Wolfgangsee, a lovely lake about 30 kms from Salzburg. It is now much cooler and we’ve had track pants and jerseys on. We even put the duvet back on the bed.

11 August – After skyping the girls we caught the bus into Salzburg. The bus stopped at the Schloss Mirabell palace and gardens. This is “Sound of Music” country and part of it was shot in these picturesque gardens. We cross the Salzach River (in flood) into the old town (pedestrian or horse and cart only) and visited some of the great churches. Mozart lived here and we saw his birth place and home. There are shops totally devoted to Mozart stuff. We climbed the hill to the Hohensalzburg Fortress which dominates the city and gives a great view. After lunch we caught the bus back to our camp. After a rest we hopped onto the bikes and followed a cycle path to Strobl at the head of the lake. (12 kms) Very picturesque.