4. Krka National Park to Krk Island

Tuesday 12 May

We moved on to Murter Island which is connected to the mainland by a small bridge, think Selby Toll Bridge, which they open twice a day to let the boats through. 

So it is only just an island.    We looked at a couple of campsites and decided upon ‘Jezera Holiday Village’ which didn’t really live up to its own hype but was pleasant enough.   We ventured to Murter Town, only a few miles away, to see about booking a boat trip to see the Kornati Islands.  We were rather disappointed to find that there weren’t any.  There had been one earlier in the day but no one could tell us when there would be another. This is the price you pay for touring so early in the season.

View of Kornati Islands from Murter Town

We had dinner in the campsite restaurant where we were the only customers.  Sarah ordered grilled scampi.  When they came they were prawns the size of small lobsters and she was supplied with a pair of pliers to get through the shells.   She says they were delicious. I had steak which was mediocre.  

Wednesday 13 May

Sarah took the bedding to be washed – there was a lady there to do it for you.  It came back washed, dried and beautifully ironed.  We walked from the site around the bay to the town of Tisno.  Tisno straddles both sides of the bridge to the mainland and is a pleasant little town.  We had a coffee and then wandered back to the site.   In the evening we swapped notes on sites and things to do with another English couple.   They spend the winters in Spain and then spend about 3 months touring Europe before going home to the UK for July and August.

Thursday 14 May

As we couldn’t  visit the Kornati Islands we decided to move on.   We drove to a site about 6 miles from the town of Zadar and very close to the small town of Nin.   Zaton Holiday Village was huge and rather overwhelming to start with.  There is a large sandy beach (quite rare in Croatia), a swimming pool, about 6 restaurants, a number of shops and a supermarket. It does have an extensive entertainment programme but it is fairly low key at present.  I wouldn’t want to be here when it is full – there was a huge disco building!  We walked about 3 miles deciding on a pitch, there must be over a 1000 not to mention the hundreds of mobile homes and apartments.   It was relatively quiet so there was plenty to choose from.  The one we chose was huge, room for the caravan, awning and at least 2 cars.   
Different people have very different ideas about what to bring with them. Many Germans have huge camper vans which also tow a large trailer which usually contains a couple of motorbikes and a huge awning with patio furniture. The photo below shows what one Dutch couple thought was important. An average sized caravan but a fenced off patio area with a small pup tent. Which was for the dog.

We came across a couple we had met at Camping Marina.   In the evening we went out for a pizza which happened to be next to the kid’s disco which was very funny.  

The kids were mainly German plus one or two Dutch but all the records they played were English and included the Hokey Cokey and Black Lace. I often wonder how 3 to 10 year olds only know these songs because they hear them on holiday. Surely they can’t understand the words.  Take the Music Man by ‘Black Lace’ for example. Do they really appreciate the bit with the ‘Match of the Day’ theme? Also, what do the German adults make of the ‘Dambusters’ bit where the kids run around pretending to be a World War 2 allied bomber. Weird or what?

Friday 15 May

Visited Zadar today.  There was a fruit and veg market.  It seemed to be made up of small holders selling their produce. Judging by the amount of soil on their hands and in their finger nails they had wrenched most of it out of the ground that very morning. It certainly looked and smelt very fresh.   Sarah stocked up on, amongst other things, broad beans, peas and some of the most delicious strawberries I have ever had.   Having returned to the car with our purchases we then had a look around the town. 

This is another town that experienced a lot of damage during the 'Homeland War'. On this occasion however we saw several buildings that had not been rebuilt or repaired.  

It was also badly damaged during WW2 and in redeveloping they have included some interesting art installations on the sea front promenade.   Probably the biggest tourist attraction in the town is the sea organ which is a series of steps down to the sea. 

It doesn’t look much but it’s there to listen to not to look at. The waves push air through a series of underground pipes and up through holes in the steps.  The result is a cross between whale music and an orchestra tuning up.  The bigger the waves the louder the noise, it was quite hypnotic. 

Then there is an installation called ‘Greeting the Sun’.  This is a huge disc made up of light sensitive tiles which soaks up the sun during in the day and in the evening gives a coloured light show.  

We also discovered that you could take an excursion boat to the Kornati Islands from here.

A German couple arrived at the site who had been pitched next to us at Camping Kate in Dubrovnik.  He told us they were staying until Wednesday or Thursday but wanted to move on before the weekend.   The reason being that some Southern regions of Germany start a 2 week holiday on the Saturday and tend to head to the Northern part of Croatia, and he wanted to get ahead of them before the sites filled up.   The site here is predominately German.

Saturday 16 May

Grey and a bit drizzly today so had an admin day, updating the blog and doing the accounts.

Sunday 17 May

Another day, another National Park – Paklenica National Park which was about 35 miles from Zadar.   This park is very different to the others we have visited.  It is made up of two massive gorges.  
We visited the largest gorge, Velika Paklenica.  

We managed a 5 mile walk, starting along the river and climbing steeply up the gorge. The scenery is spectacular with huge cliffs rising up on either side.  A haven for climbers of all ages and abilities.  It was very hot so the walking was quite tough going but it was good to get some exercise.

Comment: I must congratulate the Croatians on their National Parks. Obviously they didn’t build them but they do manage them very well.  This one didn’t have the boats and buses for transport but what it did have was very well maintained footpaths and very detailed information boards and maps. On the day we visited there were dozens of climbers out. Clearly keen to manage the risk there was a mountain rescue team in residence plus 2 ambulances. Later in the day it seemed at least one of them was needed as we heard the sound of a siren disappearing down the valley towards the town.

Monday 18 May

Walked into Nin from the site. 

We had to walk about 0.8 of a mile to get out of the site.  Nin is a small, originally walled, Roman town with remains of a Roman temple and small Roman Church and some of the walls remain.  A very pleasant spot.   We spent the afternoon around the pool which seemed very cold at first but was ok when you got in.

Tuesday 19 May

Took a boat trip to the Kornati Islands and the Telascica Nature Park today.   There are around 90 Islands, largely bare of trees and mostly uninhabited.  The Islands are owned by the people of Murter and they use some of the islands in the summer.

We were entertained on the way out by the flying skills of the local seagulls. As the photo proved, they could probably give the Cornish pasty eating gulls of St Ives a run for their money.




The boat took us out through the islands, stopping at one for a couple of hours. 

Here we walked up to the cliff tops for the views and Sarah spotted a dolphin.  We then walked to a salt water lake where we had a swim.   The water was lovely but it was tricky getting in as it was quite rocky underfoot, we need to get some beach shoes.   We left at about 8.30am and got back just after five.   On the way back we spotted another dolphin.

Having decided we too should move on we took the awning down and went out for a pizza.  Tonight the kids disco was followed by karaoke!  Fortunately we had finished our meal before this really got going.

Comment: I was a bit wary about staying at this Zaton Holiday Village. As stated earlier there are over a thousand pitches, near to 500 static caravans and a few hundred apartments. However, we found it peaceful and relaxing. This might not be the case in July and August but it is very well managed and maintained with an army of cleaners and maintenance staff. If you have got kids who like the sun a pool and lots of sporty activities this is a good place.

Wednesday 20 May

Moved on to Krk Island.  This too is connected to the mainland by a bridge, but a much bigger bridge, think more along the lines of the Humber Bridge.  The Island is much bigger too.  We headed to the town of Krk and Camping Krk.  This is a lovely terraced site by the sea.  We managed to get a pitch at the top of the site with a sea view.   All the pitches next to the sea were pre-booked.  We are pitched next to a couple from Hull.   The chap came to say hello and my first question was “I hope you won’t be offended but which part of Hull are you from”.    They had hoped to go and live in Spain but came home after 16 months deciding it wasn’t for them.  Instead they bought a motorhome and now spend about 4 months a year touring.  They moved back to Burstwick near Hull.

Thursday 21 May

The weather is much cooler today and overcast.   There is a high wind warning and heavy rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow so decided that having put up the awning we had better take it down again so we didn’t have to worry about it blowing away.   In the afternoon we set out from the site for a walk around the headland.   We have noticed this in many places but it is really noticeable here. 

The land was originally divided up into small fields by stone walls, nothing unusual in that.  But these walls are massive, wide enough to defend a small town.

Friday 22 May

We have had heavy rain and strong winds in the night as predicted.   Forecast to rain all day so updating the blog and Sarah is going to dig out her jigsaw.