Although it starts cloudy the sun soon comes out. Nick + Grete's van has developed some electrical problems. Both Nicks check all fuses and other obvious things without success. A series of texts between Nick and Mike at his garage get things solved; simply a fuse had fallen out so didn't get checked because it wasn't there! Anyway, good to have mates who can sort us out from afar and get us on our way. Meantime Ali and Grete go to the olive produce sh...

The phrase 'another bright sunny morning' is getting repetitive, so consider it our privileged norm unless otherwise stated. We leave at 10:40 heading generally south and for a few miles our journey takes us very close to the Bosnian border as it climbs high through thick woods growing out of reddish rock. Further on, the woods thin out and large peaks loom ahead. As we climb higher the grass turns yellow, with scrubby trees and bushes and a variety of flo...

It was a lovely peaceful night and we wake to glorious sunrise. Around 10:30 we set out in Mary*Lou for the Plitvicke National Park only 4 miles down the road. N+G go separately on their motorbike. We meet at the carpark, get coffee and sandwiches then buy our 100 kuna tickets to the park. The whole park covers 295 sq.km and apparently represents karst hydrography, with lakes and cascades forming Tufa rock and Tavertime formations. As we walk the grit and ro...

The 'music' is still thumping above the traffic so we get ready and set off as soon as we can. We have about 30 miles of tollway to Korovac before taking the D1 south. It's another beautiful ride through small, alpine-like towns and hilly woodland until our lunch stop just outside Slunji, in a layby overlooking a river a few hundred feet below. A short distance brings us to Rastoke a small village nesting at the bottom of the valley and surrounded by wate...

The frogs must have stopped at sometime in the night as we wake up to beautiful birdsong. Ali has another swim in the lake then we programme Snoopy to take us to the border. Our drive starts with more spectacular views of the lake, but then a group of police motorbikes comes towards us indicating the traffic to pull in to the nearside. About 25 pass us until we see the reason; a huge peleton of cyclists goes by, tyres and chains fizzing as they pass. Mor...