text: An eventful day of the not so brilliant kind ....
  with recuperation in Senj 27.09.2014 - 28.09.2014
  Over night it poured which made us feel SO lucky once again that it wasn't raining during our visit to Plitvice. We were hugely relieved to not get stuck in the mud at camp Borje but while we were filling up our water Felix found his way to the front of the van and tipped boiling hot coffee all over the outside of his feet. He was in a pretty bad way, with the skin immediately blistered and coming away so after putting his feet in cold water and dosing him up to the max on pain killers we drove as fast as we could, with me holding Felix in the back, to the nearest red cross, with him screaming in agony almost all of the way. It was a nightmare to find and it took us around half an hour but thankfully, when we finally arrived, the pain killers had kicked in and he had just fallen asleep. It meant that he could be examined and his feet bandaged but we needed to go on to the nearest hospital to get him examined by a burns specialist. The closest hospital was in Gospic where we were seen very quickly by a fantastic Dr who gave us the news that the burns were not as severe as we had initially thought, being a 1st degree on one foot and between a 1st and 2nd degree on the other. We were SO relieved and picked up some antibiotics and instructions to have the dressings changed at a hospital every day for the next 10 days. I have to say that we were so impressed with the efficiency and quality of care that we received from the Croatian health services both on the day of the burn and on all days thereafter. We were SO well looked after and everyone made sure that we understood exactly what was going on. Thankfully, Felix coped exceptionally well after the incident, perhaps even a little too well as he kept loosening the bandages for all of his crawling!With all of the drama having taken it's toll we stopped for a meal at a Pizza restaurant and then drove back up north and stopped as soon as we hit the coast and stayed at "Camp Skver" in Senj. We were delighted to get spot #1 which was the last front row spot available and gifted us with incredible views of the sunset coming down over the water. As far as facilities go, Camp Skver didn't offer anything other than water and electricity but the location and indeed our spot, was brilliant as we not only had a spectacular water front view but we also had an ideal base from which to explore the town, just one bay across. Senj was small but utterly charming and fulfilled my request, made to Jeremy only yesterday, to visit a "quiet little fishing village"! After getting Felix's foot dressed at the local hospital we followed the water past gorgeous little fishing boats as far as a stone wall jetty which gave a great view of our camping spot and the town.We stocked up on local supplies at a supermarket to prepare a lunch back at the campervan where our positioning could not be beaten by any restaurant! While prepping lunch we spotted (a rarely seen) GB plate so invited our neighbours Daniel and Lisa over for lunch before heading off towards Pula. Posted by bywaterbyland
  Plitvice Lakes 25.09.2014 - 27.09.2014
  Plitvice lakes was an absolute MUST on our bucket list. We stayed at "Camp Borje" which was in a lovely forest setting although due to heavy rain we very nearly got stuck in the mud upon arrival. Thankfully the day after we arrived was clear for our visit. We took a bus directly from the campsite to Entrance 2 of the lakes and spent the day exploring this magical wonderland. This is quite possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been to in my life. There were not only countless huge, loud and powerful waterfalls but also hundreds, if not thousands, of little waterfalls and streams cascading between large bodies of water. Everywhere we looked was something beautiful and breathtaking and I do not doubt that you could visit each day for a hundred years and see something different every time even if everything stayed stationary! The colours of autumn where just beginning to show in the leaves and the reflection of these in the crystal clear, glassy water was almost too much to bear. The water was so clear that in areas where the water was still, schools of fish could be seen as clearly as if they were swimming under glass. We saw rainbows through waterfalls and light that sparkled and reflected off wet surfaces. There were natural Jacuzzis in the water with Champagne bubbles so fine that it looked good enough to drink. The insane beauty reminded both Jeremy and I of the movie Avatar with the fictional presentation of the most beautiful place imaginable; indeed I do not think I could imagine more beauty than this. The constantly changing scene meant that the 7 hours we spent here disappeared and I am so thankful that we were able to visit this incredible place. As always, photographs do not do this place justice, nor of course do words!
  Zaton holiday Resort - Nin 23.09.2014 - 25.09.2014
  After a full day in Trogir we did not arrive at Zaton holiday park until after dark but we were greeted by a HUGE resort complex that we were excited to discover the following day. We chose a premium pitch which gave us a gorgeous view of the sea which we enjoyed while eating breakfast. The resort was so huge that we decided to discover it by bike. As it was low season it was pretty quiet which was a relief as it would be heaving in the middle of summer, definitely feeling more like a village than a campsite as the name implied. There were horses with stables, tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool complex, an atrium of shops, various cafes and restaurants, a gym and spa, a supermarket, a drs surgery, basketball courts, a pirate ship in the sand and more playgrounds that you could ever hope for.We found a fantastic HUGE rope climbing frame which we all had a ball on and we were hugely impressed at how much Mylo's confidence with heights had improved. Jeremy and Mylo had a play on an inflatable playground on the water with slides, bouncy castles and a swing! I wasn't feeling 100% so I didn't go in, a decision I now regret! We completed an action packed day with Mylo's first ever pony ride! It was the perfect opportunity with a gorgeous wee pony called Bianco and he loved it, he was an absolute natural :-)The next day just before leaving the resort we discovered a brilliant buffet where the kids ate for free and included beer and wine! We were gutted not to have found it before as it was less than 10Euros each and there was a great variety of delicious food. We had to drive on so couldn't take advantage of the "free" booze but watch out Zaton holiday village for when we are back, we WILL!
  Vranjica Belvedere and Trogir
  We spent a slow, relaxed morning in our gorgeous spot and Jeremy had a swim in what we liked to think of as our private beach! We enjoyed another gorgeous coastal route before stopping for lunch in Omis, a market town that had caught our eye on the trip down.We fed the boys Bolognese in a restaurant called "Milo" while we enjoyed a beer :-) For cost saving measures Jeremy and I decided to eat in the van and found a great spot to pull in, right by the water a few miles up the road. Eventually, at around 7.30pm we made it to an ACSI site called "Vranjica Belvedere". The following morning we started our day with a swim in the GORGEOUS beach that was private to the campground. We managed to find a little alcove just to ourselves which gave the boys a space to play in the sand while we took turns having a refreshing dip! The infinity pool looking over the sea was a few degrees warmer than the sea and we spent a good few hours luxuriating in our surroundings. It was so beautiful here that we decided to stay an extra day which mean some proper relaxation, I actually read some of a book by the pool! We spent the evening relaxing together and taking in our incredible surroundings. Despite a really rainy evening we woke up to a gorgeous day. Staff at the campground had said that Trogir could not be missed so we decided to head there for lunch. We parked just outside the entrance and managed to negotiate a decent rate of 5 Euros by bargaining with an attendant using smiley face drawings! We crossed into the city via the footbridge and had very little idea of the beauty that awaited on the other side. Despite being a city, Trogir is a tiny island but with a hugely rich history and was included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in 1997. The small size meant we could explore all of it's lanes and corners and we were open mouthed in awe of the incredible beauty, particularly at it's edges where the bright white stone architecture contrasted against the brilliant blue of the Adriatic. All of the streets were cobbled and very narrow despite tall facades which gave momentary impressions of feeling lost in a maze but in a nice kind of way! We ate icecream while finding our way inside the walls and discovered beautiful courtyards, an impressive church and a turreted castle.There were some impressive sail boats moored in the harbour and we were amazed to see that one was called "Taonga" and was from NZ! We decided to eat lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the boat in the hope that we might see the crew and eventually our persistence paid off! We met sole-sailor John from Mt Manganui who had been touring with Taonga for 5 years! It was lovely to meet another kiwi, particularly in such a place that felt SO different from home. Before leaving Mylo and I stoked up on some fresh fruit from a wonderful market and were treated to a taste of local life. There was enormous competition from the stall holders, each holding up their finest fruit for us to sample, and we ended up getting a little bit from many different places to spread out our business! One of my favourite stall holders was an older woman with such a beautiful, wise face and whom you could tell had spent a lot of time laughing. Posted by bywaterbyland
  Wonderfully accidental visit to Igrane
  Yesterday was a long day and we had a lot of tidying and cleaning to do so we spent most of the morning at the campground, with some time for fooling about and playing with some GORGEOUS Vizla dogs belonging to a fellow camper. One thing about campervanning is that everything takes SO much longer to do, especially when travelling with two young kids. The simplest of tasks like washing clothes or washing dishes can be a real chore depending on the proximity to, and quality of, available facilities. Because we needed to be back in the UK for a friends wedding in a matter of weeks we didn't have the luxury of "off" days where we could just stay stationary so it was always go go go. If I were to travel like this again (and indeed one day I will) I would keep as loose a schedule as possible to avoid the inevitable frustration of delays. When we eventually got on the road it was after lunch and raining (thank goodness for the sunshine yesterday!) and we drove back up North, along the same road that we came. We again passed the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, feeling a little bit calmer this time around as it totally took us by surprise on the way down. Shame on us for our lack of geographical knowledge.We had been aiming for a beautiful looking market town that we had passed on the drive down but Jeremy made the brilliant call to stop earlier and call into another coastal town called Igrane. He literally could not have chosen a better spot, there was free, legal camping in a big parking area right by the sea that looked over the town and there was another campervan to reassure us that this was not a dodgy move. There was also a tourist bus which made us feel like we had chosen a pretty special spot! Not only did we have free camping RIGHT at the waters edge in a gorgeous spot but there was a playground just moments away which we all played in before eating a meal at a local restaurant. View of our Madiela Tofi looking back from the townSoon after we returned to the camper the wind picked up and we feel asleep to the most incredible sound of a wild ocean crashing against the shore just meters away.