Blog 5: Emerald River Adventure
Hi once more!!
After a chilled night at the campsite in Slovenia, and a comfortable nights sleep, we were woken at 7:00, for breakfast and to be ready at reception of the campsite for 8:00. Almost on the dot, three vans turned up at 8:00, to begin our adventure. To our surprise, all three vans had air-conditioning which made a change from our own vans.
We began by driving through the ski resort of Kranska Gora before reaching a small lake by a bronze statue of a goat which the guide explained was part of several local legends. After driving up a steep mountain road full of hairpins and amazing views, we walked a short distance to a peak. We then came down another path and got back into the vans to be taken to the source of the river So?a, which we found after a short scramble. The route was quite interesting with a rail built into the rock to hold on to, but the view of the source (a deep pool of brilliant blue water) was certainly worth it.
We next stopped off for lunch at a nearby town — the burgers and chips were awesome — and then got back into the vans to be driven further down the river. The tour guides left us with the white water rafting instructors and we were given wet suits and helmets. The rafts were not like Explorer-style ones (pioneering poles and barrels) but instead were inflatable boats where eight people sat on the rim with paddles. The water was cold but refreshing in the heat of the day, and was very fast-moving in places. We rafted for about an hour and a half with stops to jump into the river from rocks. Dan took some GoPro footage so you’ll be able to see what it was like. Austin almost fell in when our raft collided with a rock!
After the rafting we were driven to a waterfall where we swam in a deep plunge pool and went under the spray. The pool was in the bottom of a deep cavern and not much light reached the water so it was refreshing to say the least! Then we were driven to a 12m high bridge over a river which we jumped off! The water beneath was very deep but the jump looked incredibly high from the top. The adrenaline rush from free falling that far was awesome.
The vans were then driven onto a train home which passed over impressive bridges and through some really long tunnels. We arrived back at the campsite after 8pm, all very tired by having enjoyed the experience greatly!