Mlini Beach and Korcula

After reading some of the tourist info, we decided that it was worthwhile chancing a trip by water taxi to Mlini Beach on Monday. We had a late start and walked out past the taxi rank, hoping to see more of the countryside before heading to the beach. We didn't have any luck at finding a lavendar farm but did walk through a small olive grove. Sophie and Will had a mid-morning ice cream and John and I had a locally made lemonade before catching a small boat to Mlini. The water taxis travel across to the Paklinski Islands (including Mlini Beach) between 10am and 1pm, returning any time between 4pm and 7pm. The beach was pebbly but the water quality was superb. It looked as though we could stand when it was several meters deep. The pom frites (potato chips) were a ridiculous price at $8 for a tiny bowl - so, we mostly filled up on the bread, cheese and salami that we had packed. We had dinner at a pizza restaurant on our return to Hvar, then packed our bags.

We left Hvar on Tuesday morning, with an early (8am) cab to the ferry terminal and a boat ride to Korcula. Even though Korcula is also quite touristy, our first impressions are that it will be a lot more relaxing than Hvar. Hvar has huge contrasts from the large groups of backpackers to the 'rich and famous' with their $1.5m/week yachts. Korcula seems to be more of a family-orientated island, with more of an Italian influence. Korcula claims to be the birth place of Marco Polo and there is a Marco Polo 'museum' here but it sounds as though Venice has the same claim to fame. Our host met us from the ferry and recommended a cafe (probably a friend's business) as a base until our room was available. Sophie and Will were tired and had a restful arvo, while John and I took turns at looking around town. Our apartment covers four floors. Sophie and Will have always wanted a house with stairs but with four sets, they are starting to change their minds. It looks as though the apartment may have been built into an old stair well but is very comfortable. We are in the main town so with dinner noises outside, we are adjusting to staying up late and sleeping in.

Hvar town - Arsenal building was for ship repair

Hvar harbour in the morning

We find a small olive grove

View back to Hvar town

Hvar from the Mlini water taxi

On the water taxi at Paklinski Island

The beach where the water taxi drops off

Will makes a birds nest on Mlini

A game of picigin on Mlini

Hvar town square

Night time view across Hvar

Leaving Hvar for the last time

Coastal village on Hvar Island

Another coastal village on Hvar Island

Hvar Island

One of the many yachts on the way to Korcula

Main gate in Korcula Town

Ferry terminal in Korcula Town

Korcula harbour

Umbrella 'art' near the cafe

View from our top window

Second of our 4 floor apartment

Hvar

After settling in to our apartment in Hvar Town, we went for a wander down to the closest beach. Sophie and Will had a swim and we had a look at the beaches further around the coastline, which we probably won't have time to test out. We picked up some groceries from the local supermarket. It is difficult to find quality food that we can trust in the middle of peak tourist season. Our host warned us not to try the fish in the local market as the best goes to the restaurants or is sent across to Split.

We had a quiet start to the day on Sunday, with me taking the kids down to the same beach and John powering through a book that he found in the apartment - in English! After picking up baguette and cheese for lunch, we went around the base of the fort/castle and into the main town square area. We booked our ferry tickets (on a different ferry line) to Korcula and Dubrovnic, had a look around, bought some ice creams and picked up some food for dinner. The fort originated pre-AD and was mostly built in the 1200s and 1600s. There was a very impressive motor cruiser moored in the harbour. We googled it and found out that it is a charter boat - at 1 million euro ($AUD1.5m) per week. The impressive part is that it only sleeps 12, with a crew of twice that many! We can see a huge number of other smaller craft, from our balcony, coming and going from the harbour.

Overlooking Hvar old town

Phoenix II in port

Hvar harbour

More of Hvar harbour with Arsenal and Theatre behind

Souvenir seller

View from our balcony

Plitvice Lakes

For our final day staying in Split, we joined a prebooked trip to Plitvice Lakes. We had an early start and were pleased to hop on an air conditioned bus after the walk from our apartment. The colours in the 16 lakes were fabulous and we googled about tufa, the calcium carbonate sediment that builds up the dam at the end of each lake. The sediment attaches to algae and vegetation and grows something like a barrier of stalactite. If the barrier on a lower lake builds up high enough, the water floods back over the higher barrier dissolving it and changing the shape of the lake complex. The lakes are another UNESCO World Heritage listed area (of which there are approx. 1032 areas in the world.) The trip out to the lakes (approx. 2.5 hours on the bus) was also impressive, crossing from the barren hills around Split that grow gorse bush to the greener areas to the north with grazing land and pine forests. The name Split comes from the local name for gorse bush. To pass under the main mountain range that separates the north from the south we went through a 5km tunnel on a toll road. The following morning we tidied up the apartment to leave by 10am then spent an hour or so sitting around the old town before catching a ferry to Hvar.

Waiting for the bus to Plitvice Lakes

Fort where the Game of Thrones was filmed

Small Croatian village

Boats on the middle lakes

Sophie and Will at the middle lakes

Upper lakes

Waterfall at the upper lakes

Waterfall at the upper lakes

Chub fish in Plitvice Lakes

The lower lakes system

We walked through this cave to the lower lakes

Waterfall at the lower lakes

The largest waterfall in Croatia

Croatia farm and hay pile on a post

Village on the road back from Plitvice Lakes

The old town of Split was 'buzzing' at 9pm as we walked home

View of Split

Fortifications in Diocletians Palace

Packed and ready to leave Split

Waiting for the ferry to Hvar

View of Split from the ferry

Around Split

On Wednesday we decided that it was time for a swim and walked through the old town and along the harbour area to Bacvice Beach. The tide was relatively low and we weren't all that impressed. (It is hard to impress Australians with beaches.) It was clearly a place for locals to cool off without travelling too far from town and for the backpackers. However, Will had a great time learning a new ball game. A Croatian dad and his boy (approx. 7-8 years old) asked Will to join in on a game that we had seen groups of men - and an occasional woman - playing in the shallows. We googled it later and found out that they game originated on that beach in the early 1900s by visiting Europeans who wanted to play a game like volleyball but in the shallows, and is called picigen. It is basically like 'hot potato', hitting the ball to each other with your hand. There is no scoring and the skill is in keeping the ball alive, even if it means diving sideways into the water. John then went for a walk around the old town, while I stayed with Sophie and Will. We went back to our apartment for lunch then wandered town. Sophie and I caught the number 18 bus out to the Mall of Split. Most of the shops were the same ones as in other places in Europe but with limited stock or higher prices.

On Thursday we organised a ferry ticket for Saturday, then tried to make our way around to the 'better' swimming beaches. We followed our hosts directions and caught the number 8 bus. Unfortunately, the bus only went to the first beach and we had stayed on, hoping that the next turn down the one way streets would take us out to the other beaches. As we ended up near the town beach we decided to get off and not risk being taken out into the suburbs of Split at the other end of the bus run. We were much more impressed with the beach on a second visit and had both a hand ball and a beach ball with us. The tide was higher and the water cleaner. I had a wander around town that afternoon and we went back to our apartment to pack for the next stage of our adventure - and plan for our final day on the mainland for a while.

Will plays a special game of hand ball

Western end of Bacvice Beach

Split town ferry terminal and town centre

Marble streets - explains lots of people with broken ankles and wrists

Ice cream from Luka - according to our hosts, the best in town'

Split waterfront

Cellars of Diocletians Palace

The National Theatre near our appartment

Testing out a beach ball

Sophie and Will on Bacvice Beach, Split

Bacvice Beach

The old town from the railway station

Gladiators in Diocletians Palace

Aquaduct in the Diocletians Palace

Statue at the gate to the town walls

Gate through the Split town walls