Wednesday 25th September 2024

Waterfalls Around Kranjska Gora

An early night after the superb meal last night and a bit more settled sleep  saw us awake early and having to fossick  around before 800 breakfast.

After what is now a wholesome breakfast in the company of the Japanese Ski Jump team and World Cup medal winning mine host, we were off in pursuit of one maybe two waterfalls, up at around 1000 metres.

Out the door and within 100 metres of home were two ski fields  and chairlifts which would have made our digs ideal for the snow lovers.

Before we reached the real starting point the close proximity of countries here was illustrated by the signpost sayng 7 Kms to Austrian  and Italian borders.

Initially it was down to the river which was now crystal clear and flowing swiftly after the overnight rain.  The track was soft on the feet after the pounding they took yesterday traversing  the bike way.

Brushed through a sporting park which was full of kids running laps through the forest with sticks, not quite sure what sport they were training for, but the teacher/coach was giving them no latitude urging up the steep hills.

Adjacent was the towns lush bright green football field, including elevated coaches boxes, which looked like hunters roosts.  The goalies would need  intense concentration to ignore the backdrop of the imposing mountains.

We needed to stick to the low level route due to felling works higher on the hill- it drew no complaints from us.

The trail roughened up as we crept a little higher and the wet and slippery exposed tree routes added another level of concentration. The silence was beautiful , yet again illustrated the lack of birdlife.

Popped out of the forest and headed across the river to be confronted by the daunting mountains that lay ahead of us. Forested halfway up, they turned into gnarly and craggy peaks with tops peeping through the low cloud.

A short dash through some fenced fields where we were greeted by a herd of horses (looked like Mum and 6 month old foals) who jostled each other to get into the photo.

Not far up the road was a milk laden cow silhouetted by the mountains who would not have looked out of place in a Milka chocolate advert.

Plied our way through some meadows in the company of farmer Zlatko who was heading into the bush to collect who knows what.

Stopped for a short break at the base of the climb and were buzzed by a chopper and then joined by a lady  with a 3 legged dog. The latter eased my concerns a little about the degree of difficulty – if a limb impaired canine can make the climb surely we can.

Starting on a slight hill we soon reached the first spillway and crossed the bridge to witness an astounding sight of the whole dry part of the riverbed being covered in cairns. We added a stone to a couple. We mused about what might happen when the river was in flood.

The track then narrowed along the side of the hill before steepening quickly  and needing steps to make it a bit easier. We played a bit of tortoise and hare with some young Germans, but the hares eventually won and they scampered ahead up the gorge and out of sight.

A couple of bridges crossed the gorge, with one at the base of a mini cascade which  gave the boots an impromptu wash. 

The slope increase even more and some stairs to the sky had us at the base of the falls where we got both a great view and a shower from the spray. The noise of the water was thunderous.

The next 30 or so minutes making our way up the side of the gorge had the heart beating and the sphincter twitching. It was steep, rocky and with heaps of roots and big step ups. That was in addition to a 100 metre stretch across a wet and slippery rocky cliff face with s big drop below. It was very reminiscent of some of the moments in Turkey.

A couple of very relieved mountain goats reached the gravel road that led to the next falls, that was after a sidetrack to a restaurant – well somewhere selling food.

On the way we were serenaded by the chainsaws of the loggers and a musical pump taking water up to the eatery.

We had grabbed a roll just in case the eatery wasn’t open and that was a wise choice. We snacked under the shadows of the surrounding mountains.

After reading the blurb about the wildlife we might experience not one lynx, fox, bear, eagle or ibex was spotted, an angry chihuahua on a lead was about as wild as it got.

Read the guide book with a bit  more interest after the first climb and was pleasantly surprised that they recommended  not attempting the two hour return trip to the second falls.

That meant  a whizz down the hill from a 1000 metres up on a winding gravel road to the valley floor. It had the shins and thighs twitching when we reached the bikeway below.

The walk down gave great views across the valley to farms perched halfway up the hills.

The converted railway, come bikeway,  was a 4 km run back to town and ultimately home.

Great news on arrival at reception with golf organised for tomorrow, a traditional dinner organised for tonight and the hikers delight – someone to wash the laundry. 

Had an enormous traditional dinner with copious beer, wine and schnapps and waddled home, plonked on the bed and realised I had made a grave error in my earlier story about the wildlife. There they were the bear, ibex and eagle all on the wall. Only when I wake in the morning will I work out if they were real or an apparition.