We are into our 7th day in Slovenia and the sun is shining. We are currently parked up at Kocevje and still havent mastered a single word of Slovenian. Two days ago we arrived after two days at Novo Mesto. A main city that really is like living in a very small suburb. The town situated on an island of such surrounded by the river. A nice walk to town from our stop below the castle ( Grad), more like a manor house than a castle. Peaceful except for the church bells, something we have come a custom to in Europe. The owner has a great set up and we would go back again if we were in the area. We headed off the toll road towards Kocevje and no sooner we were confronted with the peloton of a cycle race. Pulling over we watched the riders whizz by and then carried on our way. The road a little bumpy and worn we started to wind our way along the green emerald river and up into the forests. Soon we were in bear country, with signs out everywhere. Simply stunning and a vast contrast from the valleys and fields we had recently seen. We arrived in Kocevje, a beautiful town and probably our favourite so far. The region is home to 90% forests, and a lot of those are virgin forests untouched by humans. Bears and wolves still live in these areas as they are so untouched. Parked up at a camperstop/ campsite 100 metres from a lake that was once a coal-pit. All you can see around is forest and green. The staff here are great and gave us maps for hiking & cycling and today we donned our hiking boots to walk to the Zelijine caves about 3km away. After getting lost and asking a local who didn’t speak any English. He guided us back into the forest we had come out of and indicated the right way and signalling photograph and don’t go off track. We arrived at the caves a mass of tunnels hidden in the forest undergrowth. Dating back to the stone age, its recommended to see in winter when the stalactites are visible. Not being prepared, we hadn’t bought torches so only went in so far as some are very dark and slippery. Still a fab sight and we later found out we went to the other entrance not as clearly marked as the main one. No wonder we had trouble finding it. A walk back past the lake again stopping for ice-cream as its been so hot, we are now chilling before heading into Croatia tomorrow.
Wanderlust Craddocks 