Monday 18th May – Budapest

We have a large sticker on the front and smaller stickers on the camper windows but the only thing people seem to really notice is the numberplate. They seem to assume we are Dutch. So after noticing a couple of National Flags in front of campers I suggested to Ewout to fly our small Australian flag. It was amazing, a few minutes later a young girl came running up to us and asked us where we were from. She was from Esperance in Perth and was travelling with her sister and a friend. They all soon came over and were really happy to talk to some Aussies.So we have decided to fly the flag whenever we can.You never know who you will meet.

Tuesday19th May- Fine & Sunny

After leaving Budapest, we headed sth-west to the Lake Balaton area; we had in mind to check out a campsite that a very nice Danish Couple told us about.We stopped to pick up supplies from a super market and then hit the road.Lake Balaton is Hungary’s “sea” and is a major tourist centre. It is an ancient lake and around the lake is lots of thermal springs so is a health spa for a lot of tourists.We found the campsite at Balatonal See, called Yacht Camping. Situated on the lake front the campsite was a small with grassy campsites and plenty of room. We could choose our site and set ourselves up in a block of four just one site from the beach. We noticed there were 3 motorbikes on the diagonal opposite site and as we were getting set up one German man came up to ask to see if one of the bikes was in the way. He introduced himself and said that they were 3 brothers on their annual bike holiday. We said not and joked about whether they would be noisy.

After setting up we took out chairs and a drink and sat next to the lake.A little while later another brother came up and introduced himself and was quite pleased to meet Australians. He said it was rather cool and told us that he was very interested in Australia and had been reading a book about a Motorbike trip there.A little while later another brother came over and introduced himself and then invited us to the bar for a drink with them.We didn’t know quite what to do but after a little while decided we would go and join them. We were welcomed warmly and they asked us a lot of questions about ourselves, with lots of joking and friendly banter. They had obviously had a lot to drink already, but we enjoyed their company a lot and ended inviting them to share a BBQ with us. It was a very enjoyable night they were very nice company and they were really pleased to share the meal with us. We ended the night with lots of thanks and an invitation to come and visit them at their homes for a German BBQ.

Wednesday 20th Fine, Warm & Sunny

The next day we had a quiet morning reading, swimming, reading and hanging out at camp. In the afternoon we were again asked to join Manny(Manfred) Leo and Michael ,I decided to had some time to myself but suggested Ewout join them to have a bit of bloke time. (Apparently every time they went back to the toilet they reported back to Ewout what I was doing.) A bit later they wanted me to join them so I went to the bar and as well as the German blokes there was an older hippy -type Danish couple. All had been having a pretty good time it seemed with beers flowing freely and soon I had sat down a large beer was in front of me. The night was just as enjoyable with lots of talk of their families and interest in what we were doing. We sat late into the evening, it seemed no-one was wanting to break up the party but as it was after 10 p.m. with no dinner we decided to retire and then everyone headed off to bed.

Thursday 21st

After farewelling the Motorbike riders with a promise of visiting, we decided to go for a bike ride along part of the bike track that winds its way around the lake.On the way back we stopped and did some shopping then spent a quiet afternoon by the lake. The lake is quite beautiful and by the camp it is quite shallow so you walk quite a way before you get out of your depth. It has an opaque blue green colour and as well as the ducks, swans, fish and eels it has water snakes. These are small and pop their head out between the rocks or you might see one swimming along with its head out of the water. They are quite harmless and shy; they are a great attraction for the children who try to catch them.

Friday 22nd May – Started Fine & Sunny, ended thunderstorms & rain

We decided to move on further down the lake and see what it was like, I think we were a bit spoiled with the last campsite and after meandering along through the small villages came to another campsite near Keszthely by the southern end of the lake.This one was quite a bit bigger, it had a very small beach though and lots of reeds bordering the lake. We found a campsite by a small inlet and set up camp. We decided we needed to do some washing and set about getting our clothes and some bedclothes washed. We put these out to hang and went for a bike ride, with the intention of having a swim at the “local beach”. After a quick dip we ended up taking a long bike ride along a bike track and ended up bypassing thetown. So we headed inland and followed the main road back to do some shopping and then got to camp as it started to rain.After putting the washing to hang up under the veranda we had some tea and stayed the rest of the night ensconced in the camper listening to the thunder, and rain on the roof.

Saturday 23rd May.Rain cleared and fine

I think we had enough of the lake area and decided we would try to get as far as we could today towards our next planned tourist site. We set the GPS for the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, hoping that on the way we would find somewhere to stay overnight. We took the main highway which was quite new and soon made it to the border of Hungary & Croatia.We were surprised to find our first border crossing with Police and Custom Officers so didn’t quite know what to expect. After handing our passports over to 2 set of Police and 2 sets of custom official and a short inspection of what food & drink we were carrying they were happy to let us continue on our way. We followed this freeway until Zagreb where we left it to find an ATM so we could get some of the local currency. This was a bit of a challenge, until now Tom Tom has given us directions to ATM’s but nothing was registered on it and we didn’t want to take the Camper into some of the small streets not really knowing where we were going. We stopped at a local supermarket and after approaching a couple of people found a very nice young girl who spoke very good English and she suggested we follow her to where we could park the camper and they even took Ewout to the ATM to get some money out. She was with her mother so I was not worried about him and I think she felt safe. So it was back to the main highway heading south-west.We set the GPS for the co-ordinates of the park and set it for the fastest route. Now there are some things that the gps will not do and that is it only estimates the travel time with the km speed for the roads and logically this should be ok. But… the gps doesn’t know the condition of the roads and that knowledge can make all the difference. So we dutifully followed the directions given and as we left the main highway the roads got smaller and in more disrepair. We noticed a lot of houses that were ruined, some habited but riddled with bullet holes and some looked like they were recently built but never finished. The scenery though was spectacular, we meandered through small villages and up into the hills, sometimes so narrow I had to suggest that Ewout drive to the left as much as possible because there was such a steep drop off on my side. We looked down on fields, forests and lakes and even though the trip took much longer than we expected it was worth the drive. We eventually arrived at the camping ground that is near the park and set up under some trees, we overlooked a lovely valley and settled in for the night.

Sunday 24th May.Fine & sunny to start, Thunder ,lightning & rain late.

After a longish drive yesterday we had a rest day.Ewout went for walks and talked to a lot of other travellers, getting advice and schmoozing. I did some washing, reading and generally had a quiet day. Later in the afternoon we found out there was a nice river and lake area behind the campsite which we could go for a swim, so we joined the local lads at their swimming hole and had a lovely swim in clear water. They were having a great time, as boys do throwing each other in and jumping off the bridge.

Monday 25th May. Fine & warm

Packed up early and went to the Plitvice Lakes National Park. We arrived there about 9.30 and went for a 3 hr walk. The path follows a series of lakes and waterfalls winding its way up through a gorge. At one point you have to catch a ferry across the lake and then continue on the boardwalks admiring the waterfalls and beautiful clear turquoise water.A really lovely mornings walk.

We left the park and headed across towards the coast coming to the town of Senj, we found a small auto-camp just along the cliff road and tentatively headed down the dirt road to check it out. We got to the bottom only to be confronted by a small tunnel going under the main road. Would we fit was our first thought. We had no way of going back so slowly eased our way through the tunnel and down the rocky road to the campsite set in a small inlet. The setting was really nice, the campsites were small and rocky but we set ourselves up under some trees and decided that here we would stay for the night.As we sat down to enjoy the view and a drink there was a loud sound of rushing air. One of the rear tyres had gone down, but as we had dual tyres on the back we couldn’t really tell which one. As it was getting late we decided to sort it out the next day. So we went for a swim and had a quiet evening by the bay.

Tuesday to Sunday 31st. Weather varied from fine and sunny to cool, rainy and very windy.

We decided that this campsite was not really practical for a few days as it was not easy to access the town and do any sightseeing or shopping so we packed up and headed into the town to get our tyre fixed. We found a tyre place quite close by and stopped in.They found that our valves were old and so we had all the rear tyre valves replaced as we didn’t want it to happen again. For a reasonable prices the tyres were fixed and we were on our way again.

We followed the road along the coast for the next few days. We stopped at a camperstop on the side of the road for a couple of nights and then had a couple of nights on a small island just off the coast. We had a chance to swim in the sea and also bought ourselves some snorkels and masks so that we could take advantage of the clear water.

We now sit at a large campground on the outskirts of Trogir. It is a little more than we have been paying but it has internet access and we need to spend some time updating some things on our site and catching up with things at home. We also need to talk to our family at home with the msn and it is the most reasonably priced internet we have come across since coming into Croatia.