Blog 289 – Travelling to Plitvice, Croatia Part 1 – 27 June 2025

My purpose is to give hope to those who have lost hope. Without hope, we remain lost in the Shadow Lands.

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The official name of Plitvice is Plitvice Lakes National Park.  This is how Wiki describes Plitvice.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, for its outstanding and picturesque series of tufa lakes, caves, and connected waterfalls.[2] The national park was founded in 1949 and is in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The important north–south road that passes through the national park area connects the Croatian inland with the Adriatic coastal region. The protected area extends over 296.85 km2 (114.61 sq mi). About 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County.

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Me in Plitvice Park in 2 October 2013.

John Hankin photo taken 2 October 2013.

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Near the entrance of Plitvice National Park..

John Hankin photo taken 2 October 2013

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Plitvice National Park.

John Hankin photos taken 2 October 2013.

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You can just see the colour of the water in the pool at the bottom of the steep descent into Plitvice.  It was a cross between blue and green – a colour I had never seen before when exploring Australian national parks.

John Hankin photo taken 2 October 2013.

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Another photo of the sight that greeted us as we descended into Plitvice Park.

John Hankin photo taken 2 October 2013.

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We did not need to get the bus from Korenica to Plitvice.  We were given a lift.

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By helping others to heal You help yourself to heal Give abundant Love Always

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Entry Made at 3:10 pm on Wednesday 2 October 2013 This is the second entry made in the guest house at Korenica.  A Swiss couple booked into the guest house at about 10:00 pm last night.  They had their own car and were also going to Plitvice this morning.  They gave us a ride, so we didn't have to get the bus. We got to the Plitvice National Park at about 10:00 am.  We started walking after a coffee next to the entrance gates. The Park is very big.  It is surrounded by mountains and consists of a series of lakes.  The Park was teeming with water - streams and lakes - mountains, greenery everywhere, plus tourists - even this late in the season.  There was a noticeable chill in the air and the leaves on the trees were starting to go orange. The entrance ticket included the cost of rides on ferries across the lakes and rides on "trains" around the lakes.  The "trains" are buses that tow two additional carriages. We got the 2:30 pm bus back to Korenica.

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The Singing Park (Wednesday 2 October 2013 at 3:20 pm) Plitvice is full of life, Its singing can be heard from far away. As you walk past the ticket office, the singing becomes a many voiced choir. Walk deep into the Park and individual soloists can be distinguished. There are so many trees; So much greenery. Surely Plitvice is a rainforest. Individual trees sing softly. When there are many thousands of trees all grouped together, The soft individual voices become a majestic chorus. The singing of the water is an insistent refrain; It isn't simply the water running in the streams and waterfalls. The lakes sing too. Get close to the waterfalls and their song is deafening. Pull away just a little and the harmony whispers at your ears. Listen to the running streams. Some are wide giants of water. Some are tiny flowing droplets. The running streams chorus their life in harmony to the waterfalls. What do the lakes sing? The lakes sing of the life cycle that never ends. They lap softly where the water touches the edges of the lakes. The lakes provide more than a soothing lullaby. In the morning, the lakes were a bright blue in colour; The blue of a pearl glistening in the sun. As the Sun changes its position, The lakes change their colour. They become green; Fed by the water. The fish have their own special role in this melody. Small schools of fish barely 100 millimetres long position themselves in the current. There are also larger fish; Some are 250 millimetres or more in length. They lazily flip through the water. What role do the fish have in the musical chorus? They sing in counter harmony to the water. They have their own play list of songs and they sing every song in the list. People are attracted to the Park. They hear its singing, Even when they think they are visiting a tourist attraction. The people add their own refrain to the song that is Plitvice. Every time they stop, look and admire, They increase the intensity of the Plitvice song. What is the result of all this? This is a Park that is full of life; Because this is a Park that sings.

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Courage is the only way that we can ever create the Paradise that should be here on Earth.

Hatred only perpetuates the Hell we have already made for ourselves.