Yesterday we were away from Coffee Camp at 7.30am in order to try to get over the Serbian border into Croatia before the Sunday rush, which we had been told occurred, as Serbian workers returned to their jobs all over Europe at the end of the weekend.

When we arrived at the Serbian checkpoint the queues didn’t look too bad, but they moved slowly. Worse still we were told to pull over for a more detailed inspection. There only appeared to be two policemen allocated to making vehicle checks and as we were waiting they were both doing a thorough job on an elderly German, who looked in his 80s. Why they had picked on him we had no idea.

We were both worried they would want to do the same to us and since they had taken all the German’s possessions out of his car, we thought it would take them the rest of the day with Basil. Luckily when our time came the Serbian policeman was very friendly and had a fairly cursory look in Basil’s boot and interior. Together with crossing the Croatian checkpoints it all took about 45 minutes. Perhaps all Brits should have come and inspected how a proper border works before voted on Brexit. The lorry queue was, by the way, about 2 kilometres long!

The rest of the day was straightforward, if tiring. A total of 350 miles, mostly on motorway. We think this is the longest daily journey we have ever undertaken in Basil.

We finished at Plivitce Holiday Resort (44.972645, 15.645380 €20 on ACSI) which looks like a new or newly renovated campsite. We struggled to find a pitch because they have apparently had so much rain this year that many of them were unusable. The day was completed with a decent meal in the campsite restaurant as a treat for our hard work.

The whole purpose of coming to this part of Croatia was to visit the world famous Plitvice Lakes. Reception and our weather apps all said rain today and so we thought we would leave our visit until Tuesday but when we saw Tuesday looked even worse we set off this morning.

Plitvice Lakes are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and consists of 16 lakes arranged in a cascade with the highest lake cascading over waterfalls into the second and so on. The rain has been so heavy this year that the lakes have been closed completely for the first time in 10 years and currently only the lower lakes are accessible.

Unfortunately we had not done enough research. An online ticket would have saved us an hour. On arrival we had to queue for about one hour and twenty minutes to buy a ticket and then the ticket we were given only allowed us into the park a further thirty minutes later. It is all an attempt to spread visitors over the park and thin out numbers.

As I will explain, they failed abysmally! When we entered there are initially spectacular views over the first small lakes and a huge waterfall that cascades from one side into one of the lower lakes. As we descended to lake level it was then necessary to walk on wooden slatted walkways that are just about wide enough for two sets of people to pass, one in each direction.

The problems started on the first walkway which crosses an entire lake, perhaps 500 metres. At the end of this walkway there is a choice to either to turn right to go down to see the large waterfall or turn left to visit the higher lakes. Bear in mind that this walkway had no barriers and is crossing water that is fast flowing and in some sections deep. With water levels so high, anyone falling in at the wrong point would be in immediate trouble and there did not seem to be any safety contingencies, such as boats or even life belts.

The crowds were so dense that starting about half way across the walkway a queue had formed for those wanting to turn right to see the waterfall, blocking the entire right side of the walkway. Those who wanted to turn left had to try to pass them as others were making their way back across the walkway in the opposite direction. What seemed to me as a very dangerous situation ensued, with people pushing and jostling, with serious consequences, as I have explained, for anyone who lost their balance. We had the added problem of Mabel and Melek, Melek needing carrying because he doesn’t like slatted walkways!

Finally we made our way safely to the end of this particular walkway, turned left and the crowds began to thin out a little. The rest of the walk was mostly on grit paths, which made Melek happier, and the lakes and waterfalls were spectacular. One of the most impressive natural sites we have seen anywhere.

In addition to the beautiful views there was also some interesting wildlife. At one point we came across dozens of snakes (since identified, I think, as Dice Snakes a type of water snake), sunbathing on some vegetation at the lakeside. Further on we saw two lovely male Eastern Green Lizards, with their bright blue throats, posing nicely on a log next to the path.

The walk we had chosen came, after 3.5 kilometres, to a lake that we crossed by an electrically powered boat. There was then an electric bus that took us part way back to Basil and we finished with a pleasant woodland walk with occasional views over the lake.

We can highly recommend Plitvice Lakes, but the organisation from picking up tickets, to overcrowding and non existent safety precautions makes this probably the most badly managed tourist attraction, of any sort, we have ever encountered. They must reduce the number of visitors entering the park, and/or reorganise the initial walkway in some manner.

So our advice, if you wish to visit, is to arrive very early. We heard one guide say you need to get in the park by about 7.30 am.

Tomorrow we are off to the Croatian coast and perhaps a week or two of seaside relaxation.