26. April 2020.   •     Nika

What would be your BEST Raftrek trip?

Nika said: Six stunning travertine waterfalls, crystal clear waters, magnificent canyon, beautiful intact nature, exhilarating cliff jumping, swimming and paddling, all packed in the Mreznica River kayaking trip. Here is what she wrote. Enjoy! 🙂

So, WHY you ask?

I enjoyed many summers swimming in the Mreznica River, close to my hometown Zagreb. We found a refreshing sanctuary in camping and having fun on the river bank (note: this is not entirely legal to do anywhere on the river bank, so I do not recommend going camping if you don’t contact a legal campsite). I have kayaked before on Mreznica, but only on flat parts and in a hard PE kayak.

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Adventure kayaking was on my bucket list

So I was really happy when my colleague Beli invited me to try Mreznica River Kayaking. We departed from Zagreb early in the morning and reached our base near Slunj at about 9:30. After putting on all necessary equipment (neoprene suit, socks and shoes, safety vest, helmet, you know the drill), we were dropped off closer to the river.

After the safety talk, explaining how to navigate the rapids, and how to be safe during the trip, we boarded our kayaks. Paddling in groups of two. I was grouped with one of our new guides, who was also scouting the trip.

Wow, what a ride!

Once everyone was ready, we approached the first waterfall kayak by kayak, and the guide would help us go down. Wow, what a ride! The feeling was as I was in an amusement park. Everyone was laughing and screaming with joy while getting wet by the cold water of the river. When we reached the tallest waterfall (about 6-7 m) everyone was eager to jump.

Outdoor activities in Croatia

Well, not my cup of tea – as I have a previous back injury I’m not keen on jumping from high objects at all. So, the guide took me and a 4-year-old through a side path that was partly a smaller rapid. We did well, both the kid and me. Nevertheless, we enjoyed looking at people having fun, and jumping over and over again from the top rock.

Later on, my fellow kayaker and future colleague, told me that he was, in fact, a professional Whitewater kayaker. So, if I don’t mind he would like to try some rapids and waterfalls without the help of our guide. As both guide and I agreed on this, we ventured a little bit ahead of the group and had some fun on smaller rapids.

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By the end of the Mreznica River kayaking tour, we reached a meadow that was full of wooden constructions. There was a small rope bridge crossing the river, and an improvised rope-raft-crossing was operating between the two banks. As we were ahead of the group, we decided to be naughty a little bit more and went on shore to explore the constructions. As our guide later told us, that was the location of a music festival that was happening soon after.

Enjoy the amazing scenery

As we reached the finishing point, everyone quickly changed into dry clothes, and the team took us back to the starting point. We slowly departed the finishing point, strong rain-shower washed the entire area, so we were lucky to get into vans right before it started. Mreznica River kayaking trip is perfect for families and people searching for an adventure. It’s close to both Zagreb and Plitvice area, I strongly suggest to escape the heats and try out kayaking this beautiful river.

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What is an Insiders choice?

An insider is an employee, or any other person who is privy to confidential, nonpublic information about a company. So, there you go, we have asked our great Raftrek office team to write about their favorite Raftrek Adventure trip. In the next couple of our blog post, we revel their choices. Stay tuned and follow our blog to read and learn more online!