We were advised by the girl in the Tourist Information Office at Ptuj to go to Lake Bohinj rather than Lake Bled in the north as Bled is very touristy and crowded. Bohinj is only a further 20 kms on but tranquil. Camping Danica is beside the small village of Bohinjstra Bistica, the largest of the villages here after Bled. We are very fortunate to find a place beside the river
The Office - Camping Danica, Lake Bohinj
as the campground is quite full. We are camped beside a delightful Slovenian couple, Nico, Nina and their son Jakob and they of course speak perfect English. This is the best campground we have stayed at. It is beside a river, 5kms by cycle path to Lake Bohinj, good clean facilities and a backdrop of Mt Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak. And warm, sunny weather. Bliss. We are already mentally tacking on a few more days to our stay here.
Nina and Nico tell us that they saw some NZ rowers training at Lake Bohinj. We cycle alongside the river through open pasture and forest to the lake. No NZ rowers but we do see a trailer and a chair
Lake Bohinj from the funicular - 1500 metres up
with the NZ flag woven onto it. At the edge of the lake sits a man in a towelling hat hunched over a notebook. “Are you with the NZ rowers” we say. Grunt. “We have heard there are NZ rowers here” we ask. Grunt. He turns out to be Dick, a coach with the NZ team and (like extracting teeth) he tells us that the World Rowing Champs are on at Lake Bled starting Sunday. Dick opens up a little when he accepts that we are not there for trade secrets or a cutting quote and we chat with him and Seah, the masseuse, before the rowers return. First Emma Twigg then the women’s four and then the mens double rowers. MTC wobbles a little at the knees as she photographs the hunky (her words not mine) Eric Murray and Hamish Bond carrying their boat up from the lake.
At the camp I google Dick and find he is in fact Richard Tonks, Head Coach and International Coach of the Year twice including 2010. “A man of few words” says his profile but we found him warm and interesting and obviously passionate.
Dick Tonks and Emma Twigg - training on Lake Bohinj
And, given the success of NZ Rowing over the last 20 years a big part of that success. In fact I was thinking that with the Rugby World Cup looming and the number of world championships won by the All Blacks v the NZ rowers over the years perhaps we should stick to rowing.
We hire kayaks and kayak the seven kms down the Bohinjska River for three hours through rapids and over weirs. Embarrassingly I tip out twice. MTC at under 50 kgs bobs along like a natural. It is heaven here but the patriotic call of watching NZ compete in sport is strong so move camp to Camping Bled at the head of the lake and just metres from the rowing centre and finish line.
Sunday night is the opening ceremony and entry is free so we find a seat in the back of the stands at the side of the main grandstand beside a Slovenic couple whose son is carrying the South African flag in the march past. Now Lake Bled is stunningly beautiful with its island church and 1,000 year old castle high up above the water but it is even more so at night with the lights of Bled twinkling at the lake end. Naneid, a physed teacher,
Lake Bled - the island and castle
keeps us entertained all evening. When we cannot see the entertainers in front of the main stand he says “We are a piece of shit up here”. When the male host introduces “my beautiful co-host” he says “she thinks so” etc. He also rails against the corruption and political mismanagement in Slovenia but when the National Anthem plays and the Slovenian team is called there is no one more upright and patriotic. The opening ceremony is a credit to the hosts. The highlight is the arrival of Milena Moraca the Slovenian opera singer accompanied by her violin playing husband floating across the floodlit lake on a traditional lake gondola. The fireworks display is oarsome as well.
Camping Bled is tops, up there with Bohinj. While Bohinj was rustic, Bled has the trees and parkland but with a thriving bar and restaurant and the little matter of a rowing world champs on its doorstep.
The lake is gorgeous and we swim to the island, lunch on grilled octopus and risotto and cycle the six kms around the shoreline past rowers training, the startline, the boatcentre and the finish. Rowing is an easy sport to watch with the competitors mingling with spectators and family as they train or just rest up. The big screen TV set up at the finish makes it simple to watch the race and follow it as well.
We come across a little NZ success story in the form of Greg Sowden and Takacats. Greg supplied the inflatable catamarans
Training on Lake Bled
for the 2010 champs at Karapiro and the 2011 organisers were impressed enough to engage him here. The boats are used for security, TV and the referees on the the water. We also meet several parents including the very congenial Mick and Mary Strack whose daughter Lucy is in the women’s lightweight sculls and Mrs. Cohen whose son Nathan is in the men’s double sculls and a current world champ. We also chat with the delightful Hannah and Alice the Australian Women’s lightweight scullers over coffee. They take the time to explain a bit of the ins and outs of rowing and the training involved. They were also very complimentary of the organisation at Karapiro for last year’s world champs. “But look where you are staying” we say pointing at the impressive Hotel Bled overlooking the lake and thinking of Hamilton. “Oh we were ok in NZ. We stayed at the Hamilton Airport Inn”. Wry smiles.
We would love to stay for the finals but after two days of watching time is pressing and Corsica calling.
