holiday

River picnic
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River picnic

The other night while out looking for suitable places to set my trailcam, I discovered this beautiful stretch of river out in the bush. The next day we decided to go on a picnic there and my brother and his girlfriend joined us. It amazes me that even within a short distance from my house I can still find new places I haven’t seen yet. We had a small fire on the bank and cooked bacon on sticks, and both the kids and dog had the chance to swim a bit –  a welcome respite from the 30 degree centigrade plus heat.

It was a bit of a gypsy holiday but it goes to show that you don’t need to spend lots of money, nor have lots of equipment, to have a fun day out. Judging by the tracks lining the river bank, I wouldn’t like to be there at night though….

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White Wagtail
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White Wagtail

The ancient harbour wall around our house in Croatia was home to a pair of White Wagtails (Motacilla alba). One is pictured here with an insect in its mouth. They spent much of there time calling out alarm cries or trying to distract us from nearing their nest.

Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse Fish
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Mediterranean Rainbow Wrasse Fish

One of my favourite activities whilst on holiday is sea fishing. I picked up the bug for it whilst in Florida (especially pier fishing in the Keys) when I was younger. I’m not really a fan of freshwater fishing as I like watching the sun go down over the sea of an evening (and being bitten alive by mosquitoes) – it gives me time and inspiration to think.

Sadly, the area around Croatia where we were staying has been massively over fished and this is noticeable in the virtual lack of large fish, although there are still plenty of fry about. I caught this beautiful Rainbow Wrasse (Coris julis) but nothing else this year. I had to retire my old telescopic rod last year as the saltwater had rusted it to pieces so this year I tried out a new, much larger telescopic carp rod which my wife had bought me as a present. It was much too unwieldy for the type of fish I was catching and no tuna wanted to take my bait.

Snorkelling in Croatia with a Dazzne P2
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Snorkelling in Croatia with a Dazzne P2

I’ve just returned from a week long family trip to Croatia. It was a long drive through Slovakia, Hungary and then all of Croatia but it was worth it. We rented the same house on the sea that we had last year and did much of the same aquatic activities.

This time I took with me a new toy. Originally, I’d wanted to buy a GoPro Hero4 Silver but instead opted for a much cheaper Dazzne P2 as it seemed good enough for my needs and I’d rather save my money for when the new Garmin action cam comes out. Above water I wasn’t impressed with the fish eye effect of the P2 but underwater it shone. Absolutely super underwater video. Well worth the money and I’d recommend it.

The crystal clear Adriatic Sea is the perfect place for underwater filming and snorkeling. My wife and me had a bit of an adventure on the open sea but I can’t talk about that at the moment. I can say though that it was a once in a lifetime and a life changing event. Really cool. More to come…