Monday 4 July

On the road early to get to the oldest National Park. What a pristine sight – it consists of a variety of waterfalls and turquoise lakes high in calcium created because of the oxygenation of the water. We followed the walkways around the lakes and caught a short ferry across the largest one. Lunch was at a road side restuarant which had a bit of an animal park. The main attraction were the two bears but it also included a few deer and a peacock. What should have been a two and a half hour trip in Zagreb turned into an hour longer after an accident on the road on which we were travelling. This meant being diverted through the back roads on narrow country roads. Most of the boys were unaware of this as they slept through most of it. There were, however, a few with floating eyeballs as we pulled up at the Hotel Palace. That was certainly a treat for the boys at the end of a long trip. There was, however, no time to hang around as we had organised a match against the VK Mladost Club.  The boys scored some sublime goals and probably shaded the opposition in the final score line. We are still prone to playing to much like a rugby team in the pool and the subtleness of confining physical play to under the water is something that will need a lot of work. What is encouraging is the improvement in the play of our boys over a relatively short period of time. I sincerely hope this bodes well for the season ahead. Back at the hotel we were treated to a three course meal in our own dinning area and the banter between the boys was great to hear. A fitting end to an exhausting and amazing tour.