A part of Notranjska that fascinates all year round with its beautiful panoramic scenery is a classic, yet lowest-lying karst field is adorned by the Unica river with its source in Planinska cave. It is, indeed, a miracle of nature- a beautiful occasional lake, that shows up after heavy rain as the river Unica spreads out and hugs green fields and pastures. But when the river is just “a river”, flowing at its own pace, making amazing turns and caressing the Planinsko field, many enjoy  fishing, canoeing or stand-up paddle boarding on it. We choose the SUP everytime and this is our odyssey from our SUP season opening in 2024 🙂

We were looking forward to this for quite a while, because we were on the Unica river only once before this. Back then, the water levels were low and we couldn’t go all the way with the river flow from point A to point B, we had to turn the board around and paddle back upstream in quite shallow water. This time, we went there after some rainy days and the weather was warm and sunny that day. We decided to go with two vehicles (leaving one at the entry point and the other at the exit point)  so  that we could enjoy paddling with  some help of the  stream. 

Some initial challenges while  inflating the boards made us a little behind the schedule.  We were finally on the water, the sun was shining and we were making nice progress on the river. The river bed and water levels change all the time, but the water is pretty clear almost all the way. As we were moving away from the road and the villages, the scenery changed too. From an ordinary and typical river shore, you can observe the strength of trees that survive years and years in all impossible weather conditions and give shelter to rivers and animals. The scenery becomes almost movie-like, where the only sound you hear is the birds chirping, the scent of the  grass from a nearby field is accompanied by the warmth of the suna and the river is gently rocking the board. Emphasis on “gently”, but also mind the wind in some parts, where you’ll have to paddle just a little harder.

We stopped twice – once for a brunch on the shore and the second one was a coffee break. As you know by now, we take our food almost everywhere and make coffee on the spot, so it’s always fresh and aromatic. Plus, who doesn’t like drinking coffee in the nature, enjoying the view over flowing water? 🙂

After about four hours on the river, we reached the exit point. Everything actuall went really smooth and we were satisfied with the whale tour. Well, obviously it was a little muddy and we were a little tired, but really happy that this project was realized after almost 3 years.