Montenegro May 09

After the luxury and tourism of our fly-in city, Dubrovnik in Croatia, crossing the border into Montenegro it appeared distinctly rugged and undeveloped. The impressive Tara Gorge runs down the backbone of Montenegro (which, despite its name, is vibrant green and very un-black). The heart of our trip was a 60km run, grade 2-3 medium volume, over three days at relaxing pace with time for fun and reflection in this highly impressive mountainous region. Accommodation was at manned hostels, basic but welcoming, thus keeping boat weight down.

Our Gene 17 guides Bob and Debs were dedicated and great. This even stretched to Debs giving up her blouse to the aid of communications! On the warm-up day we put on at 6pm(!), for a 14km check-out paddle. Halfway down the intended run, Debs’ shirt appeared on a beach, hoisted between two sticks, bearing a message smeared in mud. Doing the shuttle, the van and trailer had stuck on a slippery incline. The bemused but friendly locals were only too happy to assist this bra-chested foreigner wandering through their fields. We got off and helped with the vehicle recovery then accepted the locals’ insistence of homemade firewater, aka ‘slivovica’. Last in line, Lee had to take his swig only after the local four-legged mutt had joined in the celebration – nice! The slivovica became a regular feature of the week, though quality varied greatly.

Lots of play-spots on the river kept keener paddlers busy, in between beautiful sights around each corner. One tributary turned out to be Europe’s most voluminous natural spring, an awesome 200 yards of grade 6 chundering out of the mountainside: nice to look at. On the second afternoon a heavy storm flooded our camp shelter and fire, which were re-built in a flash by our hosts.

The trip ended with a visit to a 2000-metre modern ski resort town – it even snowed – a culture shock complete with trendy bars and an impromptu pool tournament before a final daytrip on the scenic grade 3 smaller volume river, the Moraca.

The week was great for intermediate or cautious paddlers and those wanting something a bit different from more civilised Alpine venues, while there was enough to keep keener boaters playing happily without it ever getting scary or serious. Thanks to Simon at Gene 17 for organizing, and to Bob & Debs for providing a great holiday with a sense of adventure.

Lastly, a word of thanks to the helpful BA check-in staff at Gatwick. Despite no longer being allowed kayak equipment free-of-charge, we’d packed our paddles in their paddle-bags clearly marked with ‘Kayak Paddles – Top Load Only’ (doh!), and proceeded to have the following conversation:
BA check-in assistant: “Is that ski equipment?”.
One of us: “Yes, it’s sporting equipment”.
BA check-in assistant: “It’s a bit late for snow in Dubrovnik isn’t it!?”
One of us: “Yes, it’s melting fast…” ☺

Words and Images Karen Wilson