Finding Family Adventures in Croatia : Rock Climbing in Split
“Life’s a challenge… you face it front on and accept the bumps/bruises or you just let it wash over you and watch from the sidelines”
Great advice we once got from a special friend, and it means we vowed to take every possible challenge as long as we feel it will benefit us (as a family) or help challenge the girls. So what better way to prove this than with another climbing adventure, this time with ‘Red Adventures‘ in the Croatian city of Split
Today threw up a great challenge, working again with Red Adventures & their excellent guides (Marianne & Phillip)…. Why did we stay another day in Split? It’s due to the exciting, vibrant atmosphere, it just screams ‘stay another day… or maybe even two at Camping Rozac in nearby Trogir!’ So we relented and took up another opportunity to challenge both girls in the stunning setting of Marjan.
Our girls have tried indoor climbing and even motorised climbing walls… plus a fair few ‘adventure climbing walls’ in Exeter and Birmingham … but today was a real challenge with no brightly coloured hand/feet holds… just solid unrelenting ochre stone to find some purchase!!!
Safety was of key importance today and from the first minute, we felt reassured that both Marianne & Phillip were in total control with both girls fully harnessed and a two rope system firmly in place… even if the top right picture on this page might suggest otherwise!
We were equally delighted that both girls responded to the challenge… this was a genuinely tough climb with little or no handholds at times and both girls had to persevere!! It was that tough that it even drew blood and challenged even the adults in our party (including our increasingly good friends and travelling buddies ‘Aussies on Tour‘)
Imagine….Believe….Achieve….
We’ve always said to the girls that ‘kindness is the one central ingredient to a happy life’… we reckon that’s so true… but would also add that ‘perseverance’ is a great quality to have too… So were delighted with Lottie’s perseverance which was rewarded with a fantastic final climb, whilst Libby yet again showed a natural skill and climbing empathy with the rock face which showed she might just develop this interest into a life long hobby…
So how far did the girls get? Well the pictures tell you just how far!!! It was high!!! very high!!! The rock face is set high up above the sea level below giving utterly spellbinding views (if you dare look over your shoulder!)
Was it easy? No not at all, they struggled at times but kept going… and will have a learnt a new skill.. Whilst the adults loved the thrill of the climb and had to be pulled away from the last climb of the day..
Did they enjoy it? I guess their smiles tell that story without me adding to it! They loved every minute! It’s just a brilliant way of ‘Getting Active’ and finding some family fun together as we are all very much at the same level…
Will we build on this experience and do it again? Absolutely… but it’ll be interesting to see which country sees our next attempt (perhaps Pembrokeshire in May???)
Be brave……
One of the phrases on our ‘Travel Blog’ says ‘Be BRAVE : Be BOLD : Be YOU‘ and we reckon this type of ‘can do’ attitude is exactly what we want our girls to believe in and adopt for themselves… it’s really this type of formative experience that will hopefully reinforce this belief in their own ability…. But let’s not forget it was fantastic fun too!!!! Just check out Lottie’s smile below!!!
Marjan
so where did we park the bus for the night?
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