Primož Jakopin, photo diary

Around Inner Carniola
From Saturday to Sunday

March 22, 23, 24, 26 and 30, 2025, 58 pictures

          Most images are approximately 768 x 1024 pixels in size, numbers in front of the picture descriptions are serial numbers of the original photo files. The text mentions Matija Perne and Jože Stražišar.
          The purpose of the excursions was to check the entrances to the caves at higher water levels.

          Page, texts and photos copyright (c) Primož Jakopin - Klok 2025.

The cave Škratovka near Haasberg Castle, March 22, 2025

 
55111. One of the larger springs, south of the cave

 
55112. View of the cave entrance with a stream

Lanski vrh

 
55113. The sun is peeking through the rainy sky above Vajzova pot near Članska vas

 
55114. Football field along the Jakovica - Grčarevec road, where construction machines for the cleaning of sinkholes were supposed to have sunk. But they were not located, the author learned the next afternoon that they were on the edge of the field east of the Pod stenami sinkholes, approximately halfway to Mrzla jama.

 
55115. Flooded hornbeam grove

 
55116. View across the flooded meadows towards the bay of Planinsko polje, Pod stenami

Tkalca jama

 
55121. View along the rather full bed of the Rak river in the cave, on the left is a peninsula of foam almost a meter thick, probably not of natural origin, from the wastewater treatment plant.

Lake Cerknica

 
55122. A rather gray view from the Zvinger lookout across the lake, it was a rainy day.

 
55123. This the view from the Zvinger lookout across the lake was sunny, after a storm. When the author changed into a caving suit and boots to look at the entrances of both Karlovice caves, it started to rain again and it didn't stop. After an hour, he departed to Stari trg for lunch.

 
55124. After an hour and a half he was back, the weather improved and remained rainless until the evening. In the photo - a view from the end of the path to the Velika Karlovica entrance, the last 5 meters were flooded, too deep for the boots (the author estimated the depth at 70 cm), view over wooden rakes that barely protrude from the water, towards the Javorniki mountain range.

 
55127. View from the path towards the entrance. The path continues into the cave under the rock on the right side, but this part of it is now about half a meter under water. The top of the dam is about 30 cm above the level of the lake. The drifting reedbed debris extends from the dam almost to the rakes, about 15 meters wide.

 
55125. A slightly closer view of the entrance, from the rock in the previous photo

 
55128. View from the cliff above the entrance to the cave, across the rakes, towards the east

 
55129. Provisional viewpoint on a rocky promontory above the edge of the lake, under a wooden hut, between Velika Karlovica and Velika Skednenca

 
55130. View from the viewpoint of the lake with Mount Slivnica on the left and the edge of Javorniki ridge on the right

 
55131. A little further towards Mala Karlovica, it was possible to reach the shore without bush, for this photo.

 
55132. View of the lake and Slivnica through the larger entrance of Velika Skednence

 
55133. From Velika Skednenca towards Mala Karlovica, it was not possible to cross along the rock ledge just above the water, but much higher. When the author was able to descend closer to shore to take this photo, he reckoned that he was probably already further south, past Mala Karlovica. He concluded this from the fact that the rock shelf above the shore continued only about for about 10 meters, further shore was low and very overgrown, as far as one could see, about 50 meters far, and that the bush in the water on the right in front of the shore would block the open view of the Slivnica from the entrance if Mala Karlovica would be further south.

 
55135. Just before the end of the rock shelf above the shore, the water flowed through an opening about two meters wide and about 70 cm high. Since no cave has been registered to the south of Mala Karlovica, this tunnel would have to be shorter than 10 meters (minimal length or depth of a registered cave).

 
55134. Or maybe not. A few meters south of the entrance in the previous photo, where the rock shelf is gone, there is this opening in the shore, too narrow for the author, but not for Matija. Behind the opening, running water could be heard and drops falling from the ceiling into the water, according to the author's estimate, from a height of more than a meter. P. S. On March 29, the author learned from Jože that the tunnel would soon be too narrow to pass after this point. In 2009, cavers from the Karlovice Caving Society in Mala Karlovica explored the part immediately to the left after the entrance and also encountered a tight spot in the direction of the shore. They could see and hear each other from both sides, so they stopped digging.

Sebonji laz, 804 meters above sea level, March 24, 2025

 
55137. Telescopic view to the southeast, towards Lake Cerknica and Mount Snežnik

Cerknica Lake, March 26, 2025

 
55138. View from the Cvinger viewpoint towards the east, across the lake. The next attempt to photograph the Entrance Hall of Velika Karlovica also failed, despite the high fishing boots. It turned out that the depth of the water on the path just before the entrance was not 70 cm, as the author estimated on March 23, but about 120 cm. Following the bottom very close to the edge of the big rocks at the entrance, he managed to get about two meters far in his high boots. At that point the rock was already very steep and with poor hand grips, his feet also did not find good support and the author estimated that after another step or two he would inevitably slip into the water. It will be necessary to return with more suitable equipment.

Rakov Škocjan

 
55139. In order not to end the excursion without interesting photos, the author proceeded to nearby Rakov Škocjan. The water was also too high for the path to the Big Cave of Zelške jame, but he at least made it to the end of the Ževška jama. In the photo: Small Natural Bridge and the Big Cave below it, as seen from the viewpoint.

 
55142. The author at the stone bridge over the Rak River, view from the west side

 
55143. View from the underground passage from Ževška Cave to the Big Cave, back towards Ževška Cave

 
55146. Stone face in the west wall of Ževška Cave

 
55147. Alternate-leaved golden-saxifrage, Chrysosplenium alternifolium

 
55148. Scarlet Calyx, Sarcoscypha coccinea

Rakovski mostek

 
55149. After a short phone consultation with Jože, the author once again headed back to Lake Cerknica, where Jože anticipated, at such high water, some good photo opportunity. In the picture: a view from above the iron rakes at the artificial entrance to Velika Karlovica towards the southeast, towards Javorniki ridge, across the lake.

 
55150. The north side of the mechanism for lifting the gate, which is now in the fully lowered position.

 
55151. View down the shaft to the artificial riverbed with turbulent water flow (immediately behind the gate)

Lanski vrh, March 30, 2025

 
55154. The author set out to search for the sunken construction machinery once again, along the path above the climbing area in the cave Vranja jama and further above the cave's entrance wall, along the marked path towards Pod stenami sinkholes. About halfway along this path he turned left, downhill, because he calculated that if he continued further, he would be closer to the Pod stenami sinkholes than to Mrzla jama. About halfway from the path to the lake shore he first saw this dry tree trunk (view to the southwest) ...

 
55153. ... here is a view from the same place to the south ...

 
55152. ... and to the northeast, up the slope. He found two narrow passages that seemed to be a cave entrance.

 
55155. He pushed a selfie stick with a phone camera into the right opening, and a hazel stick with a light tied to the top into the left one, to take this photo. It shows a space about 4 meters long and 3 meters deep. It would be worth a try.

 
55157. He proceeded a little closer to the Pod stenami sinkholes and realized that the sunken construction machinery must be located not between Pod stenami sinkholes and Mrzla jama, but further east of Mrzla jama. He descended to the edge of the forest above Babni dol meadow, where the slope was gentle and for an easier walk. He also found this spot at the edge of the forest, with fewer bushes, so that he could take this photo of Mount Planinska gora, reflected in the lake.

 
55156. In the next bay to the east of Mrzla jama, on its easternmost edge, he could see the two machines through the branches.

 
55158. Stump mushroom

 
55160. On the dry trunk of a deciduous tree, which is neither maple nor ash nor oak, he saw ...

 
55159. ... such an under-the-bark scene, on the upper right resembling a slightly dreamy female face.

 
55164. The two machines were in a small grove at the edge of the polje, surrounded by floating oil traps on the surface of the water, which were installed by firefighters. The picture shows the view from the east.

 
55161. A little closer view, also from the east.

 
55163. Another view, from the southeast.

 
55162. There was probably no major oil spill, but some oily spots along the bank remained.

 
55165. Golden jelly fungus, Tremella mesenterica, on a dry trunk on the ground. It is about 5 cm long.

Bay of Caves (Jamski zaliv) at Lake Cerknica

 
55166. View from the Cvinger viewpoint across the lake

 
55173. This time, the author equipped himself with a small boat for the journey to the dam at the entrance to Velika Karlovica. It carries two slim people, with one person in the boat it floats comfortably hight above the water. The journey should have been quite easy, but the layer of reeds on the surface made it difficult. The author used an oar (to push the reeds away) and an approximately two-meter-long hazel stick (to move by pushing off the ground). It still took him a quarter of an hour to cover five meters. At each push, he also rocked the boat back and forth, and thus moved forward slowly. On the way back, there was less reed on the surface next to the rock, so the ride was faster.

 
55168. Wide-angle view from the concrete dam in the entrance (the top of the dam was about 40 cm above the lake, on March 23rd it was just 30 cm.

 
55167. A slightly less wide-angle view to the left side of the entrance, towards the lake ...

 
55169. ... and to the right side.

 
55172. View from the dam into the interior of the cave. Since the height difference between the lake level in front of the dam and the top of the pipe in the dam was over one meter, the stream jet was about 5 meters long.

 
55175. View from the boat, which was in front of the rake, to the entrance.

 
55176. View from the same spot across the lake with the settlement of Novi Peščenk (part of Cerknica) and Slivnica in the background.

 
55178. The waterway to Mala Karlovica was relatively smooth, it was nice to observe the meadow with waving grass at the lake bottom, in some places one and a half meters deep, in others much less than a meter. In front of Mala Karlovica (in the depth of the photo) there was a sea of drifting reeds.

 
55179. A telephoto view of the entrance, one couldn't get quite close because of the reeds.

 
55177. View across the lake on the way back

 
55181. Selfie in a boat, which was held still by the hazel stick. Although the water was still cold, it was already warm above it and there were quite a few flies. So some form of head cover, the thinnest was the helmer undercap, was a must. The situation was a bit awkward because the author couldn't close his legs enough to sit on the bottom of the boat. He couldn't sit on the edge either, because his center of gravity would be too high and he would quickly tip over. So he sort-of-crouched halfway from the bottom to the top of the boat. After a half hour, his legs were quite firmly asleep, and when he returned, the author couldn't get out of the boat. But he grabbed a bush branch on the shore with one hand and gave his legs the necessary push.

 
55182. A bumblebee that the author rescued from the water in front of Mala Karlovica. It was already at the end of its strength, it only fluttered its wings a little from time to time. It rested on the edge of the boat about halfway through, and then suddenly it was gone. Because the author rowed a little more vigorously, he was afraid that the poor thing would end up in the water again, this time forever. But luckily, it fell into the boat. And finally found its way on a green leaf ashore. After ten minutes, it had recovered enough to try a take off.

Related pages:

• This page in Russian
• and in Slovenian language

  Matejeva jama ob meji, March 16, 2025     Planinska jama and Jama pod Jerebovim gričem, April 7, 2025  
 

This page, text and photos by Primož Jakopin, member of the Ljubljana Cave Exploration Society (DZRJL). Send inquiries and comments to primoz jakopin guest arnes si (insert dots and at sign as appropriate). The page was initiated on March 30, 2025; date of the last change: April 7, 2025.

URL: https://www.jakopin.net/primoz/slike/2025/PJ20250322_en.php     439