Dráva

This was the first river experience in this tour. The site is formed from its flood plain, and part of the river is also in the protected area as I learned. The local National Park looks after the natural values of this site as it happens usually. There is a shipping company who drives tourists on the river for a short ride of 20-30 minutes. There you see the ship below.

 

The main attractions of the site are the Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo), so the information bord below explains mainly about them.

I received a leaflet on bord and I was informed about a newly built tourist center for ecotourism and environmental education. As far as I know the project was financed by the EU and it is nearly finished. (Here is a leaflet in Hungarian with lots of pics to see the plans: http://www.ddnp.hu/_user/browser/File/downloads/os_drava_leporello.pdf).

The water was calm and looked clear. It is not recommended to swim in it because of stong twirls. The Dráva is one of the most natural rivers of Hungary and on the border with Croatia.

 Besides the cormorants I haven't seen much. One Podiceps cristatus  (Great Crested Grebe).

The Ormánság is a particular area of Hungary but not a county itself. It needs a great deal of development projects to catch up with other popular parts of the country. For this reason there are several initiatives to jazz up the local economical situation. Here is one: http://www.ormansagzoldut.hu/#!__ormnsag-greenway/greenway .

I have found and quickly took a photo of a map seen on the bord of the boat. The captain and crew explained a great deal of the area and they knew a lot about the popular bird colony. Unfortunately the ship was very loud and smelly for me but the weather was nice so I forgot about the dark side life.

Here is a little patriotism : the Hungarian national flag.