Giara di Gesturi
We have one more night before we need to be on the ferry in Olbia. One of our neighbors from Switzerland on the last campsite suggested us to drive up the table mountain that is close by Nuraghe "Su Nuraxi". This is the home to the plateau Giara di Gesturi and one of the last wild herds of horses in Europe. The way up is a steep narrow tar road. At the top is a small car park next to a little ranger station. We ask the ranger if we can stay here for the night which is perfectly fine. As it is already late we buy a map and go on a short tour. Entrance is free of charge and we don't expect anything special and certainly not to see any of the wild horses. However, we are very lucky and after 20 minutes of walking we hear them and shortly afterwards also see them grassing close by. They are far less shy as we expected them to be and so we can approach them very closely.
During a short walk in the evening we are lucky to see some of the wild horses.
They are not really shy and we can get very close.
After some rain during the night the sun comes out again in the morning.
The next morning we go for another hike and again come across the horses.
In the past they where used for some work but now they are protected.
Wonder where the cork comes from? This is a cork tree.
Some berries. Not quite sure what it is.
Some berries. Not quite sure what it is.
Pineddas - round huts with thick stone walls and a thatched roof.
Pauli Majori - one of the lakes which is now dried out.
View across the surrounding areas.
Luckily we didn't have to take this road. Quite steep ...
9 - 12
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It was not raining for a long time up here and although there where a few drops of rain water during the night it is the main problem. As we still have some time after breakfast we go for another walk. This time we walk up to one of the lakes, Pauli Majori, but it is completely dry. Along the way we see again a few wild horses. We also enjoy the different type of nature up here, pass by Nuraghe Tutturuddu and make a short stop at a Pinedda. This is a round hut with thick stone walls and a thatched roof.
Unfortunately we don't have a lot of time and we have to get going. The suggestion to come up here was great and with a bit more time we could have explored a bit more of the table mountain. Maybe next time ...
