Naturist Park Helio-Carinthia

[wartel]

Hello,

here I want to promote the (definitely non-commercial) naturist park "Helio-Carinthia" - as the name says in the district of Carinthia in Austria.

Helio-Carinthia is different. And because it is so different it is worth more than a look! You find the homepage (only German and Dutch unfortunately) on

www.helio-carinthia.at

And because it is not in English, I will describe it a little bit closer.

There are some places for naturists in the world that are definitively different from others and the reason for it sounds maybe surprisingly: it's how nature is seen in this resorts.
In many resorts, you find a well cut English carpet, totally sterile facilities of great comfort, a swimming pool in a very blue color and people playing Pétanque (Boule) and call this a sport. Sorry for saying this, but all this has nothing to do with nature or experience nature.

In Helio-Carinthia you will not find any of this facilities in that manner. Well, since some years they also have warm indoor showers (but you can still use the one outside across the area) and water toilets (before only some outhouses). And you have also a wonderful and very beautiful old house, a former mill, where you can sit together after dark.
But more than that you have a lot of nature everywhere!

Helio-Carinthia was founded in the 50s by Dutch people. The founders do not live any more, but it was continued by their son, Eduard, and his wife, Erika.

The area is huge (75ha!!!) and lies between 1000m and 1600m above sea level. Most of the area is wooden land but there are also some big meadows. A lot of birds and butterflies are surrounding you all the time and there is totally silence. You can wander around the whole area for hours, just care that you don't get lost, but make your own adventure!

Unfortunately, Eduard's healthy condition is not the best any more (he is an old man now as well). So they decided to limit the amount of visitor on their areal per day. So if you want to go there, just ensure by a call or mail in advance that there is still enough capacity left.

If you want to be alone in the nature for days, you can go there just by your own. But if you take friends with you, you may have even experiences as shown in the famous video of Gobbledigook of Sigur Ros (for a link to this video see at http://internationalyn.org/forum/index.php/topic,9674.0.html).

You can sleep in your tent or in small huts, but don't forget to bring your own food. And you don't have to be a member of a club as often needed in Europe, everybody is welcome.

Of course, in former days the place was a little bit more alive - you will find beautiful pictures of this era in the old mill house. There was a small natural pond, which could now need some enthusiastic women and men to dig out a bit; and there was a glade in the middle of the woods, which was used to play volleyball with basic facilities; and the markers of some hike paths definitely need to be refreshed (same to the paths themselves).
But nobody can blame the old friendly man Eduard for being an old man! And it is still a wonderful place to stay.

And, come on: We are young (still young in my case ;-)), so why we do not ask Eduard for helping a little bit out next summer and fixing some things? Just an idea (and I have no idea if he would agree, but why not asking?)! Let me know if you are interested! Could be a wonderful time!

Cu,
Wartel

[monthem]

Das schaut sehr nett aus!
Ist das nach wie vor gut besucht? Nach deiner Beschreibung könnte man glauben, dass das etwas verwahrlost ist.
Kennst du den Besitzer persönlich oder warst du schon mal dort?

[wartel]

Hi monthem,

I hope it is ok, if I answer you in English, so that other people can read it as well.

You mention that Helios Carinthia look nice (on the homepage). It is. Really! If you like nature and all what belongs to it you will like it. You are afraid after all I have written that it is a little bit shabby? I do not think that nature could be shabby. All what has happened is that old man Ed is not capable to keep all areas and wide walking tracks free of growing trees and grass. But it is still only grass and trees that are growing. The relatively new toilet and shower house are of course reasonable clean.

Two answer your two remaining questions: I was there twice and I am planning to go there next summer again, if possible because of the reduced number of visitors (due to the healthy conditions of Ed), which should answer your last question: If you go alone, you rather are alone with the nature, which could be a wonderful experience in this area. Number of visitors never was huge (may be up to 30 to 40 people in glory times). But bring some friends (and if they are not naturists, may tell them about this place to convince them), and enjoy the place together (do not forget to contact Ed in advance).

cu,
Wartel

[monthem]

thanks for your answer, wartel 
i looks really nice and my next summer is still in planning.
its good to know that there are places like this!