Level of difficulty 2 paddles |  Gastronomy 1 pitcher |  Length 12 km |  Time 3 - 4 hours

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At the interface between the region of southern Carinthia and the Lavanttal Valley, the Drave offers extraordinary SUP experiences in largely untouched nature. During a bank cleaning you get to know many hidden places of power away from the river's main stream.

General information

• Carinthia Card/ Active Card Southern Carinthia
• Carinthia Wikipedia
• Lavanttal tourist information
• Southern Carinthia tourist information
• Climate
• Wind, waves, weather

Navigation rules

Along this tour you move throughout the great outdoors almost without any infrastructure in sight. Treat the habitat of animals and plants with respect and take any rubbish with you. Avoid the shallow areas away from the banks or the forests as much as possible or at least enter them as gently as possible.

Dangers and risks

When the locks of the Edling power plant are opened, a higher flow rate must be expected.

Always keep a sufficient distance from the bridge pillars.

To get to the start at the Wölfnitzbach Stream you have to overcome a minimal difference in height on the grassy bank. As it can be a bit slippery depending on the time of day and the weather, enter the water carefully.

Occasionally you can meet fishermen. If you see them, please paddle around their fishing lines early enough.

Take care at the parking lot by the water exit because it is right next to the main road (B 80 – Lavamünder Straße).

Directions

If you are coming from the north or west via the A 2 southern highway (A 2 Südautobahn) you stay on the highway until reaching the little town of Griffen. There you take the Exit 273 and drive towards Lavamünd/Ruden, going along the Lippitzbacher Landesstraße for 5.7 km until it intersects with the B 80 in Ruden. At the crossroads, turn left in the direction of Lavamünd and after 360 m turn right into Lippitzbacher Straße. This leads about 2.5 km along the Wölfnitzbach stream down to the village of Lippitzbach and the entry point on the Drave river.

Parking

Along the Start at the Wölfnitzbach you can park in the area of the bridge or on the bank. It is also possible to park at the exit point on the side of the road (e.g. in the area Lavamünder Strasse 30).

Swimming

In the pent up Drava River you can swim wonderfully along the entire tour and enjoy a refreshing 20° C water temperature until late summer. Only if the locks at the Edling power plant are open and the current is rising, swimming is not recommended. Although the area is heavily forested down to the water, there are many good access points to the river along the way. Or you just jump from the SUP directly into the water.

Not only the Drava invites you to swim, also the lakes Klopeiner See, Turnersee and Gösselsdorfer See are coveted destinations for water lovers and sun worshipers.

There are also a number of smaller pools and bathing lakes, such as the nice bathing lakes in Lavamünd as in St. Andrä and the adventure pool in St Paul.

Tour

From the Wölfnitzbach stream in Lippitzbach to the small boat dock in Wunderstätten.

Length

12 km

Time

3 - 4 hours

Start and landing

Start at the mouth of the Wolfnitzbach Stream with the Drave in Lippitzbach.

Land at the small boat dock in Wunderstätten.

SUP rental

Draupaddelweg
Dahlienweg 14, 9161 Maria Rain
Phone +43 (0)463 2032 30100

Trading metal barrels and car tires for river caves and brookmint carpets

That the Drava River has countless beautiful paddling stages to offer is no longer a secret. However, you only know that it also boasts exotic-looking, hidden places of power and natural monuments after you have paddled between Ruden and Wunderstätten in the Lavanttal Valley. You get to know this area even better if you paddle while going on a bank cleaning tour scanning meter by meter downstream.

To get to the starting point at the mouth of the Wölfnitzbach stream in Lippitzbach, you first drive 2.3 km next to the stream along the narrow Lippitzbacher Strasse down to the Drave. Here you can park your car in the area of the bridge, but of course you have to pick it up here after the tour. In addition to this traffic logistics challenge, a few more disposal logistics challenges await us during the course of the day as soon as we get to the water.

Fortunately, our bank cleaning tour will be supported by the municipalites of Lavamünd and St Paul as well as by the Lavanttal Waste Management Association and the Austrian Water Rescue, so that we get enough garbage bags, work gloves and some food sponsored. In addition, the national television network shows interest and will report on our campaign throughout Austria. After all, a little exemplary effect and awareness in regards of environmental protection can't hurt. Our venture was even picked up by the Viennese artist Peter Schönhard, who painted nice posters, to attract as many paddles as possible.

Not only do we paddlers board our SUPs in the estuary area, but also the water rescue team board their inflatable boat, from which they will be available for nautical emergencies along the entire tour.

At the tour start, the Wölfnitzbach stream falls into the Drave and forms a small estuary in which small amounts of waste have already accumulated. We pick them up right away and then paddle off to the right. Directly in front of and above us we have an imposing natural monument - a meter-high vertical rock face covered in moss protrudes into the river, while water constantly runs down from above and falls into the Drave. So before we find our first big piece of garbage, it's about time for a group photo with a tropical background.

Then we continue paddling upstream and initially find nothing at all, which is a good sign for a garbage collection campaign. However, this should not remain so for long and soon we discover a waste highlight.

From the forest we pull a rusty bin and other smaller metal waste, which we load onto our boards and then paddle back to the entrance to unload the scrap there. After a short television interview, we continue towards Lavamünd.

It is unusual to see the Drave so deeply encircled on this section of the river and to drift between its wooded flanks. The Jörg Haider Bridge, which was renamed in honor of the former governor after his death rises before us. We leisurely paddle by the boats under the bridge and then tilt our heads back - the bridge is 96 meters high measured from the water surface and its echo can be quite impressive. Because there is no inhabited area here either, you can let go a loud call without scaring any residents.

As calm and relaxed as this section of the river is, it almost makes us forget what purpose our paddling tour is actually supposed to serve today, because the banks are absolutely clean and we let ourselves be carried away by the water with relish. The forests reach down to the edge of the shore and coniferous trees repeatedly rise diagonally into the water. Some even grow so strangely that they try to compensate for their sloping position towards the treetops and thus grow curved towards the sky again.

From time to time we pick up some garbage and enjoy the wonderful silence paired with an incredibly picturesque environment. Then one guy in the group discovers something:

On the right bank there is again a slightly higher rock formation, which is heavily forested and offers a narrow cave entrance. However, you can only see it if you paddle very close to the shore and scan it for rubbish with laser eyes. If you paddle in the middle of the river, on the other hand, you will only see the rocks and will probably paddle past them quite unimpressed.

You can glide into the cave on your knees, but unfortunately you will soon reach its end inside. Only a ray of light from the water suggests that you could dive out on the other side - but we are happy to leave that to others.

Although the water temperature is still around twenty degrees in early September, we stay on our boards for a short break in front of the cave. Then we spread out again on both sides of the bank and continue paddling in the direction of the Jauntal Bridge. On the way there, larger and smaller rivulets lead into the river and the dark green aquatic plants reach up to the water surface. Again and again you will find small ponds away from the main stream, which have crystal clear water and reveal an incredible variety of plants.

Under the Jauntal Bridge, one of the highest railway bridges in Europe, water mint grows even out of the water and forms large carpets under our boards. Sometimes the water colors go crazy thanks to the different basic sediments and plants, there is a lot of color interplay reaching from green in all shades to blue-green and turquoise. Of course, you can also view this natural beauty from above if you have the courage to bungy jump from the Jauntal Bridge.

We end up in a real fairytale world with our SUP boards, but are grounded again as soon as we paddle past the reed belt after the Jauntal Bridge and can then really start to work. A lot of bottles, styrofoam parts, packaging and even a closed beer can get caught in the reeds.

It is no longer possible to tell how long its content is consumable, but after a little basic cleaning, we dare to try and taste the noble drink. Unfortunately, it is not optimally cooled and would probably do us much better in winter, when picked up in cold water. However, the taste is inconspicuous and the brew can therefore be consumed. The drinkers never had any side effects afterwards, which was probably due to their contactless drinking technique.

This curiosity is later replaced by rather sad finds, such as garbage bags that have grown together in the ground, paint cans and - recovered by the divers of the water rescue service - a sunken boat and a toilet bowl. Once you know where to look, it becomes clear that a one-time rubbish collection campaign is unfortunately not enough, because we could have discovered a lot more in the reeds. In our opinion, it definitely makes more sense to paddle a bit into the reeds for a short time and sometimes damage something in the process than to leave garbage floating in it for years, which affects the water quality and on which the animals living here can also die.

After about five hours our tour ends at the boat dock in the village of Wunderstätten, just before the Schwabeck power plant. The flat exit on the left between the reeds and the footbridge is ideal and you can park a few cars on the main road at the end of the gravel path. After the Lavanttal Waste Management Association picked up the waste, it was of course disposed of properly. Finally we were able to relieve this river section of around 280 kg of garbage which gives us the opportunity to celebrate this small success in the bistro called Laquamuend located near Lavamünd Bathing Lake. With hot dogs and drinks we experience a wonderful sunset and are already planning our next cleaning campaigns with our SUPs.

Alternative: You can also paddle 1.8 km further to the Schwabeck power plant and bypass it on the right. From there the river meanders another six kilometers to the Lavamuend power plant. Or even further, because the Drave is navigable through Slovenia and deep into Croatia.