Exploring Nature Reserve Oostvaardersplassen is only possible on an organized trip with a ranger. It is a strictly restricted area. You have to book your excursion well in advance.
On the immense new land surrounding the Oostvaarders lakes, you find a lot of wildlife under a fizzing air. This is where the sea-eagle builds its nest. Large herds of horses, deer, and cattle roam the rugged grasslands occasionally disturbed by a fox.
History of Nature Reserve Oostvaardersplassen
Markermeer and Oostvaardersplassen nowadays make the newest National Park in the Netherlands called “Nieuw Land”, which is situated in and around the polder Flevoland. This polder is 5 meters below sea level. Its construction first became possible after a 30 km long dam – the Afsluitdijk – was finished in 1933 turning the Zuiderzee into a lake. In this lake, several dikes and polders were built. In 1968 the dikes around the polder Flevoland were ready. The land pumped dry consisted of 2,410 square kilometers of rich agricultural land ready for cultivation.
The development of Nature Reserve Oostvaardersplassen, including 56 square kilometers, was a revolutionary choice at the time. Initially, human intervention in the Nature Reserve was a taboo. However, pictures of dying horses and cattle shocked the public. Causing political intervention and a new policy, accepting human interference in the nature reserve, was enforced. Hence on animals are fed in winter. Nowadays surplus animals are shot or sold.
Exploring Nature Reserve Oosvaardersplassen with a guide
Your adventure in Nature Reserve Ooostvaardersplaasen starts on the north side of the park in Lelystad. Book your excursion with the ranger on line. The trip starts at the visitors’ center. Do not miss the great lunch they serve. and then you hop on the electric ecocar or on a high wagon behind a tractor. And off you go. Do not forget binoculars and a rain suit might be handy.
Things to do around Nature Reserve Oosvaardersplassen
Not far from the Oostvaardersplassen, in the port of Lelystad, you can take a boat to Nature Reserve The Marker Wadden. The newest land in the Netherlands. Book this boat trip well in advance.
When you are interested in technical information about building dams in the sea and constructing harbors you want to visit the open-air museum Waterloopbos.
Do you prefer to go shopping? Do not miss the nearby outlet center Bataviastad. One of the greatest outlet malls in the Netherlands.
