CANOE TOUR WHALING AREA JISPERVELD
Did you know that Jisp near Amsterdam is an old whaling village? Five centuries ago, the Netherlands was the center of the world’s whaling industry. Jisp was one of the first villages that had its own boat (1642) to hunt whales in the Arctic Ocean. It all started when the Dutch began exploring the Arctic regions looking for a sea passage to Asia. They ran into whales near a group of unexplored islands. In those days the waterways still had an open connection with the Zuiderzee.
JISPERVELD
Today the nearby Jisperveld is a nature reserve renowned for spotting many species of birds like the spoonbill, snipe, ruff and the Dutch National bird the black-tailed godwit. It is a maze of hundreds of islands, creeks and pools which covers 18 km2. The one or two farmers that live here, need to ship their livestock from island to island by boat. Hundreds of years ago you would have seen many whaling stations here. In these whaling stations, whale blubber and whale bones were processed into whale oil used for lamp oil, soap, lubricant and shoe polish.
• TOUR
This beautiful canoe tour takes us through the heart of the ancient whaling area Jisperveld. It is an area rich in history and bird life. We gather in the old and picturesque village Jisp where we will pick up our canoes at a farmhouse. From the farmhouse we paddle through green and narrow waterways and small open areas. Halfway we have a picnic on a small reed flanked island, owned by Joost our canoe guide for today. If you are interested Joost can explain a lot about the history of the area and different species of birds.
• WHAT IS INCLUDED
Guided tour through Nature Conservation Area Wormer- and Jisperveld by Joost and Marlies. Joost has been living in this area for the last 20 years and loves to share his knowledge of the area with us.
Canoe rental (2p canoes)
Dry bag/ box for your belongings
Not included: food (please bring something to eat).
• WHAT TO BRING
Rain jacket, sunglasses, sunscreen, camera, something to eat/ drink. We’ll have a picknick on a little island in the middle of the tour (food is not included).
• WHERE DO WE MEET
Bus stop ‘De Lepelaar’, 1546 LB Jisp
• IMPORTANT TO KNOW
We are LEAVING at 10.00 and we FINISH around 14.00. Bus 121 takes you from railway station WORMERVEER to JISP. Note: this bus runs once every hour. If you miss it, we cannot wait for you unfortunately.
All participants (members and their guests) on any of Nature Connects walks or activities are personally responsible for their own fitness, safety and welfare and must be equipped accordingly. Payments are non-refundable.
