‘Those crazy Dutchmen enjoy walking in deep mud’, I read in a pamphlet in our hotel on the shores of the North Sea. Together with four friends, Francien and I indeed did that: crossing the Wadden Sea on foot during low tide.
We walked (lopen) 17 km from Westernieland to Kobbeduinen
The Wadden Sea, a UNESCO world heritage site, is an intertidal zone in the south-eastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coasts of The Netherlands and Germany and the range of low lying sandy islands. It forms a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. During low-tide, these shallows fall dry, making it possible to cross the bottom of the sea on foot. With four guides and 42 other hikers we embarked on our adventure: mudflat walking. We started at the crack of dawn in Lauwersoog on the mainland and walked 17 km on the bottom of the sea to reach the island of Schiermonnikoog. We were lucky with the weather as it did not rain and there was hardly any wind, which is unusual in these Dutch coastal regions. Alexius, Matty, Pamela, Nico, Francien and I experienced these fragile and rare intertidal sand and mudflats.
Pamela and Frank first steps in the slimy mud
Alexius, Nico, Francien and Matty trudging in the mud.
We walked through sea-grass meadows, on sandy shoals, salt marshes and sandbars. Most challenging was wading waist deep through changing tidal channels and gullies in the cold (15 C) water. Not to forget crossing those mudflats, each stretching up to 300 meters. The brown muck smelled rotten, because a lot of plants and animals die and decompose in there. This decomposition makes for a nutrient rich soil, but also produces sulphur gas, which causes the stench. This combined with the changing tides which cover the marshes with fresh water that contains silt, creates this slimy mud. Trudging through those mudflats is a different experience all together. There is more to walking in this deep sludge than putting one foot in front of the other. I needed to balance myself as the slick was very slippery and I never knew how deep I sank in. The ground tugged at my feet and the longer I stood, the deeper my feet got sucked in. So, it was about 'do not slow down' when crossing a mudflat.
The water temperature was 15 C
Oysterbanks
Matty and Francien in the slick
Francien and Frank half-way between the mainland and the island
Wading through one of those changing tidal channels
Our guides explaining the complexities of this unique ecosystem
Pamela and Francien enjoying an easy stretch of sandflats
Picture-perfect sunrise
The tidal difference that morning was 2.40 meters, which meant we had only a six hours’ time window to cross over to the island before the incoming tide would make it impossible to cross the shallows on foot. Without qualified guides, this can be extremely dangerous as one can easily be trapped in deep waters with strong currents. But Eric and his team were well prepared and experienced. With the aid of tide tables, they used the period with the lowest water level to cross the sea. It was a tiring walk, but they stopped regularly to point out all the birds and sea life along the way. They explained this complex ecosystem and why it’s so special. We heard and saw thousands of sea birds and the sands were full of shells, crabs, shrimps, worms and oyster banks. We enjoyed a picture-perfect sunrise and the sights of the endless submerged sandflats. Nevertheless, after a few hours, my steps became slower and it required more effort to put one foot in front of the other. After five hours walk, my feet had had enough. We reached the island and enjoyed taking of our mud filled shoes and socks to continue our final four kilometers walk through the dunes to our hotel.
Alexius, Matty, Nico, Frank, Francien, Pamela
After 5 hours walking and 17 km we reached the island
I guess you love or hate this kind of outdoor activity. It is definitely not something for the fainthearted. I’m pretty sure you’ve never walked on the bottom of the sea and I dare say it was indeed crazy for a better word. But also an experience like no other.
Pictures taken by Alexius C.