Located on our route to our next cabin location was the Alde Feanen National Park. We had heard that it is a canoe paddle location with lots of opportunities.
For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know, we like early morning or late evening canoe/kayak paddles for many reasons. This paddle however was only possible in route to our new location and so was going to be a mid day and hot (27C) paddle.
When we arrived we went to the visitor center to get the canoe route location. I am always amazed that people working these desks don’t have a clue about the water route locations or distances for paddlers. The route map was seriously the smallest map (in size) I have ever seen. I would need a magnifying glass to see the route. I took a picture of the only other map they had and it was under glass at the desk. The results were not great.
The visitor center has a nicer canoe launch.
Once on the water we saw we were not alone. Boats powered by motors and humans were sharing the water with huge barges and tour boats. It was crazy mix of busy water traffic.
This area of the country is where most of the natural ice skaters originate. We passed a very nice water statue tribute to that heritage.
We paddled for about an hour and never did find the actual 6km canoe route. After the paddle we saw that we would have to paddle down the busy shipping canal to access the route. This day was not the day for us. We plan to put this route on a future vacation plan.
We reloaded Cedar (with difficulty) on the car and headed to our next location Oudega, with another cabin on the water. But, that is for another blog.
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Too bad you could not find the route! The mapmakers perhaps did not consider the needs of canoeists. Very lovely photos, which you were able to capture during your trip!
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We were pretty bummed out about it. I relooked at the maps yesterday, I think you are right, people who make the maps and also sometimes the routes do not consider the needs of the canoe paddlers. I have seen some here that are well thought out with beautiful launch and landing sites and others that are just a waste of the money and lack of effort. I think I could say the same about places I have paddled in the States as well. Thanks for your input.
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I think some people in information centres are just there to sell Souvenirs and have no idea about the area there trying to promote.
Most older staff have done every walk, hike, climb but younger ones have no idea.
That’s my 2c worth anyway
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I have to admit that you are correct. Although it seems the info workers here in NL at the desk are not as well trained in customer service and that goes along all age brackets (at least that is my experience).
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Clever water statue! I have the same map issues when out exploring trails at various refuges – workers at the center are typically so accustomed to the common/popular trails and provide little help when trying to figure out quite areas to take in the local feathers. Last time I was in Lake Tahoe area went up to the volunteers and asked them if anyone had seen the White-Headed Woodpecker that day – they looked at me confused and basically mimed they had no idea what it was or what it looked like, which is odd as the place we were at featured that bird prominently in their marketing material. I chuckled to myself and pointed to the stuffed specimen that was less than 5 feet from them.
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Good to know it isn’t limited to canoe info. A bit sad if you ask me. When I worked as a park ranger I tried to be knowledgeable. Hiked the trails, paddled the water, and knew the common birds and where they hung out. To me it was a joy to show or tell a visitor about things inside the park. Although I had co workers that were not as proactive. In the end we got the same pay check.
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[…] The next stop on our vacation was to a National Park in Friesland, Alde Feanen National Park. We have stopped here before for a short paddle (you can read about that here). […]
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