The Great Rivers

27th April, 2012 (Tony)

The mighty Rhine enters The Netherlands near Millingen and soon after splits in two to be known thereafter as the Waal and Lek. The Maas, which rises more than 250 km south in France where it is called the Meuse, flows north through Belgium and the Ardennes entering Holland at Maastricht. It continues north almost to Millingen then turns west towards the sea. These three great rivers wend their way across the delta, merging a number of times — sometimes naturally other times through man-made canals to create a giant carriageway for commercial barges, many more than 100m long, transporting products and materials to and from Germany, Belgium and France. The land between is laced with a myriad of smaller canals and natural waterways. These are our preferred routes, not just to avoid the commercial traffic or strong currents, but because they are so pretty and more intimate. We have just completed a leisurely voyage down the Merwede Canal, one of the few waterways in Holland we have revisited for a second time. We rested up for a few days in Vianen to allow our boiler to undergo its annual service. It was installed new last August but between last autumn and this spring it has done more work than a whole normal year. A pleasant sojourn at Meerkerk coincided with "Windmill Day" when every windmill in Holland is, where possible, activated. Many are open to the public. Across the landscape windmills were turning gracefully everywhere. We were surpised at how close to the ground some blades come. Protective fencing is vital. And the noise from the blades was louder than expected. But they are unquestionably a majestic sight and a timeless symbol of carbon-free energy.

We spent a week exploring the Linge, possibly the prettiest waterway we've seen since France. The Linge is only navigable as far as Geldermalsen but we turned around at Asperen a few kilometres past Leerdam and used our bikes to explore the upper reaches. Leerdam is famous for its glass and crystal and we were absorbed for the best part of an afternoon watching glass blowers practising their craft. There are many galleries in the town displaying beautiful pieces of glass art. We would have loved to bag a souvenir but the prices were fairly exhorbitant and the worry about getting a heavy, fragile glass piece back to Australia caused us to demur. We spent several days at Heukelum moored to the bank of a grassy field favoured by dozens of families of Canadian Geese and numerous other varieties of water fowl. Goslings and ducklings everywhere. It was fascinating to watch the adults guarding and educating their offspring, as if they were in day-care. An idyllic setting marred only by the guano which was impossible to avoid stepping in. We were astonished one day to witness a flotilla of amphibious vintage sports cars drift past. Presumably someone makes boats to resemble old sports cars but this crowd was off to revel in a picnic somewhere. But here at last the weather caught up with how late spring should be, temperatures hit 20C and we were in shorts and tee shirts for the first time this year. Please may it continue! It struck me as the ideal spot to begin some overdue painting preparation. But within minutes of getting the sander going the harbour master turned up to order me to desist. Not allowed, unless I have a dust bag. Until now the weather has thwarted any notion of doing any maintenance outdoors. I expect we will find a nice quiet mooring somewhere soon where I can grind and sand without disturbing anyone.

Our long stays at places has not meant we have been idle, despite the cool weather. Almost every day we have been for long bike rides, often using ferries, large and small, to transport us to the other side of a river or canal. There is not a lot of this part of the country that we haven't seen. In total we must have biked hundreds of kilometres. Old folks on two wheels is no rare sight in this country; men in lycra are less common but quite startling when they overtake you at high speed, especially on narrow cycle paths. The countryside is so lush and we have seen many huge orchards of apples and pears. The grass doesn't seem to mind the cold for pasture growth is phenomenal; so much silage is already cut and harvested. Most of our recent bike rides have taken us past old forts on the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterline. In 1815 King Wlliam I instigated the contruction of an 85 km long system of forts, sluices and dykes from Muider, on the Isselmeer, to the Biesbosch, south of Dordrecht. The idea was to flood an area 5 km wide, impassable for soldiers or carts and too shallow to navigate by boats thus protecting the land to the west. Hundreds of concrete bunkers remain, standing silent sentinel over tranquil pastures. Many of the forts are now being restored and some are open to public inspection. The system was last put on alert in 1939. However it was no barrier to the German bombers who devastated Rotterdam and the Dutch were forced to capitulate before the flood gates were opened.

We lingered for almost a week in Gorinchem. Mooring for pleasure boats is in a narrow canal right in the heart of the city. When it came time to leave we had to reverse about 300 m to get back to a waterway with bridges high enough for Sable to clear. It has a lovely big square and it was nice to take advantage of the summer sunshine to lick an ice cream and another day, have a salad lunch, al fresco. From Gorinchem we crossed the massive Waal and chugged upstream for just a few kilometres before turning into the calmer water of a branch connecting to the Maas. Sheltered behind this junction is the historic old harbour of Woudrichem. Only old tall-masted ships are allowed to moor in the main port, and there were dozens. Around the corner, past the old-timers and out of sight from the tourists gaze there is a quay for others. A two night stay is all that is allowed. We stopped for just one night paying a fee that seemed a bit steep but no doubt helps to keep it maintained. After a leisurely stroll around the ramparts we sat on the sand on a man-made beach on the river bank and watched youngsters braving the water for a brief swim. Barge spotting seems to be a popular passtime for the less energetic locals. Huge commercial barges bearing every cargo imaginable continuously stream by — day and night, 24/7. Woudichem is a cute old fortified town, part of the N H Waterline. We are currently in an even more attractive old fortified town — Heusden, on the Maas. The town was practically destroyed by the Germans when they withdrew in 1944 but it has been painstakingly restored and is nowadays a major tourist attraction — a huge cruise ship came into the harbour last night much to the shopkeepers' delight. It is a long weekend in Holland and we were lucky to find a berth for Sable. We are surrounded by dozens of ships that would more appropriately suit Cannes or Monaco. All are luxurious. Most are so high, and wide, they could not cruise normal canals. I imagine they must ply the big rivers, mast-up routes and open waters.