Route along Wadden Sea World Heritage Site

Zoutkamp is a picturesque fishing village almost at the very top of the Netherlands. Since the Lauwerszee was filled in, there are very few fishing boats in the harbor. Nevertheless, more and more boaters are coming back to Zoutkamp with their ships. They are mainly focused on the shrimp market. Along the Nieuwe Robbegat, you cycle towards Lauwersoog. The shrimp port at Lauwersoog is the largest in the Netherlands. Dark forests, reed beds, sandbanks and dunes alternate. This piece of the Netherlands belongs to the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site. At the port of Lauwersoog is Het Informatie Paviljoen (HIP) where you can get background information. During the crossing to Friesland you have the dike with behind it the sea on your one side and the National Park Lauwersmeer on the other. After the flood of 1953 the dikes were raised here as well. This had many consequences for man and nature. Due to the presence of salt, fresh and brackish water, you will therefore find a great diversity of flora and fauna yet close together. You will drive through Oostmahorn, a village with about 70 inhabitants. It is sandwiched between recreational parks. In 1927, the world's first self-righting lifeboat, the Insulinde, was stationed in Oostmahorn. If the ship capsized, it turned itself upright again by means of a tilting tank. The Insulinde made 341 trips, rescuing 332 people. Just before crossing over to Zoutkamp, you drive back into the province of Groningen.