Route description for Out and about in Gelderland (NL) ...

Saturday, 07/28/2018: Finally it's going again ... :-)

We are now moving to Holland with a new WW, a Fendt TOPAS 560. Our Kia Sorento Bj. 2006, 2.5 CDRI, pulls the team and is well on the way with a lot of luggage! We're lucky and the weather is holding up. A "summer of the century" with a lot of drought.

Our daughter has her driving license on trial and drives very confidently with our WW, even through narrow construction sites ... ;-)

Vacantiepark "Eiland van Maurijk" ... https://www.eilandvanmaurik.nl

It is a 5 - star place that is very suitable for families with small children. Not so with our almost adult children. The leisure offer in this regard is very limited. The indoor pool is also much too small and geared more towards small children.

At first we thought, "Oh God ...", but after 2 days we settled in very well and all concerns were gone.

In other words, when the weather is bad, it gets tight as the bathroom is always "jam-packed".

The landscape and the surrounding area, on the other hand, are great. Arnhem and Nijmegen are approx. 50 km away. Amersfoort is also a very nice town and highly recommended. :-))

Tiel, the oldest city in Holland ?, is approx. 12 km away and as long as it is not too hot, it is easy to reach by bike!

Today the first trip, with our rubber dinghy ..., again for a long time ... :-)

The "Eiland van Maurik" holiday park is located on a branch of the Rhine. Not much of the low water level of the Rhine can be felt yet. Although, in Germany, commercial shipping is severely restricted.

In an area of almost 5 km², with several small islands, you can drive extensively with motor boats. There is even a trail for water skiers. But be careful, the police are often present ...! No problem with our small ZODIAC inflatable boat (3.10 m).

With 8PS we got it to around 24 km / h in pairs and with a dog. My daughter and her girlfriend even go at almost 29 km / h! Super glide ... :-))

Due to the small islands in this branch, you can find many new landing places with beautiful beaches. We all enjoyed watching the sunset from time to time on a quiet beach with a cool "isotonic" cold drink!

After days of relaxed driving, then the crash ... An underwater bank of mussels not seen near the shore. Shit .... The grounding was so violent that a blade on the propeller was dented ...: - ((Actually, I always drove very carefully and the bank of the Rhine always drops steeply near the bank, but not this time!

But my concern that something was bent on the drive was "thank God" not confirmed.

A friendly Dutchman then gave me the tip of a "screwdriver" 25 km away. So take the engine there and have it checked. No findings ... :-))

Only now I have to complain about a power loss of about 4 km / h ...: - ((

Will send the propeller to the repair shop, let's see if something can be saved.

It's Wednesday evening, August 7th, 2018, 11 p.m., everyone is already in bed, then all hell breaks loose out of the blue. A very strong gust tore our awning and it was not locked. So get out quickly and secure everything ... :-(

With wind speeds of up to 90 km / h! It's good that my wife bought a "storm strap".

Everything checked again and gone to sleep, at least tried. :-) At some point I fell asleep.

The next morning everything was still as it should ... I would say test passed. :-))

We spent 13 nights there. With only a power connection we got along well. The plots were adequately sized. Unfortunately there is only one permanent sanitary building on this site, approx. 200 m from our parking space. All others are in container construction and a bit underdimensioned. In addition, the day guests from the beach have used the container showers, etc. on our site. Therefore, there were always waiting times in front of the toilets during the day. But the toilets were cleaned often and properly.

The underground spaces are OK!

For families with children, I would recommend the more secluded pitches. Dogs are allowed but kept on a leash. In terms of water, the Rhine is great, but there are often many underwater plants near the shore ... :-)

The gastronomy on the square is very "limited". We had ordered pizza that left nothing to be desired. : - ((

Many positions in service and in the small supermarket are also filled with schoolchildren and students, which is not always professional and sometimes led to waiting times.

Tip for dinghy drivers: If you ask at the reception, small dinghies that do not have to be tracked can be parked out of sight behind the caravan. But always ask at the "Reception" beforehand. Otherwise it costs: Steg 12, - € / day! On land € 9 / day ...! Rigid hull boats are to be registered with the harbor master in the marina !!