The Camargue

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Already in 2014 we were in the Camargue, in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. We hve seen white horses and black bulls along the Petit Rhône. But no flamingos! That is why we have visited  this year a little more secluded area in the midst of the national park   Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Camargue. We drove east of the Etang Vaccarès on a narrow road, first to La Capelière.

Le Grand Rhône

The largest river of France, the Rhône, is not far away. A high dike forces the eastern branch of the river, the Grand Rhône, in his bed. In earlier times there wasn't such a dike, of course. Regularly the both branches of the Rhône burst their banks very often. So, they created sediment deposits and from the sea separated ponds (etangs) with a mixture of fresh and salt water. They also altered repeatedly their riverbeds.
The altitude here is so at 1 - 2 m above sea level, as also our GPS displays .This created the unique, totally flat landscape of the Camargue, a triangle between Petit and Grand Rhône.

La Capelière is the information and administration centre of the Réserve with a small museum (3 € entry/person).It is housed in a former Mas (farmhouse).

A narrow and a half kilometers long path, the "Sentier des Rainettes" (frog path), then leads through forest and swamp to four observation platforms.

We were almost alone there. Only in the first "observatoire", a hidden wooden hut in the bushes , was an elderly couple with a professional equipment of cameras and big lenses. Absolute quit was here.. Swallows flew in and out. They had their nest inside the hut and could not be bothered by us.
Here we had a beautiful view of a small lake on which ducks, herons and other waterfowl were, flamingos but only in the far distance.
The special experience is here: It is not in a zoo or bird park, but here's the real, wild nature.

Little egret

Little egret

Great white heron

Great white heron

There are also wonderful hiking trails with 3 observatories where you can mainly watch herons and even a few flamingos.

Salin de Badon with the typical Camargue tree, the French tamarisk

Ruins of the former saline
with fig tree

Far away a flamingo

...and in the distance the lighthouse of La Gacholle

Now, the roads are getting  more narrow, and as the road to Salin de Giraud turned left it was only a bumpy road way. At the beginning of the dike, we had to park our car and had to go the last 2 km  afoot to the lighthouse La Gacholle. Here we had finally a lot of flamingos.. Here are the typical brackish water marshes and lakes, the habitat for many unusual plants and waterfowl.

On the dike to the lighthouse La Gacholle

Finally flamingos!

Main activity: searching for food

Typical vegetation of brackish marshes

Beautifully, this elegance

Some words to the lighthouse La Gacholle:

Some words about the lighthouse La Gacholle:

La Gacholle

The lighthouse was built in 1882. The square tower has a height of 18 m. He performed his duties until the 2nd World War. It was destroyed by the Germans and rebuilt in 1948 and put into service. From 1996 he is fully automatic.  It takes his energy from solar panels. The buildings are used by the National Park. On weekends, an information center is open.

Here also a hiking trail begins over the dike to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.