Seals sunbathing on the sands of the North Sea? In Zeeland’s Westerschelde region, there are plenty of places where you can observe the gentle repose of these endearing mustachioed animals. Hooge Platen, the starting point for this tour, is just 1h30 from Brussels.
How to watch seals near Brussels?
Breskens, the new San Francisco? Like the American megalopolis, where seals have wisely taken up residence around Pier 39, there are several areas in the Netherlands where you can admire the peaceful life of these sea lions. One of the nature reserves in Breskens, the island of Hooge Platen (The Hooge Plates), is home to some of these marine mammals. Around 30 grey seals live here on the sandbanks, which dry up at low tide once the pups have eaten their average daily fish ration of 5 kilos.
Unfortunately, De Hooge Platen is not open to the public, due to its status as a nature reserve. There are, however, two ways of observing the seals: from land and with binoculars, by landing at the “Nummer E’en” point, in a birdhouse on the south shore called (“Magereind”); we’re not joking, you’ll need to be patient (and be there two hours before high tide to see them).
The second, much simpler option is to board two boats from neighboring towns. The first, the “Rederij de Festijn”, offers a “Seal Cruise” at €18/adult, departing from the port of Breskens. The second, “Knokke Boat”, departing from Cadzand-Bad, offers a similar up-close-and-personal seal excursion from €75 per group.
The wonders of the Westerschelde are awe-inspiring: in addition to seals, the sandbanks in this 1800-hectare corner of Zeeland are a delight for seabirds and shorebirds. Black-headed gulls, common terns, sandwich terns, Kent plovers, shelducks and greylag geese live and travel here in harmony. This flora and fauna continues in other Dutch regions further north, such as the Oosterschelde National Park, Engelschhoek and the islands of West Friesland.