The grey heron cannot be outsmarted. For the third time, it flies up in front of the kayak with a caw and flees upstream on the Gülper Havel. The paddlers try to glide silently towards it so that they can admire it from as close a distance as possible.
But other sightings are not long in coming: a stork pecking in the meadow, a family of mute swans, a flock of wild geese high in the air, a shy kingfisher.
You can look at it this way: A paddling tour on the Gülper Havel becomes a safari in the middle of Germany.
Around 250 species of birds are found on the renaturalised oxbow of the Havel, not only northern wild geese and cranes, whose numbers run into the tens of thousands, but also species threatened with extinction: bittern, spotted crake, black-tailed godwit, common snipe and black tern.
According to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the Lower Havel Lowlands are the largest contiguous wetland in the inland of western Central Europe. A few centuries ago, the annual floods extended over large parts of the Havelland, and even today a water kingdom of flooded meadows and forests is created here every winter.
The German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has been working for years on the renaturation of the Havel, which branched into five branches until it was expanded into a waterway at the end of the 19th century. The conservationists are planting new floodplain forests, removing bank reinforcements, reconnecting old river arms, removing dikes and reactivating flood channels.
In the heart of this “wilderness in the making” in the border area between Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, the main Havel and the quiet Gülper Havel run parallel for over ten kilometers – a perfect route for a paddling tour.
The air is filled with the rustling of the wind in the meter-high reeds, the whistling of swallows and the buzzing of dragonflies, which are buzzing around in their thousands: the large, dark ones buzz purposefully in one direction. The small, shimmering turquoise ones are more flighty, scurrying back and forth in small groups. They hardly ever settle down for a second.
A growing noise announces the Gülper lock – the gate to the most unspoilt section of the river. Full physical effort is required on the meter-long hook to close the gate, then on the iron wheel for the water to flow in. A few anglers watch the goings-on stoically from their camping chairs.
The living green wall on both sides of the bank only opens up again at the bathing area in Gülpe. Children splash around on the sandy beach, young people sleep – after a party? Frogs croak in a grove of pollard willows. Occasionally a villager, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, strolls down from the church square to cool off.
Finally, the water hiking rest area on the main Havel is reached. “Tonight you have the whole meadow to yourselves,” says the manager of the Molkenberg marina. Soon the tent is on the bank, shaded by willows and framed by two sandy beaches – bivouac luxury doesn’t get more than that. In the evening, a stork feeds its chicks in a nest high on a pole, clattering its beak loudly.
On the way back, nature guide Michael Ilg accompanies the tour. The native Swabian is considered half native thanks to his grandfather: “My grandfather helped with the Havel expansion as an engineer and lived in a houseboat on the river.” The name Strodehne had an exotic fascination for Ilg even as a child. Today he lives in this village as an artist and rents out holiday apartments.
On the way, the guide explains the flora and fauna: where laypeople only see large or small dragonflies, he distinguishes between four-spotted damselfly and blue damselfly. Where non-botanists are delighted by colourful flowers, he identifies marsh forget-me-nots, purple loosestrife and woundwort.
He also has an explanation for the loud splashing that repeatedly breaks the silence: “That is the asp. This predatory fish kills its prey with a whip-like movement of its body.”
Passing the picture-book village of Garz with its octagonal church, the route returns to Strodehne, where the most beautiful stop along the route is: cozy seating areas under fruit trees are spread out in Wolfgang Schröder’s large garden. While enjoying a fish snack, you can look out over a rare wooden needle weir, large barges and hanging nets.
The fourth-generation fisherman has already won several awards for his sustainable work – he also processes less popular fish such as bream, roach or tench. Over the years, he has developed some unusual recipes, such as bream burgers with homemade smoked fish mayonnaise or pickled fried bream.
The fisherman is optimistic about the future: “The renaturation of the Havel floodplains is having an effect. More areas are flooded again where fish can spawn, and more young fish are coming back.” The supply of bream burgers is secured – for the next paddling trip on the Gülper Havel.
Getting there: Westhavelland can be reached by regional express train to Rathenow, Friesack or Neustadt/Dosse (also in combination with a bicycle), by car via the A 2 and A 24 motorways. From Berlin, the B 5 leads to the region.
Paddling: Paddling on the Gülper Havel is permitted from mid-June. Information on bivouac sites can be found at westhavelland-naturpark.de. Several companies rent out canoes on the Lower Havel, and transfers and return services are offered.
Accommodation and tours: In the lonely West Havelland, hotels are in short supply, but you can find individually furnished holiday apartments: Michael Ilg rents two holiday apartments in Strodehne/Havelaue from 85 euros for two people per night (holiday apartment). A comfortable dein-havelland.de apartment can also be booked in the village of Wolsier (85 euros for two people).
Information: westhavelland.de; westhavelland.de
The trip was supported by the Alte Feuerwache water sports center. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at go2.as/unabhaengigkeit.
