Here is a map.
Here is an new colour aireal photograph (summer 2000) from a height of 300 meters.
Here is a recent (b/w) satellite photograph of the region.
Put on your Wellies! Walking on original floating peat you reach - after walking for 500 meter - a very good camouflaged cache.
The RD-coordinates of the cacheposition are 117.374 / 462.468 (+/- 4 m)
Spoiler hint and photographs: (click here)The nature reserve (no dogs allowed) "De Haeck" is situated in the polder "De Haak" and can be entered between 8 in the morning until sunset. You have to stay on the path and the cache is placed directly along a path in/underneath a hollow tree.
On a bicycle you can take the road going west starting at the amusing lock bridge of Woerdense Verlaat along the water. There is a parking place at the Boswachters at the crossing of the Bosweg and the Hollandse Kade.
It is totally impossible within the reservation to move around with wheels (bicycle, inline skates, buggy) or on horseback.
I advice everybody strongly not to follow the GOTO pointer of the GPS and go to the cache in a straight line. This behaviour will result in drowning in the swamp. Another warning: do not stamp because the ground can refuse suddenly to support you.
Looking around superficially it is a chaos of trees, branches, undergrowth a a few patches of water. But look again! The holes left by peat-production in the years 1770 to 1900 are a heaven for birds that like open waters. Birds to be seen here are: rietzanger, ransuil en wielewaal. Very photogenic with all those beautifull waterlilys: see this picture by Pa en ma Beer
In 2003 the State decided that 'De Haeck' and the peat around and in the Nieuwkoopse Plassen are a refuge for animals and plants on the list "Bijlage 2 from the EU -habitatrichtlijnensoorten". This because the Noordse Woelmuis is on this list of species needing protected living-environments.About plants the following remarks: a lot of nearly extinct (or at least very rarely found) species live here. To give a few names: gele lis, dotterbloem, pijpestrootje, zonnedauw, knotszegge, zachte berk, gagel and real valeriaan. And I will not continue with all the peatmosses because only real enthousiasts and professionals value the beauty and exceptionals of these. 'Keep on the footpaths' I will advice strongly: do not make the rare plants more rare!!!
Observing carefully you will see some alien plants put here by the old owner: bushes with magnolia, here and there a Chinese? bamboe and Japanese 1000-knot.Most cache-hunters will know the sign to look for with my caches. This one is absolutely superbly camouflaged. Take good note of the way it is and recreate the old situation. (see also the text of the 'cheat' after finding this cache).
Maybe this place is totally wrong and the cache has disappeared because of a wild Nordisch Mouse Microtis oeconomus (colour picture), a familymember of the more famous Zuid-Limburgian Cornwolf and just as rare. This small animal can move mountains, stands his/her ground and is fiercely territorial. Maybe this place is one of the few left where this animal lives (in the Netherlands) because other kinds of mice push this species out. But there are other places claiming the same.
For people who do not believe in the existance of the 'noordse Woelmuis' you see here a text and photograph of Martijn de Jonge printed in De Volkskrant of nov, 17 2001 page 5W. Some people do really believe I am pulling their leg because after taking a good look at the map they see the village of 'Noorden' just 2 km north of the cache.
Other places claim this mouse:
Algemeen Dagblad van 26-10-2000 Pagina 5 Binnenland
Noordse woelmuis voorlopig gered
Van onze correspondente
Leeuwarden -
De noordse woelmuis bij het Kameleon-dorp Terherne is voorlopig gered. De rechtbank in Leeuwarden besloot gisteren dat nog niet mag worden begonnen met de bouw van een paviljoen nabij het leefgebied van de met uitsterven bedreigde muis. De Friese Vereniging voor Veldbiologie (FVV) had de gemeente Boarnsterhim, die toestemming had gegeven voor de bouw, voor de rechter gedaagd.
,,We hadden wel verwacht dat de rechter onze kant zou kiezen'', aldus voorzitter K. van Dijk van de FVV. ,,De natuurbelangen zijn groter dan de economische belangen. Het wordt tijd dat de provincie en de gemeente Boarnsterhim zich eens achter de oren krabben en zich bewust worden van de gevolgen van bepaalde besluiten.'' De noordse woelmuis komt alleen nog op een paar waterrijke plekken in Friesland voor, zoals bij Terherne. Het ministerie van Landbouw en Natuurbeheer heeft het dier daarom op de rode lijst van bedreigde en kwetsbare zoogdieren gezet.