Dutch Zoos -Information Needed (Please)
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montagne14
Well-Known Member
If by "the end of the week" you mean this weekend, the weather should be pretty good (for Dutch terms). Friday and saturday should be nice warm days (with not more then a few showers) and sunday a little colder and more rain.
That said, the weather forecast in Holland is even worse then the weather itself. Personally I don't follow the forecast anymore. I.E. I used to go to Arnhem instead of Rhenen because of the forcasted rain and it didn't rain at all that day. Other way around, I visited Beekse Bergen (Hilvarenbeek) because of the good day they forcasted and it started raining after half a day.
That said, the weather forecast in Holland is even worse then the weather itself. Personally I don't follow the forecast anymore. I.E. I used to go to Arnhem instead of Rhenen because of the forcasted rain and it didn't rain at all that day. Other way around, I visited Beekse Bergen (Hilvarenbeek) because of the good day they forcasted and it started raining after half a day.
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
Thank you for this sage advice Jwer (and Montagne). Rain showers will be an annoyance, rather than a plan changer. So.... PaIra Daiza, Olmense, Arnhem, Osnabruck, Rheine, Veldhoven, Kerkrade - and maybe one or two tiddlers if I can fit them in! Really looking forward to seeing some decent zoos, and Veldhoven - although I do realise that only 3/7 are actually in the Netherlands (I will be based in the country, however).
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
I ended up seeing a variety of brilliant (and not so brilliant) Dutch zoos - Arnhem, Apenheul, Kerkrade, Veldhoven and Best. Also Pairi Daiza (Belgium), and Rheine, Osnabruck & Munster (Germany). A few pictures have appeared in the relevant galleries. I'm not sure what job Montage does, but (s)he should be a meteorologist - aside from a sudden and truly biblical downpour at Apenheul, the weather was perfect!
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
Well, much has been written about the places to which I went, but here are a few personal observations and thoughts:
PAIRI DAIZA
Clearly quite an impressive place, and the scope of the recent developments is extraordinary. In all of the excitement, a few of the more unusual bird species can be over-looked, and it seems a pity, in some ways, that more is not made of the avian collection. The 'theming' is absolutely not to my taste, and I really do not like the thinking that suggests that the way to present African animals is to surround them with kitsch representations of Africa as seen in Tarzan films; the only way to present Asian animals is in a Hindu temple that owes a great deal to the Disney Jungle Book film..... That said, in many ways this is all harmless enough - although I'm not convinced by all of the animal facilities - particularly the carnivore areas in the new African bit.
ARNHEM
Clearly in the premier league of European zoos. In the Rotterdam vs Arnhem debate raging above, I think I'd have to plump for Rotterdam - although I've not been for four years. This is just a personal taste, though. I can admire the Bush, the Ocean and the Desert, and there is much about them that is fantastic, but I prefer a more conventional way of exhibiting animals - having been to the Bush many times over the years, I am not sure how many animals I have ever actually seen in there. It's certainly authentic, but I think I prefer the more old-fashioned areas of the zoo in some ways - the safari bit is well done - and great to see the hartebeest - and Rimba is tremendous. I'd like to see some more 'supporting' exhibits for the safari - small aviaries and small mammal units, as done brilliantly at Pilsen. In some ways, my favourite part of the zoo is the corner that is filled with slightly old-fashioned aviaries. A good collection, less crowded, a sense of history.... very nice! Two pedantic details: I cannot understand the lack of a proper shop in such a commercial zoo (there is a small and rather nasty kiosk), and the rubbish bins throughout the zoo, and particularly in the immersion exhibits, wholly detract from the naturalistic feel. But this is a great place. As someone who lives in the UK, it's a once-every-four-years zoo, and having spent the day there I could very easily have gone back the next day and spent another whole day there.
APENHEUL
Last time I went, in 2008, I thought it had lost some of its mojo, and was seeming more like just another zoo. Either I was wrong, or the mojo is back - this time, it seemed fantastic to me. Not sure whether I'd place it ahead of Vallee des Singes, but it's certainly better (just!) than the World Primate Centre! Proboscis monkeys an obvious highlight, but I also think the Madagascar area is tremendous, and the gorilla feeding is one of the great zoo sights.
OSNABRUCK
A huge disappointment. I quite liked it when I last went (about 1996) - it was tidy, a little conservative, but very nice. However the place is largely unrecognisable from that time, and the new areas are, in my opinion, unimaginative and, in some cases (such as the new bear enclosure), downright poor (this enclosure, for the hybrid brown x polar bears, is a riot of unconvincing artificial rock work, and simply isn't very large in a zoo where space is plentiful....). A development of a macaque pit as a sort of temple is the sort of thing that was being done 100 years ago. The old parts of the zoo were looking very shoddy (very unGerman, this), and, as a whole, I just didn't get a good feel, despite there being some excellent species here, and there being much to commend (nice sloping site; good entrance area; nice underground zoo thing).
RHEINE
One of my favourite zoos. What it does, it does well - very well - and nothing is wasted. The geladas are an obvious highlight, but the new sloth bear & jackal enclosure is great, and the small but perfectly formed bird house is wonderful - the walk-through aviaries for weavers, and for waders, are both excellent examples of how something relatively mundane can be elevated to wondrousness.
MUNSTER
Good! When I first went there in 1994 it was a moment of realisation - not all German zoos were fantastic! - but the improvements made over the past 20 years are incredible, and now there are few substandard exhibits, and lots of rather nice areas. Walk-through colobus area is splendid, in particular. Work well underway on big expansion of elephant area. A very nice zoo. And all that 1970s concrete has a certain charm!
BEST
Happily fills an hour. Some highlights, discussed above. Some lowlights, also discussed above. Worth seeing, but probably not worth a detour - but it is easily combined with Veldhoven....
VELDHOVEN
One of the most singular zoos that I have ever visited. The collection is clearly very rich - absurdly so, in places - but the place as a whole is scruffy, tatty and shabby. I actually thought it had rather a creepily decaying feel to it - the only other place to which I have ever been which had a similar feel was on the Isle of Wight. Lots of volunteers involved in its management, I gather - it's a shame that those volunteers don't include carpenters or maintenance workers, as their efforts are required. It just seems a waste to have those birds presented in such a way!For those who've not been, I'd say, think of Walsrode, its perfection, its cleanliness, its tidiness. Now imagine the complete opposite - but still with an extraordinary collection.... While there I was told that the move / merger is now off. Nice shop, incidentally....
KERKRADE
I really, really liked this place. I'd not been before, and was bowled over by its excellence pretty much across the board. Collection possibly a little unexciting, but all presented with real panache. I particularly admire the fact that the architecture - with one or two disappointing slips - does not err towards Tarzan-chic, but instead manages to convey exoticism and excitement without resorting to crass anthropological clumsiness. The gorilla (and black mangabey) area was, i thought, particularly excellent, with the outdoor area calling to mind the exhibit at the Bronx. Great areas for wolverines, Iberian wolves, south American primates - just all very stylish, thoughtful, well-executed. I was glad to see that the underwater viewing of the pygmy hippos was useless - the water was green, and there was a flood. There is something that they can do to improve!
Having written that out, I've just realised that this is a thread about Dutch zoos and I've also talked about places in Germany and Belgium. Maybe i could call this the Greater Netherlands?
In conclusion - some excellent zoos; Holland, as always, was a delightful place to visit (civilised, tidy, well-ordered).
Thanks for taking the effort for writing that down, I like reading other people's opinions about zoos I know pretty well by now (and therefore are not likely to be 100% objective about).
Just visited NOP (Veldhoven) for the first time the day before yesterday and have to agree on many aspects about it. I do feel that there is a tremendous amount of aviary-space though (many many large aviaries), which is the only thing that bugs me a little about Walsrode (which, other then that, I rate amongst the best three zoos I've visited). Also liked their "Tropijoy" greenhouse, not in the last place because of the crazy collection inside it. For the rest, quite a tatty and shabby place to visit which really is a shame.
Just visited NOP (Veldhoven) for the first time the day before yesterday and have to agree on many aspects about it. I do feel that there is a tremendous amount of aviary-space though (many many large aviaries), which is the only thing that bugs me a little about Walsrode (which, other then that, I rate amongst the best three zoos I've visited). Also liked their "Tropijoy" greenhouse, not in the last place because of the crazy collection inside it. For the rest, quite a tatty and shabby place to visit which really is a shame.
In case anybody missed it, I thinks there's a large dollop of sarcasm or under-exaggeration for humour there.