Site 2 of 20: Beekse Bergen

After spending a couple of days on the coast we headed inland to site number 2: Beekse Bergen. The journey was little over an hour and we were soon very excited to be motoring down the driveway towards the impressive resort... and it is a resort rather than a caravan site; it comprises of a holiday park, water park and safari park. We pulled up in the car park and registered at the reception, an African-themed large, spacious room with a desk to greet the many visitors that it gets. We had our photos taken for the complimentary tickets to the Water park and were handed a pack of information about the resort that we would be spending the next couple of days in. This felt very different to the usual arrival at a caravan site.

 

Following the map, we then drove through the barrier and into the site, along a road that followed a river. Nestled amongst the trees were tents and huts (jungalows) painted with zebra, giraffe and leopard patterns. I was half expecting to see an elephant wander past on the road in front of us or the head of a hippo appear out of the water. There was a distinct Centre Parcs feel about the place but with an African safari theme.

 

We stopped in the central area (Africa Club) to explore before setting up (we had some time to kill since we weren't allowed on the pitch until 1pm). Here is where the main action takes place within the holiday park. Beside the lake sits a large building (once again decorated in African themed decor) and in it there is a restaurant, cafe, amusement arcade, indoor swimming pool with slides, launderette and small supermarket that sells a wide selection of goods including freshly baked bread and donuts. There are seating areas outside the building that overlook the lake on one side and overlook a play area that contains mini golf and a stage that provides performances for the kids in the evening. An information board lists the range of activities that are on offer from African dance workshops to Yoga and SUP sessions. The activities on offer are mainly aimed at the kids and run throughout the day. Children are put into animal themed age groups (0-5s are Zwijntjes / warthogs; 6 - 8s are zebras; 9 - 12s are lions; 13 & 14 year olds are Wild Rhinos and 15+ are Vreemde vogels / toucans?) and different activities are provided for each age range, e.g. circle games for the youngsters and volleyball for the teenagers. Some activities also link with the safari park; there is the opportunity to experience the park and its animals with a ranger before opening hours, a guided canoe-safari through the park, a challenging Livingstone expedition (bush trial and learning how to shoot outdoors) and Rangercamp (a chance to sleep in a ranger camp in the safari park).  

 

The site is extremely large and free transport is provided to ensure you can get to everywhere but check the timetable for times. A shuttle bus to the Safari park can be caught from the Africa Club and a shuttle train runs regularly through the holiday park taking visitors to the nearby water park and safari park. A boat also leaves a few times a day crossing the lake to the water park.

 

Keen to get to the water park as soon as possible, we set up our motorhome in the 'Wild Hound' area (yes the camping areas all have African animal names!), a small area of grass surrounded by woodland. We were positioned amongst fellow campers, mostly tents. As well as the Eurocamp safari tents and Beekse Bergen Big Five tents, people can and do bring their own tents, caravans and motorhomes. Pitches are flat and offer electrical hook ups. The toilet blocks, also painted in a cheetah pattern is a short walk away and although it seemed surprisingly small given the large amount of campers, it was never busy and always clean. Dotted around the site are small playgrounds - swings, slides and trampolines / jumping pillows - and open areas for football and volleyball games.

 

Once you have arrived at Beekse Bergen there is little reason to leave since there is so much on offer within the resort but there is also the opportunity to visit nearby locations for free with the FunCard that you are given on arrival. The FunCard offers free entrance to not only the Beekse Bergen safari park and Beekse Bergen Speelland water park (open from April - October) but: Sportiom IceFun & AquaFun (an off-site venue that offers ice-skating during the winter and all year-round swimming in the sub-tropical pool); Dierenrijk (a zoo situated not far from the Holiday Park); Aviodrome (a theme park in Lelystad, that focuses on the Dutch aviation industry and its history); ZooParc Overloon and AquaZoo Friesland.

The cost of staying here takes into account the free access to all of these venues.

 

Beekse Bergen is a wonderful family site and one that Amy and Ella loved staying at. I'm sure they would have loved to stay longer since two days certainly didn't give us time to fully explore all the opportunities on offer. 

 

@meekroadventure