Katie and Randy are headed to the Camargue for a couple of days, in part to let the kids play on the beach. So we have all headed toward the Camargue. We can stay with the group until 3 pm at which time we have to head back to Avignon to pick up Kim and Dale at the 5 pm TGV.
Our first stop is the Parc Ornithologique de Pont de Gau - a bird sanctuary.
I can't believe we have never visited this place. It is amazing. The day here in the Camargue is perfect. Sunny, warm and no breeze. We parked easily next to the sanctuary entrance and I got out my chariot. The paths in the sanctuary are small gravel and flat, so my chariot will work well, assuming Alex's fix holds. We paid for our tickets and entered the sanctuary.
Our guide map in English showed us the marked stops along the route, although the path is well marked. There are options for a short loop of 2.6 km and a longer loop that adds another 5 km of additional paths. These paths meander through large and small étangs (shallow salty ponds) where an unexpected abundance of birds, mostly flamingos, can be seen.
After passing a cage with an injured stork
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| injured stork being rehabilitated |
and stopping to use the unusual, but perfectly clean pit toilets,
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| pit toilet |
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| toilets were round, first time I've seen this style |
we made our way to number 2 on our map and were mesmerized by the sight of a hundred squawking, fighting, feather ruffling flamingos. We couldn't take enough photos!
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| These are great flamingos - a different breed than we have here. They only have pink on their wings, while the under wing is black |
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| fighting flamingos "beak" each other and ruffle their feathers |
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| standing on one leg |
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| sleeping flamingos - on one leg or two |
We had only planned to spend a short time in the sanctuary but each of the 10 stops on the short path took a 15 minutes to observe, search, and identify the wildlife.
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| Evie and flamingos. She took lots of pictures. |
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| a nutria - cross between beaver and rat |
By stop number 5, we needed to eat lunch and, surprisingly, there were picnic tables right there.
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| Penny would rather play on the picnic table than eat lunch |
It was perfect. Kids and adults refueled, we continued our walk, finishing about 3:30.
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| Evie looking through binoculars to see birds |
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| purple heron |
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| grey heron |
We had spent 4 1/2 hours in the sanctuary!
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| stilt |
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| grey heron preening on a branch |
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| ducks |
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| not sure why they all face the same way in a flock |
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| grey heron in nest in rookery. Egret behind |
Most adults would do the walk faster, I'm sure. But half the fun was discovering the wildlife with the kids, letting them walk ahead to lead the way, or talk loudly in the observation blind - only one person shushed us and we think that was a German tourist.
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| Christie, Alex, and Sonna spotting wildlife |
Dave and I took our leave and headed back toward Avignon. We had about an hour extra so we stopped at the ruins of Abbey St Romain outside of Beaucaire. I made it part way up the path with my chariot, but while the path was good - wide and paved - it began to have series of small steps. So I parked in a sunny spot along the path while Dave continued up. While I did needlework, Dave briefly explored the ruins.
Of course there are views from atop this little hill.
This 9th century abbey was troglodytic, that is dug into the hill. The monks cells, chapel, and a large hall were dug in below ground.
In the 15th century, the abbey was secularized, sold, and turned into a fortress with eyes on Tarascon castle across the Rhone.
In the 16th century, a château was built using the abbey stones as building materials. In 1849 the roof of the château was sold as a national property and in 1850, the rest of the château was razed to pay back taxes. Now this monument provides a lovely start to hikes in the hills surrounding it.
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