Roseanne Gerin goes on a winter safari
For most people, thoughts of the Mazurian Lake District conjure up images of long, sunny summer days spent fishing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, biking and enjoying nature.
So if you were to tell people you were planning a weekend getaway to Mazury in March, you would surely receive some puzzled looks, as I did, especially since the area's 2,500 lakes - the centre of the region's activity - were frozen solid at the time.
"Mazury in winter? I can't imagine what you can do there now," was my landlord's reaction when I informed him of a recent jaunt.
But there's as much for nature-lovers to do in the Lake District in March as in July - minus the crowds. And if you're new to this northeastern part of the country dotted with patches of forest, there's no better way to discover what Mazury has to offer in winter then to arrange a trip full of activities with a regional expert.
Marek Borkowski, who operates nature, wildlife and bird-watching tours, offers tailor-made trips to Mazury and almost any other nature-packed region of the country for groups (preferably fewer than 20 people) in the off-season (as well as in high season) for a flat fee per person, which includes transportation, meals, local guides, and entrance fees. A young Rip van Winkle with tousled hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and a white and auburn beard, Borkowski is a knowledgeable naturalist and an avid bird-watcher who's been organising nature-related tours through his company Wildlife Poland for about 14 years.
On a recent weekend, I joined a group of eight other North Americans for a nature trip to the Mazurian woods. After a three-hour drive, we arrived at Wierzba, a small village on an isolated peninsula about five kilometres south of Mikołajki, overlooking frozen, snow-covered Lake Śniardwy, the country's largest lake. Our accommodations were in a modest hotel with 14 rooms called the Yellow House, operated by the Polish Academy of Sciences, which also has other cottages, a modern conference centre and a research station on the peninsula.
Instructed to dress warmly for our nature outing in the subzero wilderness, we were transported to a forest where, in groups of two or three, we installed ourselves in enclosed wooden observation towers to spend the next three hours on the lookout for roe deer and wild boar. My two companions and I made not a sound, except for occasional sniffles and belly gurgles. Silent and shivering as darkness slowly set in, the only animals we saw were four of the two-legged human kind, walking through the clearing in front of our tower, where rangers had placed some hay to attract animals. Some of our companions in other tree perches, however, had more luck, sighting several deer and wild boars.
Shivering and hungry, we were collected after dark and warmed with tea and rum as we headed to a sauna, owned by a local farmer in the village of Wojnowo. Ladies and gents took turns separately for an hour, afterwards rushing outside to enjoy a refreshing au naturel roll in the snow, though no-one displayed enough bravado to hop in the nearby (unfrozen) lake. Afterwards, the farmer, an old East Prussian who spoke no English, and his wife served tea and homemade obwarzanki, flat, greasy American-style doughnuts, which hit the spot.
The next day, we walked across frozen Lake Bełdany en route to a local marsh with a big beaver dam, led by Bogdan Kasperczyk, a local beaver expert. Those disappointed by failing to see their fair share of forest wildlife in their natural habitat the previous evening were compensated with a visit to Park Małych Zwierzątek, a wild animal park in the village of Kadzidłowo, 25 kilometres from Wierzba. Run by a local zoologist, the park is a combination wildlife preserve and reintroduction and breeding centre, which is home to an eclectic collection of European bison, moose, lynx, tarpans - cousins of wild horses which died out in the wild in the early 19th century - boars, wolves, cranes, eagles, owls, peacocks, geese and partridges - just to name a few.
Following a hearty lunch of vegetable soup, salad, venison and dumplings and grzaniec at Knajpa u Targowiczan in Gałkowo, the nine of us packed into a horse-drawn sleigh (trailed by the restaurant owner's German shepherd and dachshund) and whipped through the snow-covered forest to top off the weekend.
But better hurry if you want a frosty frolic in Mazury. There's only three weeks left to enjoy winter before the April and May bird-watching season begins, followed by the summer onslaught of watersports enthusiasts.
Marek Borkowski of Wildlife Poland can be contacted at (86) 273 3666 or by e-mail at marek.borkowski@wildlife.pl. Prices vary depending on group size, trip duration, destination, accommodations and activities.
So if you were to tell people you were planning a weekend getaway to Mazury in March, you would surely receive some puzzled looks, as I did, especially since the area's 2,500 lakes - the centre of the region's activity - were frozen solid at the time.
"Mazury in winter? I can't imagine what you can do there now," was my landlord's reaction when I informed him of a recent jaunt.
But there's as much for nature-lovers to do in the Lake District in March as in July - minus the crowds. And if you're new to this northeastern part of the country dotted with patches of forest, there's no better way to discover what Mazury has to offer in winter then to arrange a trip full of activities with a regional expert.
Marek Borkowski, who operates nature, wildlife and bird-watching tours, offers tailor-made trips to Mazury and almost any other nature-packed region of the country for groups (preferably fewer than 20 people) in the off-season (as well as in high season) for a flat fee per person, which includes transportation, meals, local guides, and entrance fees. A young Rip van Winkle with tousled hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and a white and auburn beard, Borkowski is a knowledgeable naturalist and an avid bird-watcher who's been organising nature-related tours through his company Wildlife Poland for about 14 years.
On a recent weekend, I joined a group of eight other North Americans for a nature trip to the Mazurian woods. After a three-hour drive, we arrived at Wierzba, a small village on an isolated peninsula about five kilometres south of Mikołajki, overlooking frozen, snow-covered Lake Śniardwy, the country's largest lake. Our accommodations were in a modest hotel with 14 rooms called the Yellow House, operated by the Polish Academy of Sciences, which also has other cottages, a modern conference centre and a research station on the peninsula.
Instructed to dress warmly for our nature outing in the subzero wilderness, we were transported to a forest where, in groups of two or three, we installed ourselves in enclosed wooden observation towers to spend the next three hours on the lookout for roe deer and wild boar. My two companions and I made not a sound, except for occasional sniffles and belly gurgles. Silent and shivering as darkness slowly set in, the only animals we saw were four of the two-legged human kind, walking through the clearing in front of our tower, where rangers had placed some hay to attract animals. Some of our companions in other tree perches, however, had more luck, sighting several deer and wild boars.
Shivering and hungry, we were collected after dark and warmed with tea and rum as we headed to a sauna, owned by a local farmer in the village of Wojnowo. Ladies and gents took turns separately for an hour, afterwards rushing outside to enjoy a refreshing au naturel roll in the snow, though no-one displayed enough bravado to hop in the nearby (unfrozen) lake. Afterwards, the farmer, an old East Prussian who spoke no English, and his wife served tea and homemade obwarzanki, flat, greasy American-style doughnuts, which hit the spot.
The next day, we walked across frozen Lake Bełdany en route to a local marsh with a big beaver dam, led by Bogdan Kasperczyk, a local beaver expert. Those disappointed by failing to see their fair share of forest wildlife in their natural habitat the previous evening were compensated with a visit to Park Małych Zwierzątek, a wild animal park in the village of Kadzidłowo, 25 kilometres from Wierzba. Run by a local zoologist, the park is a combination wildlife preserve and reintroduction and breeding centre, which is home to an eclectic collection of European bison, moose, lynx, tarpans - cousins of wild horses which died out in the wild in the early 19th century - boars, wolves, cranes, eagles, owls, peacocks, geese and partridges - just to name a few.
Following a hearty lunch of vegetable soup, salad, venison and dumplings and grzaniec at Knajpa u Targowiczan in Gałkowo, the nine of us packed into a horse-drawn sleigh (trailed by the restaurant owner's German shepherd and dachshund) and whipped through the snow-covered forest to top off the weekend.
But better hurry if you want a frosty frolic in Mazury. There's only three weeks left to enjoy winter before the April and May bird-watching season begins, followed by the summer onslaught of watersports enthusiasts.
Marek Borkowski of Wildlife Poland can be contacted at (86) 273 3666 or by e-mail at marek.borkowski@wildlife.pl. Prices vary depending on group size, trip duration, destination, accommodations and activities.
