Safari!

For my birthday, we drove 4 hours southwest to the coast of southern Spain. Since we were west of Gibraltar, the water was the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean. We had signed up for a tour of the Parque Nacional de Donana. The park is huge and comprised of several ecosystems which are home to a number of wild animals. There are a few visitors centers on the edges of the park, but the best (only) way to see the interior of the park is on a guided tour. These tours are given from 21 seat buses with 4 wheel drive and 5ft tall tires; all terrain buses.

Our trip began on the beach where we drove in the surf a what felt like a dangerous angle – I was anxious the whole time. The land for the park was rescued in 1969 , but a few fisherman lived on the beach in very simple huts, they were allowed to stay, and 7 remain to this day. But as we drove past the first hut, our driver abruptly turned the bus and raced toward the hut. A spark had ignited the thatched roof and the two inhabitants were trying hard to put out the fire. Unfortunately, the huts have no running water, so they were drawn bucketfuls from their well to combat the flames. Our driver grabbed the bus’s fire extinguisher, climbed onto the roof and sprayed it down. Thatch is very flammable though and the fire was underneath it, so they were having to tear off chucks of the thatch to make sure it was fully out. Between our bus driver and the two residents, they were able to stop the fire before too much damaged occurred; it was lucky we were driving by.

After this exciting beginning we continued the tour inland at the shifting dunes. The dunes are constantly changing and growing in size. They readily form hills and valleys with pine trees growing in the valleys. As the sand moves, the pine trees are covered and die, but new trees crop up in the new valleys. It is an ecosystem constantly in flux. From the dunes we entered the forest; the trees are more permanent and diverse here. This area is bordered by the marshland and is inhabited by several species of deer, wild boars, and lynxes.

During our visit the marsh was dry and cracked. As winter progresses the rains will fill it back up and it will become a breeding ground for dozens of species of birds-including flamingos. We didn’t see many birds, though we did see the wild marsh cows. Yes, wild cows sounds like an oxymoron, but there is a herd that roams this area along with marsh ponies. Their population is controlled as they aren’t strictly native species.

Our tour ended with a long drive on the beach as the sun set over the waves. It was gorgeous, and if we hadn’t visited in the off season, we wouldn’t have seen it or hardly anyh of the animals.

Useful Links!
Pictures from Our Trip!
Information about the National Park
Ordering Tickets for Park Tours