In the beninging !!
So today I’ll write about a relaxing trip I had back in January(I know is a bit of a late post), I had a day off on a Saturday, that is already an strange event for me, because I work as a bartender in a restaurant and usually my weekends are taken, but it was winter in Belgium, so people tend to stay in home, but that was not my plan for that day.
I was feeling active and I needed nature, so I packed my tent and supplies on my bike to spend the night in a Bivakzone, if you don’t know what this is, I have a larger explanation in another post Here.
With my bike holding a lot of weight (water bottles, food, trash bags, portable chargers, my iPad, clothes changes, tent, sleeping bag), I ride to the adventure, the ride was supposed to be 1.30hr based on google maps, it took me a little longer (2hr).
Bivakzone Konijnenberg Google maps link.
Bivakzone Konijnenberg Official website link.
Fuelling up!
I did some stops, the first one was in look for orange juice, or any type of juice, so I stopped in a cute fruit store that was in the middle of the route, flash news, they didn’t have juice, they had cocktails (good, not for the present situation), and this beautiful ladies gave some fruit and as a gift they gave me this vegetable, that I’ve never cooked in my life, but after doing research (asking some friends) I learn it was cabbage, and after 2 days I knew it was so delicious.
But also I was really hungry so I asked them if there was any “Frituur” around, they give me directions, and on my I was again, with a new mission, and 30 min away from my destination, apparently it was a really famous place, it was packed with people dining in and people waiting for take out, I was not expecting that, but I was hungry so I did my line and waited, took my food and continued with my ride.
Lost…
It was so dark, I arrived to a path I didn’t dare to bike, even when I had my lights on, the path was rural lets say, and really incline, so I push my bike through it, it was really tiring, but it was the path and I needed to follow. On the way I pick up broken branches for the fire, I was only surrounded by nature, lovely, but also difficult to see where I was going, it was around 5:45 pm, in winter and in the middle of a “forest”, it can be sinister, but I keep going, following google maps directions until the map said I was on the spot, but not really, I was at the cross of 3 paths, and no visible signs to where to continue, so I pointed with my eyes closed and luck decided my way, to the right I went, and happily it was the right decision, because maybe 20 meters or more later I was able to see the Bivakzone sign, barely readable, happy and tired walk around the place to find the right spot.
The spot
It was dark, so I couldn’t investigate a lot, I saw the portable toilet, check, the fire pit, check, and lots of wood, double check, there was nobody else camping, I was truly happy I had the place for myself, so I decided to camp nearby the fire pit, not to close to fire up my tent, but close enough to keep warm.
I set up my tent, park my bike nearby, I have to say it was so cold, specially when my clothes were damp, the moment I had the tent up I change my clothes there, and then run to the toilet, that was not a good idea, the moment I open the door, spiders started to go down the door, so I slowly close the door, looked around an decided to pee nearby, next to some bushes, I couldn’t get in there with so many spiders.
I light up the fire place, got my burger from the “frituur” out, sit next to the fire place and eat, I drink almost half of the water I had, and then waited for the fire to turn off while I read the first book of the Outlander series. Seating there, next to the fire, in the middle of nature, with no city sounds around me, only the sound of nature and the wood breaking, was a blessing, I breath in the cold air, my feet were too close to the fire, but I small burn wouldn’t hurt (just kidding) I was just enjoying the “silence”, no other voices, no cars, nothing, just peace, after the fire was off. I stay a little longer to look at the sky, it was so clear that night, I was able to see so many starts, I was a little sad I couldn’t name them, mentally I put in my list of things to learn.
The night
It was warm inside my sleeping bag, I bought it specially for this kind of weather, it was around 3 degrees that night and I had bad experiences before when I used a bad sleeping bag, so this time, it was a really good one, with extra blankets that help me stay warm while I was reading inside the tent. While I was reading I could hear something moving nearby the tent, all my senses were in alert, my mind was filling with all the alternatives, I breath in, and stop myself to listen better, it didn’t sound like human steps, it didn’t sound like something big, I was not going to investigate either, so I thought to myself… its only a rabbit, only a rabbit… repeating my new mantra, I lay down and try to rest, and sure I did.
The walk
Without noticing I woke up around 7 am, I wanted to sleep more, but it was not possible, I felt the humidity of the tent, I open the “door” of the tent and look out to the frozen grass, I put my shoes on and went out to stretch, everything was frozen, the tent, the bike, the grass, the fire pit, it was gonna be really hard to turn on, so I started the work, I walked around the camping site, notice there was another fire pit nearby with a better place to put the tent, but it was too late already, so I came back with more wood, and hopes.
I light up the fire again and make some roasted hotdogs, lovely flavour, I warm up some water and made myself a coffee, I stare at the trees for a moment, before of getting ready for a walk. Around 10 in the morning, I decided to follow a path, many of them actually, I was mixing them to do a longer walk, between a nice canal, lots of tress, and private properties, I walk 14 kilometres, had a small discussion with an old dude, because I was walking in his property, but I didn’t saw any signs that showed that, so I finish the discussion really fast, and walked to the nearest “public” path, then I noticed my shoes were still in need of training, cause I got blisters, I got back to my tent, the sun was out, it was still cold, but inside the tent was so nicely warm, I took of my shoes and socks, lay down inside the tent with my feet out and took a nap.
The way back
I realised that I had to ride 2 hours back home, it was already 3:30 so I started to pack everything and put it in my bike. My lights had low battery, I guessed because of the cold in the night, and there was no time to charge them anymore, soon it would be dark, so I went to the toilet again, before leaving, no spiders at sight, so I peed freely, still a bit scare but I made it through.
The way back was different from before, so I was I bit confused and it took me longer to get back… 2hr and 30min, I didn’t care about the time, or to go faster, I just wanted to get home and take a shower, but google maps was sending me to strange places, and my lights didn’t work the whole way.
So if I need to rate this place it would be a 5 out of 5, the place had all you needed from a camping site, a real connection to nature, no unnecessary facilities, really and only accessible walking or in the bike (if u are a mountain biker), it was the perfect spot to be lost in nature, have beautiful walks, all surrounded by trees.
