Belgium 2020-03-07 - Packraft Poekebeek

Several weeks of wet and stormy weather, and widespread (albeit non-critical) flooding is the logical consequence... Evert and I decide to have another go at Poekebeek, and this time the goal is to start paddling as much upstream as possible. We eventually put in at a small recently built reservoir, west of Ruiselede.

As usual, Poekebeek has a nice current as it winds its way through a pastoral landscape. We are confronted with some (very) low bridges and especially with a passage through a spooky low and dark tunnel that is about 50 m long. Pretty adventurous stuff.

After having crossed the Ruiselede industrial park and the main road to Aalter, we start encountering more and more flooded areas. Beyond Mortelwalstraat, we enter a huge contiguous flooded zone that stretches for many kilometers. We try to follow the actual creek as well as we can, but also often paddle across meadows and even straight through woods. Quite an experience!

We reach the Poeke castle grounds and paddle on top of bridges and walkways without even noticing. In places there is at least 80 cm of water above the surface. A vista opens up, and across a flooded lawn, we see the Poeke caste. We eventually reach "dry land", and take out.

After lunch we put in beyond the Poeke castle grounds and paddle in the direction of Nevele. This is a stretch we have already done before, but as the area is again entirely flooded, everything looks rather unfamiliar. We prepare to take out at a small bridge that we know is normally impassable, but before we know it we have passed it. It's simply deep below the water, and we have just paddled over it.

One of the most bizarre sights of the day is an abandoned caterpillar in the middle of the flooded meadows. Paddling right up to it is of course something we cannot resist.

At the bridge on the road to Vinkt we decide to call it a day. The sun has unfortunately entirely disappeared in the meantime, and a cold wind has started blowing. The good weather spell of the morning hours was apparently short-lived, and we are probably again on our way towards more rain...