The photo trail!

I've tested the "Biodiversity along the river Oh*" photo trail for you!

Would you like to plunge into the heart of the preserved biodiversity of the Sarrebourg Moselle Sud area?

Yes ? Then follow us on this journey of discovery between land and water.

*reference to Terres d'Oh: Destination promoting tourist sites and services around the Sarre and Marne-Rhine canals.

Here we are, the day of the visit!

Saturday 17 June - 9am: start of our tour

I didn't want to spend the morning on my own, so I took 2 friends and my 10-year-old niece. We parked at the entrance to the port of Mittersheim, which was very easy to get to, even though we're not from around here.
We didn't have a bike, so we'd planned ahead and booked electrically assisted bikes at the Mittersheim leisure centre. We'd never tried this type of bike before, so the opportunity was perfect. It cost us €20/person for half a day.

After collecting our bikes, we headed towards the port to find the first signpost explaining the trail.

As we were reading, we were joined by some Dutch tourists who were moored for the day. They spoke English with us and were also able to enjoy the photo trail because the explanatory panel was trilingual (French/English/German).

We flashed the QR code and came across a website dedicated to the trail, with more detailed explanations.

We then got on our bikes and set off to see the first photograph.

The wind created by the speed of the bike was very pleasant and meant that we didn't feel too hot in the bright sunshine that was with us that day.

We saw the first sign in the distance, on our left, an aerial view of a landscape called "overflight of a biosphere concentrate". We could only imagine what animals might live in this habitat, and perhaps there were species in the area that we hadn't suspected?

We took out our mobile phones again to read the description of the photo on the dedicated website. We'd kept the page open, but it didn't matter if we hadn't, as the QR code can be found on each photo panel in the bottom right-hand corner.

We then continued on our way with all our senses alert, in the hope of seeing a wild animal and fully admiring the beauty of nature.
We were delighted when an egret decided to land just a few metres from us and then take off to catch and feed on a fish.
My niece was quick to take photos of this fabulous sight and of the egret so close to us. She was really happy to have been able to see such a large animal up close.

Then we continued on our way until we came to a sign featuring a chewy squirrel in a photograph called "Tout en équilibre". It's aptly named, because the squirrel in the shot is balancing between two branches of a tree while eating an acorn. The first eight shots on the route are concerned with the theme of "Earth".

Along the way, we came across a number of boats.

We arrived at a lock at the same time as a boat, so we were able to see how it worked. It was another great moment that my niece really enjoyed. By the ninth shot, we were immersed in the theme of "Water".

Back at the port of Mittersheim, we enjoyed a picnic lunch area while reminiscing about our morning visit.

We returned the bikes to our friendly hire company, who advised us to take advantage of an inflatable play area set up on the pond and available from the beach of the Mittersheim Leisure Centre. We may also be tempted by a session of pedal-boating.

So that's our programme for the afternoon.

We learned lots of little anecdotes:

Did you know that a stag can weigh up to 180 kilos? That King Arthur was nicknamed the Cornish Boar? That a Red Kite can live to be 26 years old? Or that squirrels, by hiding their seeds everywhere and losing them, unknowingly combat deforestation?