Yesterday I was looking through my photos of my time in Holland so far and realised I haven’t posted anything about the beautiful Dolfinarium in Harderwijk yet! AKA the largest marine mammal park in the Netherlands! It’s open from 28th March until 26th October, so if you want to go there this year you’d better make it snappy!

Harderwijk – almost at the geographical centre of the Netherlands – is in the province of Gelderland and is around an hour drive from Amsterdam. It’s a really fun place to take the kids… and since we don’t have any, we “borrowed” the Dutchie’s three nephews for the weekend…

I’ve always been a big fan of dolphins since I was a little kid, so it was a real treat when I found out we had such a place in the Netherlands! There are three main shows and eight other “performances” so you can plan your day around the showtimes and it’s a great way to make sure you see all of the animals. The boys are at that age where almost everything (except computer games!!) is “saai” (boring) so the shows were a great way to keep them entertained!

De Snor(rrr)show

Snor = moustache! This show was all about the largest mammal in the park: The Walrus!

There were also some zeeleeuwen (sealions) on hand for extra tricks… and noise!!

After the Snor show it was time to head to het dolfijntheater (the dolphin theatre) for Aqua Bella 

In this show the dolphins take you on a trip around the world and let you “discover the world through their eyes”. It was awarded best (dolphin) show in the world in November 2013.

In addition to the shows, there’s also loads to walk around and explore. My favourite photo from the day: a very smiley ray!

Het Roggenrif 

Het Roggenrif  (Ray Reef) is where the sharks and rays live… you can even touch them! If you’re brave enough!

A great day out for the kids, even though it is rather expensive in my humble opinion. (€25 euros for kids, €27.50 for adults.) Parking is also extra (around €7) but you can bring in food and drinks if you don’t want to purchase them at the park. If you have time to explore Harderwijk, there is more than just the Dolfinarium. We had time for a quick walk around before dinner and enough time to see the moody looking Harderwijk Harbour…

… and a WWII monument for the 117 fallen airmen, designed by Arend Kleinpaste. (The man is not part of the monument, I just happened to capture him standing there.)

This coming weekend we’re off to Efteling which is the largest theme park in the Netherlands and one of the oldest theme parks in the world.

Spannend!!

Hayley x