Eclectic Holland
Tulips, Windmills and Gorillas in the Netherlands

		Holland Photography Tour Details
		Dates	Apr 17–27, 2009
		Leader	Rinie van Meurs and Darrell Gulin
		Fee	$5,095 from Amsterdam, Netherlands
		Deposit	$400
		Limit	12
			Terms and Conditions

"God made heaven and earth," the saying goes, "but men made Holland." With more than a quarter of its landmass below sea level, Holland’s diked, drained and "reclaimed" polderlands never fail to impress as one of the most unusual human-influenced landscapes on Earth.

Though the Netherlands is one of the world’s most densely populated countries, the Dutch pride themselves on being at the vanguard of the environmental revolution of the past 25 years. And even more important, they have figured out a way to make money while being green by exporting their innovative environmental technologies around the globe.

Our Eclectic Holland photo tour concentrates largely on the northwestern provinces of Noord and Zuid Holland (North and South Holland) from which the Netherlands get their "Holland" moniker. Colorful commercial tulip fields and a world famous tulip garden will be an important part of our photography. First, we’ll visit the spectacular 80-acre Keukenhof garden park—the world’s largest spring bulb garden—where seven million exuberant tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and other bulbs are planted in a tailored woodland setting.

The commercial tulip fields of Noord Holland are next on our agenda, along with the picturesque hamlet and working windmills of Zaanse Schans. The density of tulip and hyacinth fields in this area is the highest in Holland. Field after field of vivid color will give us much to do.

A completely surprising segment of our trip will be a visit to Apenheul, the world’s foremost primate zoo, with over 30 species of apes and monkeys—many roaming virtually free among the visitors in their wooded habitat. Of primary interest is the spectacular lowland gorilla exhibit where shots of the impressive silverback and mothers with babies can be created. This facility is also home to a large group of bonobos, a wide assortment of "New World" monkeys including squirrel, woolly, titi, spider, capuchin, howler and Goeldi’s monkeys, plus various tamarins and sakis. "Old World" species lion-tailed and Barbary macaques, patas monkey, Javan langurs and several varieties of lemurs from Madagascar are also found here. This is an exceptional photo experience.

Our final stop is one of the best-known examples of the typical Dutch landscape—the windmills of Kinderdijk. Images of this unique windmill landscape are featured in virtually every photo book of Holland. And, in 1997, the 19 Kinderdijk mills were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Day 1
Depart from home.

Day 2 (Apr 18)
Arrive in Amsterdam. Meet for dinner at our airport hotel. (D)

Day 3
We drive to the Keukenhof garden park. After lunch and hotel check-in we’ll spend the afternoon exploring the garden with our cameras. (BLD)

Days 4–5
Keukenhof is a photo-rich environment with sweeping garden vistas and intimate close-up possibilities. In case of rain, the garden offers a huge indoor pavilion featuring thousands of flowering bulbs under an immense glass ceiling with wonderfully diffused light! (BLD)

Day 6
We drive north to the vibrant bulb fields of Noord Holland. Our trip is timed for the predicted height of the bloom—and prior to the flower harvest! (BLD)

Day 7
After morning bulb field photography, we’ll enter private land to shoot a remote and picturesque windmill in the midst of the flowering fields—a scene not easy to find in Holland today! This evening we shoot the charming hamlet and working windmills of Zaanse Schans. In one of these working windmills, the parchment for the ceremonial copy of the US Declaration of Independence was fabricated! (BLD)

Day 8
We drive through the delightful harbor town of Hoorn (from which the name Cape Horn is derived), home base for the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This afternoon we arrive in Apenheul for our first session with the gorillas and other primates. (BLD)

Day 9
We spend the entire day at Apenheul photographing primates. After closing we drive to Kinderdijk in hope of late afternoon light on the photogenic windmills. (BLD)

Day 10
We rise early to attempt to catch the windmills in silhouette in the lavender predawn light. Following breakfast, we shoot the windmills until early afternoon before heading back to our Amsterdam hotel. (BLD)

Day 11 (Apr 27)
Depart for home. (B)