A detour from Olmen

This trip takes you through the watery countryside of the Belgian province of Antwerp. You drive here between meadows, fields and small forests. Meerhout is the only town on your route. The town is best known for the Battle of Meerhout during the Boeren Krijg, a short peasant uprising in 1798 against the French occupiers. From the village you drive into the valley of the Grote Nete, a 44 kilometer long tributary of the Nete. You then drive through the Malesbroek nature reserve. At the center of this reserve is a shallow pond that was created as a result of peat extraction at the beginning of the twentieth century. There are numerous smaller ponds surrounded by a swamp. You can also see hay and meadows here that are surrounded by authentic wooded banks.