Island Safari on Usedom

For several years now, you may have seen the somewhat martial-looking olive-green jeeps bearing the words “Island Safari”; many hotels advertise them, too. In mid-May, full of anticipation, I decided to try one for myself.

We set off from the tourist information office in Ückeritz, and just three minutes later we were driving along a route previously unknown even to me, a frequent visitor to the island, all the way to Stagnieß harbour. From there, we crossed the neighbouring rock garden by the forester’s lodge and continued cross-country to Pudagla. Up to that point, the route was manageable for ordinary cars—provided they weren’t lowered and the driver had some skill. The drive up Glaubensberg near Pudagla was the final end for all “normal” vehicles, but no problem for Gunnar Fiedler and his four-wheel drive.

The view across Schmollensee to the Baltic Sea and back towards the Achterwasser offered a taste of what was to come.
In the small village of Stoben on Schmollensee, the past of the village settlement meets the possibilities of modern colour schemes. Our progress was carefully watched by the first sea eagle of the day, though unfortunately it flew too high for my camera lens to do it justice.
After passing a natural pig farm and only briefly touching an asphalt road, we were drawn to the lookout tower on Kückelsberg for lunch. The climb on foot is rewarded with a unique view. The panorama stretches from Heringsdorf beach, past the chimneys of Świnoujście, all the way to the Szczecin Lagoon.

We reached our next destination, Mellenthin Water Castle, by way of paths and meadows that are neither suitable nor permitted for public traffic. “You just have to talk to the landowners,” Gunnar Fiedler said with a mischievous smile…
The Suckow Oak, a natural monument around 800 years old, then guided us along the Peenestrom to Rankwitz harbour, already on the Lieper Winkel peninsula. As if on cue, the pair of sea eagles flew a little lower, making them easier to photograph. In Warthe, we watched a fishing boat come in, though calling the spot a “harbour” would be giving it a generous upgrade. At least, after coffee and cake, we could see things from the fish’s point of view inside a fish trap set out to dry.

The yellow of the rapeseed blossom stayed with us as we continued, after clearing a fallen tree from the path, around Krienker See and through Dewichow, with its heron colony, to Balm. You can’t appreciate the charm of the Achterwasser—the great “indentation” of the Peenestrom—from a car; we, too, had to—no, got to—cover much of the route on foot. We passed the Devil’s Stone, a glacial erratic in the waterside shallows, watched over by herons. Which motorist would expect to find a steep shoreline on the Achterwasser between Neppermin and Pudagla?

The safari ended, as if by chance, with an unobstructed view west across the water, and showed us how to grill fresh fish over an open fire without any risk of setting anything alight. The little black animal by the water, fortunately captured in a photo, turned out to be a mink when I later checked a natural history book. But in the end, the tempting smell of fish lost out to the instinct to survive, and the mink disappeared into the bushes along the shore.
The sunset over the Achterwasser is often described, and it truly lived up to everything people say about it. It’s something you simply have to experience.

Until that day, I thought I knew Usedom fairly well, having driven around it for years and lived there for two. After the safari, I realised that this “knowledge” was limited to asphalt roads, a few developed cycle paths, the Baltic Sea beach and the areas visible from them.
The “Island Safari,” run by Uwe and Gunnar Fiedler from Wolgast, offers a different way to discover Usedom: along various routes, in every season, always authentically, with an eye for detail and a willingness to embrace adventure. Our tour was comparatively ordinary, as the programme can also include inflatable-boat or canoe trips around the Peenemünde area near Anklam, Zeesboot sailing on the Szczecin Lagoon or scenic flights. No two tours are alike; surprises are welcome, and spontaneous changes to the itinerary are possible. The very flexible and considerate organisers treat (almost) every customer request as a command.

Rainer Höll