Search the Community

Hello everyone! Saturday, I went hunting again at the Zandmotor. Even though it is only 25 min away by car from my house, I don't get to hunt there often. First off, a small introduction to the Zandmotor: The Zandmotor is a big beach extension between Kijkduin and Ter Heijde, and it is made by man. The fossils found there are mainly seashells (clams and cockles), which fill the beach, and also mammal bones, which most people search for (most just ignore the seashells, which leaves more for a seashell-lover like me ). Sometimes great white shark teeth are found too, but they are the only species of shark found at the Zandmotor (from what I heard); it's a mystery as to how the shark teeth got there. All the fossils date from the Pleistocene to the Holocene periods (so they are relatively young). The reason that fossils can be found there is because the fossils got dredged up from the North Sea, which is very rich in fossils; the case is similar for the Maasvlakte 2 and the Hoek van Holland, two other locations on the Dutch coast. The Zandmotor actually just looks like any other normal sandy beach, and many people just use it as such. In fact many people that regularly go on the Zandmotor ignore that fossils can be found! The Zandmotor is also a popular place for taking your dog out for a walk. Now my trip report: When we arrived, it was still rather cloudy, but at least it wasn't raining and there was little wind. We did put on our fat coats and were well prepared to face the cold. The small crash of the waves and the squawk of the seagulls filled the air. In the background, the harbor could be seen. Lucky for us, the weather quickly cleared up and gave way to a nice blue sky.