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The Etang de Vaccarès (Vaccares Pond) is the largest one in the Camargue, spanning on 65 square kilometers between the Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and the Grand Rhone. Sometimes called “La Grand Mar” (Provencal for “the big sea”). It is a hardly deep saltwater area, connected through straits to the Etang de l'Imperial and to the Etang de la Dame, closer to the Mediterranean Sea and connected to it through structured canals that make it possible to control the flows and exploit the lands for Camarguese rice, for it is a protected top-quality variety. There are Camargue horse breeding communities and bull “manades” as well, and sheeps to the North, by the city of Arles. The Pond is wrongly seen as a quite hostile marshy land, and it may be the only reason why it is still kept away from mass tourism, and there are much more campings there than guest homes for rent or hotels. What a luck if you look for wild lands and beautiful landscapes ! As a shifty coloured landscape along the year, the Etang de Vaccares is an exceptional spot with its exuberant sea flora and its abundant wildlife in a protected. Furthermore, it is a common checkpoint for huge flowing masses of migrating birds, and it hosts colorful colonies of waders, especially flamingos, as they easily find there big amounts of saltwater fish.
Faussement considéré comme un lieu peu hospitalier du fait des marécages qui l'entourent, l'étang est encore à ce jour préservé du tourisme de masse, et l'on y trouve plutôt des campings que des gîtes de location ou des hôtels. Quelle aubaine cependant pour l'amateur de terres sauvages et de beaux paysages ! D'aspect varié au gré des saisons, l'Etang de Vaccarès est un site d'exception pour sa flore maritime et pour sa faune abondante dans une zone protégée. Outre l'élevage, c'est un passage obligé pour d'immenses ballets d'oiseaux migrateurs et pour les échassiers sédentaires, notamment les flamands roses qui apprécient ces eaux peu profondes et riches en poissons d'eau salée. |
