Tulcea, Romania (dpa) – It is easy to see why the Romanians call the dark
jungle of tall oak trees in the middle of the Danube delta the Caraorman,
meaning Black Forest.
A trip through this natural labyrinth in southeastern Romania is a mysterious
journey through one of the least spoilt landscapes of Europe. The only way
through this largely untouched world is by river in a small boat.
It is a five hour bus journey from the Romanian capital Bucharest to the port
town of Tulcea, where the Danube makes its unbridled end. The 2,800-kilometre
river, which flows through 10 countries and has as many different names, does
not simply flow into the Black Sea: it spreads into three main channels with a
maze of smaller creeks, marshes and lakes.
Our tranquil tour through this ornithological marshland paradise was on a small
houseboat called the Ovis. Peace slowly descended as we left the port of Tulcea
behind us with its unattractive cranes, docks and the Romanian Danube fleet of
warships in the evening light. The boat glided gently past little wooden houses
with fruit orchards and vegetable gardens.
In the Danube Delta you are rarely on firm ground. As well as the high dunes
and sand steppes, the reeds, fern, water lilies and forest galleries surrounded
by lianas, make parts of this region into a impenetrable jungle. The wildlife
inhabitants know the region best. No maps can precisely draw this 4,200-
kilometre marshland that is constantly changing.
The Ovis sailed stolidly from the Barkas Lake into the Sulina tributary which
ends 70 kilometres further in the Black Sea. Three main channels lead more or
less directly to the sea: the most northerly is the Chilia which flows along
the Ukrainian coast, the central channel is the Sulina, and the southern
channel is the Sfantu Gheorghe. Only the Sulina is navigable by seagoing
vessels.
The green wilderness – 80 per cent of which belongs to Romania, the rest to
Ukraine – was declared a biological reserve by UNESCO in 1993. “50,600 hectares
are strictly protected zones,” said Pimon Makarov of the Delta Information
Centre in Crisan. The Rosca Buhaiova region in the north is home to a large
colony of pelicans.
In this kingdom of herons and pelicans, one of the most important pieces of
equipment for travellers is a pair of binoculars. There is plenty of time on
board a houseboat to study the birds and animals along the river banks. You see
numerous different species of herons, some of them quite rare, and cormorants
fishing for prey from high branches above the water. There are wading birds
such as kingfishers and many species of ducks.
We took a dinghy into Maliuc to explore the fascinating world of the reeds.
This is a good way to discover the seemingly endless landscape which would be a
labyrinth without a knowledgeable guide.
Near Crisan the houseboat chugged into the Dunarea Veche, an old branch of the
Danube. It was full of lone anglers fishing from rowing boats. The local people
here eke out a living from fishing and harvesting reeds for cellulose and paper
manufacture. We passed the Mila 23 fishing village. Peach trees towered over
garden fences made of thickly woven wicker. Some people had hung their carpets
over the fences for cleaning.
Towards evening we anchored near the Lacul Furtuna. While dinner was cooking on
board the Ovis, we took the dinghy to watch the majestic pink pelicans.
Much of the environmental damage inflicted on the Danube on its long journey,
only takes its revenge once it reaches the sea. But the World Wide Fund for
Nature has now given the all-clear following the environmental accident in the
far off Romanian gold mining factory Baia Mare, which had threatened the
livelihoods of the local people.
