Otterlose Sand - Ede

The Otterlose Sand, is a drifting sand area of about 3 km2, and is part of National Park The High Veluwe. So to enter the area, you also need an entrance ticket from the National Park.

The biggest threats to the drift sand area are afforestation and nitrogen deposition (the deposition of nitrogen on the soil and in the water of reactive nitrogen compounds from the air). Due to the rise of both, the quality of the drift sand is actually below par. The characteristic lichen vegetation is in danger of disappearing and diversity in general is declining. For years, various measures have been taken to combat the decline in quality and diversity.

Have you seen the statue of General Christiaan de Wet from the cycle path and wondered why it is there? General Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (1854-1922) was a South African freedom fighter who fought with the "Boers" of the Cape Colony against the British. He had the sympathy and support of the wealthy Helene Kröller-Müller, founder, with her husband, of National Park De Hoge Veluwe. In 1915, Helene commissioned artist Mendes da Costa to create a huge statue of the General. The statue, on a pillar and basalt pedestal, stands in the middle of the Otterlose Zand. The landscape at this spot reminded De Wet of his South African country. From the basalt pedestal, the heads of some of his fellow combatants have been carved.