Geocaching on Wangerooge - a paradise for cachers and island lovers

Geocaching on Wangerooge - this blog post is intended to describe a nice trip to Wangerooge that will make the cacher's heart beat faster and also bring some Caribbean feeling with it.

Where is this Wangerooge?

Wangerooge is one of the 7 East Frisian islands in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea. It is the easternmost and second smallest inhabited island in this archipelago.

I've been coming to Wangerland since 1991 - but always to the mainland. And even out of conviction, because I'm afraid that after a short time I would get bored on an island with a length of 8.7 km east - west and 2.2 km north - south. The only islands we visited in the area were Norderney and Spiekerog.

What is this Wangerooge?

Wangerooge is an island.

Wangerooge is car-free! Except for the luggage trolleys from planes and ferries, we only saw the fire brigade with one car.

Wangerooge has slowed down.

Wangerooge is a North Sea health resort.

Wangerooge is a national park.

Wangerooge has an incredible amount of beach and it has an amazing beach. At some point one wonders why one flies to the Caribbean.

Wangerooge is Frisian dry. The people are of a special breed.

How do you get to Wangerooge?

We decided to fly to Wangerooge and take the ferry back. We did everything right with this decision. More or less by chance or because of the tide times. We would do it exactly the same way and no different. That's why we wanted to present our path to you in such detail.

In the few days that we are visiting Wangerland, the tide times are so unfavorable that we only had a short time on Wangerooge. This is different every day and so far we have never had any luck. There are days when you have 6-7 hours on Wangerooge, which is sufficient for the time being. Today our ferry would have started at 11 a.m. in Harlesiel and it takes 90 minutes to get to Wangerooge City by ferry and island railway. The last ferry left on Easter Sunday at 3.30 p.m. with the Inselbahn in town, i.e. we would have had only 3 hours. Too tight even with a bike!

So we asked around and came up with the island flyers. A small sports plane takes you to the island airport in just 5 minutes, which is fairly centrally located.

The island railway and ferry for the way back are both operated by Deutsche Bahn.

When we - despite our fundamental fear of flying - dealt with the island pilots, it was clear that we wanted to try it. There were countless flights on Easter Sunday, starting at 8 a.m. every half hour. We decide for 9.30 a.m. so that we could still have breakfast comfortably in the apartment. The website below​ https://www.inselflieger.de we found it well structured, we found answers to all our questions. And we were able to pre-order our plane tickets very conveniently. You will be picked up and paid for on the day of the flight itself, all you have to do is be at Harle Airport 15 minutes before the departure time.

Then we look at the price. It is well known that flying is more expensive than the ferry. But we also found the price bearable. For EUR 46.50, the plane takes us from Harle to Wangerooge in just 5 minutes – one way. Together with the ship ticket for the way back, which you can also buy from the island airlines, you have to pay 67 EUR.

Then we look at the price. It is well known that flying is more expensive than the ferry. But we also found the price bearable. For EUR 46.50, the plane takes us from Harle to Wangerooge in just 5 minutes – one way. Together with the ship ticket for the way back, which you can also buy from the island airlines, you have to pay 67 EUR.

We arrive on the day of the flight itself punctually in the morning and find a parking lot for the whole day with the island pilots for 5 EUR. The way to the airport is minimal, later we have a small walk of 6-7 minutes from the ferry. Bearable.

As we park the car and approach the airport (building with a pitched roof), I start to worry. But everything is quite small here... A large sign with "Welcome" - "The Island Flyers" greets the guests on the property.

The building welcomes guests with a friendly entrance and the inscription “Departures, Arrivals, Information”. You know immediately where to turn. Immediately after entering, you will be directed to the check-in counter. We are greeted in a friendly manner and the formalities are taken care of. Okay, not too many formalities. Not like at the airport with passport, seats, etc. We pay our flight tickets and since we already have the train tickets, only the tourist tax for Wangerooge is due. We could have done this on the island, but found it more convenient to do it right here at the airport counter. Then we have a little time to look around. Outside, on the "airfield" you can see 1-2 machines. And then "our" machine comes flying back from Wangerooge. A small crowd of people (a total of 8 people fit in the plane and some luggage) get out and disappear into the airport building. Then we will call you by name. Brief uncertainty in a family with a child, in ours with a young person and in another couple. Where do you get on here? And who where? The pilot is ready and seats the passengers in the way that seems best for the flight. And it beginns…..

I never thought that one day I would be put in such a tiny machine. While Horst has flown helicopters before, this is clearly my smallest aircraft. Except for the noise, though, it's less scary than big machines! Again any time! And that out of my mouth.....

So, this short flight adventure is really a positive experience.

We fly over sandbanks, see the ebb and flow and immediately see the island of Wangerooge with the lighthouse and west tower (youth hostel). Our small plane lands faster than expected at the larger airport on Wangerooge. There are quite a few machines here!

We enter the island through the airport building - and there we are!

Fast, great, eventful, safe and absolutely: worth repeating!

locomotion on the island

After our arrival on the island with the island pilots we make the short walk to the town. The destination is a bike rental that we found on our geocaching map. Unfortunately, there is a long queue of tourists and the rental company immediately confirms that they no longer have bicycles for 7 EUR a day. Actually, he only has children's bikes... Slightly frustrated, we continue on our way and end up at the next bike rental - very close to the train station, where we had to leave at 3:30 p.m. anyway. In addition, the rental was even cheaper at 5 EUR per bike per day. The basic 3 speed bikes served us well throughout the day on the island.

The only alternative to cycling would have been to walk. We could have done far less distance that day and thus visited fewer caches. Since it is very flat everywhere on the island, there are no cars on the road, the bicycle is a popular means of transport and there are many suitable paths for bicycles, we consider two-wheelers to be absolutely suitable and can only recommend it. Even on Easter Sunday, bicycles were available without a reservation.

Geocaching on Wangerooge

Admittedly, the webcam cache was our main cache destination on the island. Nevertheless, we used the rented bikes to go to the east of the island. In the far east, the earth cache “The Movement of the Earth Plates” (GC2H4QX) was our goal. Unfortunately, the bike path left a lot to be desired about 2 km before the cache. Even if all the paths on the island are made suitable for bicycles, the paved path ends at the multi “Praise of Aloneness” and the sand path begins. We break off here and look for the aforementioned Multi GC435MX as the easternmost cache on the island. The said poem was easy to find on the coordinates and we quickly discovered the final coordinates and thus the cache. That was hardly possible on Easter Sunday without being muggle-free, but we were able to distract ourselves well.

On the way back from the east we look at the old foundation walls of the island in “In Love, Engaged, Married” (GC4JQDX). Of course, we also take the tradition "SOS auf Wangerooge" near the airport with us, before we take the southern road of the island from east to west and visit some easy caches on the way.

Our goal was the solved mystery "Wangerooge on April 25, 1945" (GC4FB6E), which we were able to find easily thanks to the hint. Our way continued to the multi "Inspiration - Wangerooge's landmark" (GC1EP4B), which we were able to solve quite quickly. Unfortunately we got here right at the start of the lunch break. Those who can read have a clear advantage... Unfortunately, we had to come back to climb the many steps. Don't worry, this is not spoiled, it is also described as such in the listing.

After logging the log of the mystery "The Faces of Your Island" (GC4R5QB), we finally make our way to the center of Wangerooge - the pedestrian zone by the sea. Here the caching moves a bit into the background for us and we enjoy the beach, the sun and the hustle and bustle at the sea.

Unfortunately, we had to realize that our goal of the day, the webcam, is not that easy to achieve. We do find a webcam, but it no longer delivers any pictures. The picture at this point is included in the listing, but you can no longer access this webcam. Luckily, the listing allows for multiple webcams, so we're off to find another pic. We try it via the spa administration's live webcam, which pans across the beach. But here, too, the word "live" is probably exaggerated, the pictures don't match our view at all. We choose another motif from the list - the fountain in the center of town, which we passed in the morning. We stood there for a long time and waited for a current photo. Unfortunately it was not possible for us to capture a picture with us. Only after a moment of desperation do we realize that the camera is frozen on April 9th. However, today was April 21st... So, again no chance for a suitable picture of the webcam. Of course we had taken screenshots, both of us at the appropriate objects and of the webcam images that didn't work. However, we were not satisfied and sure, rather a little frustrated that we had not found exactly this cache.

Overall, we searched, found and logged more caches on the island than we had hoped for. And that, although geocaching was not the focus today.

Beach on Wangerooge

Did I already mention it: the beach is amazing! On Easter Sunday it was 24 degrees, which seemed a little cooler here on the island with a mild breeze. Not surprising that no one has been in the sea to swim. But the beach chairs were well filled and many visitors were at least with their feet in the water. A lot of sports are also practiced on the beach - badminton, SUP, jogging, etc.

A beautiful cycle and pedestrian path runs between the village and the east of the island. Often paths with boardwalks go up over the dune on the left to reveal a view of a beautiful white sandy beach on the other side. The dune itself is overgrown with native plants and a typical dune landscape. The sandy beach, which stretches for miles on the north coast of the island, has very light, clean white sand and could well be in the Caribbean Sea. Simply a dreamy area!

Our way back - from Wangerooge to Harlesiel

For the way back we decided to take the ferry. At 3:30 p.m., the island train departed from the village and took the fully occupied compartments to the island’s port. This island railway travels tranquilly to the harbor at an incredible speed of 15-20 kilometers per hour. The duration is 15 minutes. The journey alone is an experience and shows how tranquil life on the island is. You first drive out of the village, many walkers on the numerous paths wave to the train and the train driver also seems to like his job and waves happily to everyone. Later you pass salt marshes and sandbanks, repeatedly washed by the sea. Just a beautiful sight.

When the train arrives at the port you have the best opportunity to catch a photo from the webcam, which enables the log of the cache "Blinky's Insel-TV: Wangerooge" (GCNEZT) from 2005. We had already written extensively about this during geocaching on Wangerooge. Then it goes directly to the waiting ferry there. The ferry and train are both operated by Deutsche Bahn (the Inselbahn still left on time!) and wait for each other. So you have enough time to switch from the island railway to the ferry. The last ferry on Easter Sunday was quite well filled. Many storm up onto the open deck – only to move back down to the warmer place a few minutes later after departure. There is also a small stall where you can buy coffee, bockwurst and cake.

As far as we could understand, the ferry was surprisingly slow. You have the feeling of doing the route twice, as there are always curves. This is probably also related to sandbanks and tide times. After exactly 90 minutes from the departure of the Inselbahn in Wangerooge, we leave the ferry in Harle.

Fazit:

The most beautiful place in Germany is definitely on Wangerooge! It's a shame we didn't think of this many years ago! Wangerooge is more than suitable for geocaching as well as for "relaxing your soul". Try it out and let us know how you experienced it!