COURANT D'HUCHET

An 8-km (5-mile) watercourse of great scenic diversity between Lac
de Léon and the sea; réserve naturelle

Twice a day from Easter to the end of September a flotilla of small rowing boats sets out across the wide Etang de Léon for a trip down one of the natural wonders of the Atlantic coast. As they glide down the Courant d'Huchet - not a river but a channel for overflow water from the lake - they pass through several different biotopes, or types of environment, marked by striking changes in terrain and vegetation.

The Courant begins its seaward journey at a stretch of reed-covered marshland, fringed by willows and alders, on the southern side of the lake. Known as the Cout de Mountagne, it covers about 140 ha (350 acres). Until the l960s the marsh vegetation was grazed down by the cattle which browsed around its edges, but since their disappearance the reeds have grown unchecked, though areas have been cleared to provide open water for ducks, moorhens, herons and other water-birds.

Beyond the marsh, the Courant runs under an arcade of willows and alders, past giant fronds of royal ferns, lady ferns and a host of exotic plants such as the Brazilian water-milfoil and the rosy hibiscus. Strangest of all are the bulbous pneumatophores (aerial roots) of the rough-barked Arizona cypress trees growing in the shallows. Downstream, near the little seaside resort of Huchet-Plage, the tree canopy opens out round a small lake, the Marais de la Pipe, where young eels that have swum thousands of miles across the Atlantic from the Sargasso Sea feed on the rich growth of plankton.

The fauna would be impressive were it not for the prevalence of hunting. Both otter and genet occur here, but do not receive any formal protection which, on top of their natural shyness, means they are only rarely sighted. Members of the heron family are not hunted, and both night herons and bitterns can be found in the marshy areas; but much the most likely sighting will be the vivid flash of azure blue as a kingfisher darts along the river.

From the Marais de la Pipe the Courant meanders south, separated from the Atlantic by a wide sand-bar, and reaches the sea near Moliets-Plage. The dunes at Moliets were stabilized as long ago as 1832 by dumping quantities of clay on the shifting sand, which was then planted with marram grass.

BEFORE YOU GO

Maps: IGN 1:100,000 No. 62; IGN 1:25,000 No. 1341 ET.

GETTING THERE

By car: take N10 to Castets, then D142 to Léon, following signposts to Lac de Léon.
By rail: the nearest main-line SNCF station is at Dax, 30 km (18 miles) away.
By bus: an infrequent service operates to Léon from Soustons.

WHERE TO STAY

Côte d'Argent, Vieux-Boucau, T: 05 58 48 13 17, F: 05 58 48 04 14; Hôtel du Centre, Léon, T: 05 58 48 74 09.
Outdoor living: Lou Puntaou camp-site is beside the lake, T: 05 58 48 74 30, F: 05 58 48 70 42; Les Cigales at Moliets-Plage, T: 05 58 48 51 18, F: 05 58 48 53 27.

ACCESS

the fragile ground cover of the dunes at Moliets were threatened by holiday-makers; public access is now restricted.

ACTIVITIES

Boating: boat trips down the Courant start from the beach.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Tourist offices:
Castets, 30 av Jean Noël Serret, T: 05 58 89 44 79;
Vieux-Boucau, T: 05 58 48 13 47, F: 05 58 48 15 37.
Park office:
contact the Réserve Naturelle du Courant d'Huchet, T: 05 58 48 73 91, for information on guided visits on foot; to book guided boat trips down the courant, call T: 05 58 48 75 39 (advance booking required).