This nature reserve, north of the Antwerp Kempen region and bordering the Netherlands, has several thousand hectares of sand dunes, heathland (which flowers in June and July), pine forests and marshes, inhabited by many birds (black woodpeckers, nightjars, linnet etc) and many waymarked paths for walks. It is the largest nature reserve in Flanders, which extends into the Netherlands, it acts as a lung for Antwerp and the north of the country.