For many years Nico combined cycling and nature observation. He cycled all the roads in the Netherlands, but also cycled down under in New Zealand and Australia.
In 1990 he changed the pedal for a paddle. He started kayaking on the river Rhine with the local club "de Bovenste Polder" and soon he broke the record of capsizing in winter. He paddled a lot of the inland waters of the Netherlands and Western Germany.
In 1993 he started white water kayaking in France. Since then he has run rivers in France, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia and Nepal.
Sea kayaking started in 1997. Mostly in the Zeeland estuaries and the Waddenzee in the Netherlands. But the last few years also in Wales, Scotland and Australia.
In 1997 he became an inland kayak touring instructor. Since then he did a lot of coaching for his club and elsewhere in the Netherlands. But he also worked for a few month as a volunteer in Wales and Tasmania.
He became a member of the NKB coaching committee and coordinates the inland instructor courses.
Since 2001 he is an sea kayak instructor and an open canoe instructor as well.
Qualifications:
NKB Sea Kayak Instructor
NKB Inland Kayak Touring Instructor
NKB Open Canoe Instructor
