Sebastiaan and Wijke from Diever have a dream: running their own campsite. With the acquisition of Holiday Park Klein Switzerland in Zuidwolde, they hope to realize that dream. The couple exchanged their home in Diever with the former owners of the holiday park.
Sebastiaan is a painter, but he was tired of that after thirty years. Wijke was a kindergarten teacher for years and was looking forward to a different adventure. “So we thought: why don’t we just start a campsite?” Sebastiaan explains. After viewing several campsites, they eventually came across the Klein Switzerland holiday park in Zuidwolde. The park is 3.5 hectares in size and has more than a hundred recreational places. The park was completely renovated four years ago. “We have already participated with the former owners for a month to learn everything.”
Wijke initially focuses on the administrative work and the kitchen, while Sebastiaan takes on the site, the service and the bar. “Soon we will change role and we will be able to get everything together,” says Wijke.
And where the name ‘Klein Switzerland’ Comes from? Sebastiaan explains: “There is a beautiful nature reserve on the other side of the road that one calls Klein Switzerland. The campsite used to be named after.” Son Lucas (17) follows the Bos and Nature Management course in Meppel. And because of the wooded area, Lucas can help enough. “We just try to do everything with our own family without staff,” says Wijke. “And I think this park is really suitable for that.”
On Monday afternoon there was officially signed and so Sebastiaan and Wijke now live in Zuidwolde. “There is plenty to do here. Not a day is the same. And the best thing is that you cannot make a planning, because things always run differently,” says Sebastiaan.