Tanah Merah: return of the crabs

It was nice to see the return of some familiar crabs on this shore that was hit by a massive oil spill in May 2010.

But here's a strange looking crab! I'm not sure what it is. It was in deep water and scuttled off into a crevice before I could take a closer look.

Pulau Ubin - among the World's 10 Most Secret Islands

Jamie Moore on "World's Most Secret Islands" in Yahoo Travel says "we turned up 10 dreamy islands unknown to the average U.S. traveler"

The article goes on to say: "Looking for the perfect place to get away from it all? We searched the world and turned up 10 dreamy islands unknown to the average U.S. traveler. These little patches of unspoiled paradise, from the Great Lakes to the South China Sea, are relatively affordable and easy to get to. And the idea of getting stranded on any one of them would be, well, absolutely OK with us."

The other islands in the list of 10 include islands in Phang-Nga Bay Thailand, in Micronesia, and islands off France, Brazil and in the Caribbean.

Here's what the article had to say about Pulau Ubin.

3 Dec (Sat): Talk on "Secret Shores of Singapore" by Ria Tan

No need to swim, no need to dive! Ordinary people can experience much of Singapore's amazing marine life on the intertidal shores. Otters, wild dolphins, sea turtles, sea snakes, living corals and more!

I'll be sharing lots of photos from our regular trips to about 40 local seashore locations. Lots of stories of recent adventures, and how we can make a difference for our wild shores. Bring your friends and family for a comfy intro to our amazing shores!

Living natural reefs of Sentosa

Sentosa has a stretch of natural reefs, seagrass meadows and magnificent cliffs cloaked in rare coastal forests.

Yesterday, I carefully checked out the area for the first time in a long while. How nice to come across this pretty nudibranch, Chromodoris lineolata!

Closer look at Little Sisters

Just 15 minutes from the main business district lies the tranquil beaches of Little Sisters Island.

It's our first trip here in 9 months! I have finally started trying to write a new series of guide books for our shores! And I realise I need much better closeups of common marine life. While the rest explored more exciting parts of Little Sisters, I settled down to look at ordinary stuff.

Chek Jawa intertidal walks for whole 2012, Jan-Mar dates open for booking from 1 Dec

An intertidal guided walk at Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin is truly special.

All the intertidal guided walk dates for the entire 2012 is already online on the NParks website, but booking only opens from 1 Dec 2011 for Jan and Mar 2012.

Another Magnificent day at Semakau!

A gorgeous Magnificent anemone was nestled on rocks right next to a TeamSeagrass transect!

I had a great trip with TeamSeagass at Pulau Semakau yesterday, despite the changeable weather. And many interesting encounters too!