Chek Jawa boardwalk slowly

I had a great time yesterday at Pulau Ubin helping out with the Naked Hermit Crabs' free monthly tour of the Chek Jawa boardwalk.

We traditionally get a low turnout of visitors in September due probaby to the exams. But the guides love being at Chek Jawa and we had a nice long slow walk as everyone took turns sharing stories with a small group of very patient visitors.


Here we are for our traditional group photo. Usually, we have 60-80 visitors! But we're glad to share even with the 10 people who took the time to join us.

It's a bitter sweet day for us. It will be the last time Jonathan joins us for our walk for a while as he leaves for his studies next week.

Mama Crab Ley Kun shows how to make a cute little pinwheel toy from rubber seed casings!

Among the amazing sightings was a Dog-faced watersnake which was hunting for the small fishes that are found in the pools in the back mangroves.

Most wildlife spotted from the boardwalk are well camouflaged. To help others see them, one of the best ways is to take a photo of it and show it to them.

Usually, if I'm the only guide, I have to talk while climbing up the Jejawi Tower. I could take my time on this trip and took some photos of the lovely view from the Tower.

The Delek air trees, Critically Endangered in Singapore, were all bearing bright red berries. I don't remember seeing this before.

The tide was incoming high. Usually, we get to see more marine life. But today, there were almost no fishes. Oh dear. I hope this doesn't mean that we are heading for another algal bloom and mass fish death incident...

The area next to the Changi Point Ferry Terminal is still well used as a landing point by fish farmers located in East Johor Strait off Pulau Ubin and Pasir Ris.

On the way home, I stopped by to have a look at mangroves at Punggol that have been affected by a new bus stop. Sigh. More about this in a separate blog post.