I had wanted to go on a Chek Jawa Wetlands guided tour for years, but never got to till recently when my friend managed to book a slot a few months ago, and invited us to join her group!
It’s really difficult to get a slot during the school holidays or a weekend, since there are only about two low tides in a month. And the wetland tours are only conducted when the tide is 0.4m or below.
It was fascinating to us that there were six ecosystems in this small area alone – the sandbar, the seagrass lagoon, the mangrove, the coastal forest, the coral rubble and the rocky shore.
Before we got to the wetlands, we had a short walk through the coastal forest, and learnt about the interesting trees that were native to that ecosystem and this region.
Such as the fragrant flowers of the nipah palm and its unique fruits that yield the attap chee (top left and right in collage below). I was particularly taken by this flower, as shown hanging from its tree and on the ground (sorry forgot its name).
Helpful and informative signboards were placed along the boardwalk, so that those without a guide could also learn more about the amazing diversity of flora and fauna here.
Our guide taught us the difference between seagrass and seaweed. Want to guess?
Well, seagrass has roots that anchor them down!
It was a cloudy morning, which was lovely because it wasn’t too hot. Here we are, just before descending via the special latter onto the sandbar.
A lone structure amidst the seagrass.
We chanced upon this interesting organism as we were getting a talk about barnacles.
These interesting purple and yellow bits are the eggs of the organism above (its name starts with an “A” but I can’t remember it to save my life).
Then, it was time to walk to the many stations that were set up by the guides, who had placed what they found that morning into categories. Efficiency, Singapore style.
First, a look at the five different types of seaweed/seagrass that can be found in this area.
Then, it was to get to know the impressive members of the sea star family. I have never seen such a large knobbly sea star! The guide is holding up a sea biscuit and explaining how it feeds.
Next up were sand dollars, that are also members of the same family.
Shellfish! Including a fan clam.
Next was the worm family, My favourite was the flatworm with its beautiful bright blue edges. Followed by the bristle-worm, which totally reminded me of Julia Donaldson’s “Sharing a Shell”. In case you are wondering what bottom left picture is, it’s the poop from a worm!
Over here, we met 3 types of crab including a horseshoe crab, and some sea cucumbers. The NParks guides actually went ahead of us to do the ‘gathering’ as the tide ebbed out.
In the photo below are the pistol shrimp (who makes a popping sound with its pincers that can be heard as we walked out on the boardwalk), a small ray, and a shell fish whose eggs are on the right of it.
And my favourite sighting of all, the sea apple. What beautiful vivid colours! It is actually a colourful round sea cucumber, which feeds from its central mouth-like cavity.
Suddenly, the skies opened and it started raining in earnest. We knew the weather forecast was for rain at 10am, but we had still hoped that the weather would hold.
We managed to get up the ladder again and ran for shelter at a small shed. After a short while, the rain didn’t seem too heavy so we decided to walk back to our starting point. But as we went along, the rain got heavier and heavier, till the raindrops were pelting on our faces like rice grains!
I started running with B, and our entire group finally made it back to shelter, but not before we were all soaked to the skin. We didn’t have brollies nor raincoats – I was very ill-prepared! The kids had never been in such heavy rain for such a protracted period, so this was a memorable experience indeed.
We managed to get our van driver who didn’t mind our soaking selves. He dropped us off at the Ubin Seafood Restaurant for lunch, and the hot food went a long way in restoring us. Though we were still pretty drenched, we soon made it back to mainland, enjoying the boat ride in the process!
I realised the last time I blogged about the kids at Pulau Ubin was in 2013! But we hardly saw any inter-tidal flora and fauna since the tide was not in our favour.
Till the next time, Pulau Ubin!
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