Wildlife & Nature – Home & Abroad

Muddy Waters

Caroline — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 11:12:30 +0000

Today, we visited the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve , a place I wanted to see for a while already. I don’t know why we did not made it there earlier … maybe because I considered it too far?! (I mean not really far, but as far as it gets within this tiny place called Singapore ;).)

We coordinated our timing to reach at low tide which allowed us to walk the numerous trails and boardwalks, to discover the mangrove forests and get close to the life in the muddy waters.

The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is Singapore’s first ASEAN Heritage Park and has been labelled as a nature park since 1993. It is an ecological jewel and home (or temporary home) to many animals.

Migratory birds come from as far north as Russia and make it their home from September to March. Native animals such as mudskippers, crabs, mud worms, monitor lizards, birds or dragonflies can be seen year round. We heard that it is also the habitat of some estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles but were not lucky enough to spot one. Maybe next time!

Island-hopping in the Singapore Straits

Caroline — Sat, 09 May 2015 02:12:15 +0000

Last week’s Labour Day (1st May Holiday) blessed us not only with a day off from work but also with beautiful weather. We profited to discover a new corner of Singapore and made our way by ferry to the Southern Islands. After a short boat ride we arrived on St. John’s Island, an excellent picnic place for those who do not wish to walk too far from the jetty. Part of the island is still fenced off and a look at the island’s history reveals some interesting facts. It was formerly used as a quarantine station for immigrants, a drug rehabilitation centre and as prison island. Not surprisingly, Singaporean believe that the island is haunted.
Although we did not care much, we left St. John’s quickly and made our way by foot to the more tranquil Lazarus Island. I was impressed by the beauty and serenity of this small island. The lagoon, large sandy beach and pristine waters are definitely not something I expected to find in Singapore. If it were not for the city’s skyline in the distance, you would believe to be stranded on a far-off island paradise.
On the way back the ferry stopped at Kusu Island. Although we were tired, it was the right decision to get off the boat. We would not have wanted to miss out on the (n)ice cold drink that we bought from the super-friendly Uncle at the prominent Chinese temple, the temple itself and the yellow coloured Malay shrine hidden in the thick bushes on top of a small hill.

Rain or Shine

Caroline — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 15:30:06 +0000

After a rainy and lazy Saturday I left home on Sunday with the plan to cycle along the Northern Coast of Singapore. First, we stopped for a fresh seafood lunch at Pasir Ris Town Park … and had to stay put as we were trapped by heavy rain showers… (again)!
Once they cleared we made our way to Pasir Ris Park and switched from our initial idea of riding a bike to a leisurely walk through the mangrove forest and along the coast. This allowed us to enjoy the greenery and have a lookout for birds, snakes, crabs and clams hidden high in the trees or in the mud.
It was no big escape, but Pasir Ris made a nice afternoon outing – before, during and especially after the rain.

Along the Green Rail Corridor

Caroline — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 10:35:38 +0000

Last Sunday I took part in the Green Corridor Run, a unique and beautiful 10.5km run that starts at the historic Tanjong Pagar Rail Station and winds its way along the green corridor to finish at the old Bukit Timah Rail Station.

The Green Corridor is a stretch of greenery along the former rail tracks which have been removed shortly after the train service across Singapore has stopped in 2011. By now, four years later, it has developed into a habitat for wildlife and a picturesque recreational area for runners and bikers.

During the run I got a first impression of the beautiful nature and discovered some interesting sights, well worth further exploring. That’s why I headed back this weekend for a second encounter. This time I followed the trail in the opposite direction, at a much slower pace and with my camera.

The Bukit Timah Rail Station is accessible and is the only part which still showcases a short stretch of railway tracks. The Tanjong Pagar Rail Station and the surrounding railway yard, which comprises staff quarters and a signal station, is however fenced off. Maybe this is on purpose to encourage me to participate again in next year’s race …

Exploring the Rivers

Caroline — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:45:44 +0000

Visits from family or friends are always special and obviously also include a fair bit of sightseeing. Whereas we visit the major sights each time, we also try to keep it interesting for ourselves and come up with some new discoveries. That’s why, for the recent visit of my partner’s parents, we headed to the River Safari .

Choosing a Monday was a smart move and left us with few people and plenty of time…. Time to marvel at the sometimes cute, sometimes strange and mostly exotic animals, to learn about the ecosystems of the world’s largest rivers, including the Amazon, Nile, Ganges, Mekong, Congo, Mississippi and Yangtze, and for me to take lots of pictures.

In comparison to the wild, the protected environment of an animal park offers higher chances of close encounters with animals and for hobby photographers higher chances of actually capturing them on a photo and ending up with some interesting pictures.

Off the beaten track

Caroline — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 07:52:13 +0000

The following is a story of great adventure, new discoveries and strange encounters … at least as much as you can expect in nowadays Singapore ;-).

On this Saturday afternoon we set off to discover the far west of Singapore, a region until now completely unknown to me.
We started at Bukit Batok Town Park, also known as Little Guilin because of its resemblance to Guilin in China, and took in the beautiful natural scenery and tranquillity. For many years, this place has been a quarry and the granite rocks still remain impressive and a bit out of place in otherwise mostly flat Singapore.

Following a small trail along the waters of Lake Guilin we reached a hidden path – with a sign indicating that is has been permanently closed. It was leading up and into the dense forest and, of course, we ignored the sign and followed the track. And we were not alone; we met a woman, a Romanian living in Indonesia and on a short trip to Singapore, and continued our adventures together. The track led us through thick foliage, first up to an overgrown viewpoint and then down to a small stream. After a bit more than one hour and some back and forth, we finally found our way out of the forest and back to civilization, which in this case (and typical for Singapore) was a construction site.

Dolce Vita in Down Under

Caroline — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:15:46 +0000

G’day to my blog post about a six day trip to West Australia in early September 2014.
It was a very ‘sensual’ trip, literally covering all senses: beautiful landscapes for the eyes, radio music for the ears, wonderfully cooked food to smell, wine to taste, and alternatingly wind and sun touching the skin. Awesome! In Italy, I would have called it ‘La Dolce Vita’.

Arriving in Perth, we did not spend much time there and swiftly headed to Fremantle (or Freo), a great place to unwind and start this trip in a typical Aussie manner – with fresh muesli for breakfast, burger for lunch and a trip to the prison to learn more about the convict era.

We then headed down south along the coast, enjoying the stunning coast line at Geographe Bay. Luckily, we arrived just in time to witness a gorgeous, coral red sunset and even spotted some whales on their way up along the coast.

We spent the remaining time in the Margaret River Region, keeping us busy with wonderful activities such as:
– Trying to capture the perfect wave during photo sessions at the rugged coast line of Canal Rocks and Sugarloaf Rock
– Tasting white, red and sweet wine! And chocolate!
– Climbing to the top of a lighthouse and the bottom of a beautiful limestone cave
– Breathing fresh air while walking all the way out into the sea on the 1.8km long Busselton Jetty
– Whiling away time in restaurants, pairing fresh fish and seafood with local wine and talking about anything and everything

Hopefully, see ya again soon, Australia!

Coastal highlights

Caroline — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 09:58:35 +0000

Having chosen early spring (beginning of September 2014) for our trip to West Australia meant oftentimes quickly changing weather conditions. Whilst I experienced that lacking sun may cause pictures of coast lines look dull, I remembered an article in one of my photo magazines at home, recommending to shoot such landscapes in black and white and thus focusing on contrasts and form rather than colour.

The results turned out much better than in colour and the shooting along the rugged coast line, exposed to the force of the wind, was indeed very fun. In no time, we had spent more than one hour before our cold fingers and the darkness stopped us for the day.

Wild Wild West – Xinjiang (part 2)

Caroline — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:31:31 +0000

Together with Abdul (the camel man), three camels, a tent and quite a few bottles of water we set out into the desert. Our aim was to get a feeling for how life must have been in the past when the caravans crossed the Taklamakan, the world’s second largest sand desert. Taklamakan literally means “go in and never come back” and while this was all too often true in the past, we did not take it that literally. We went in in the afternoon and came back the next morning ;-).

Actually, we only came back to get ready for the next adventure. Together with our driver, a tent and some more bottles of water we now set out to cross the desert. Luckily (for both the camels and for us), we chose the car to attack the 500km long desert highway. Halfway through we stopped to set up the tent for the night. The location in the middle of sand dunes was magic and to know that the very same landscape spreads for hundreds of kilometres in all directions just added to this feeling. So did as well the sandstorm which made for a rough (but still beautiful) night and left us and the tent windswept and covered with a thick layer of sand.

To change the scenery we headed to Bayanbulak, a highland which consists of gorgeously vast and green pastures, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and inhabited by Kazhak nomad people and their sheep and cattle.

Back down to the heat and back in time. We spent some last days in and around Turpan, located at 50m below sea level where we discovered some fantastic sites such as the ruins of Jiaohe, the ancient capital and now utterly impressive remains of a city life 1600 years ago.

Taklamakan Desert

Bayanbulak

Ancient City Ruins

Pamir Mountains

Kashgar Life Stock Market

Birds, birds, birds

Caroline — Sat, 10 May 2014 05:47:00 +0000

Soon, it will be three years that I have lived in Singapore and, fortunately, there are still a few sights and attractions that I have not yet (or not yet enough!) seen.

From time to time, especially in order to avoid too much routine, I try to review my imaginary to-do list and pick one activity. The recent visit to Jurong Bird Park was just such an example. It made a great weekend half-day program and combined some of my favourite pastimes: new discoveries, outdoor activities and photography.