Visit #2: 5 July, Sunday

After our first trip to Chek Jawa where we failed to see the corals, we decided to go again at an earlier time when there is low tide. It was a Sunday 5/7/15 where we met up at Changi Ferry Terminal at 8am. By the time we reached chek jawa, it was around 8.30 am where the tide is very low.

We were very excited at the fact that we are going to see corals. However, to our dismay we found out that the corals are very far out from the walkway. Kai Xin was utterly disappointed While we were on at rocky shores, we saw a group of people, at first we thought they were trespassing, but on a closer look, it is actually a group led by a local NParks ranger, who was conducting a field trip with his subordinates.

Sneakily, we followed wherever they went and got a few interesting glimpses. The NPark ranger was kind enough to help us hold up the marine creatures and let us capture a few shots.

Baked Potato

Ewwww

We also saw some interesting birds at the coral area.

“Grey heron: Have long necks and powerful bills for a long and strong reach. They usually wait on the mud or at the water's edge to snatch passing aquatic prey. They can stand motionless for hours."

Large patch of marine life

“Sand dollars: They got their name because they resemble a one-dollar coin. Like other echinoderms (Phylum (Nomenclatue for fungi,plant and algae) Echinodermata), sand dollars are symmetrical along five axes, and have tube feet and spines. Their flat disk-like shape is an adaptation for life on the sea bottom where they gather organic material."

“Knobbly Sea Star: Hard, heavy body that is calcified. Arms long tapering to rounded tip, thick and triangular in cross-section. The shape, colour and number of knobs may vary."

“Acorn barnacle: Conical outer shell made up of several wall plates.While many settle on walls and hard surfaces, some species of acorn barnacles settle on living crabs. Some may also settle on living snails such as the Olive whelk (Nassarius olivaceus)."

While walking to the end of the boardwalk, we saw the usual bee that is always there.

Carpenter Bee

“Carpenter Bee: Large, sturdy, shiny, black coloured characteristics.important pollinators on open-faced flowers"

And the bee made Kai Xin freaked out every single time.

Afterwards, we went up the observation tower to look for birds that are flying around the chek jawa area.

View from the tower

View from the tower

After we left the observational tower, we proceeded back and bought a few drinks to quench our thirst. We called the cabby uncle and waited outside the main entrance of Chek Jawa, ready to be food for all the mosquitoes.

Just then, we saw a female wild boar approaching Ryan, who is holding his can drink, and she started smelling his hands. The fearless Ryan, or should we say dumb, did not resist and continued to let the wild boar sniff him. The wild boar almost bite Ryan, but lucky enough, Ryan was safe.

The mother boar led her kids and they started rummaging through plastic bags that were hung on bicycles. They found a 1 litre 100Plus Bottle, and the mother boar bite through the bottle fiercely, causing the drink to squirt out.