Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Sungei Buloh Wetland

A very nice place to study nature. You can access from bus service 925# during weekends and holidays. On weekdays you will have to take service 925 and drop at Kranji Reservoir Pk B (bus stop ID 499199) then walk in from Kranji Way to Neo Tiew Cres. Alternatively, you could take the Kranji Nature Trail. However, it is currently under re-construction. It will be ready after Sept 2013.

At this moment, Google map shows a road towards a round about at the entrance. OpenStreetMap shows the road leading to a carpark. The latter is more up to date. Look for a wooden trail to the left of the carpark. You will still reach the round about (no longer accessible by car). On the trail, you can see posters posing questions with answers below.

Along the way you can see a wooden mail box.
The visitor center is the point where the BroadWalk and the main reserve splits. Suggestion is to go to the BroadWalk first. Take the path to the right where you will enter a display area showing some of the stuffed birds. The entrance to the BroadWalk looks like this.

Once you enter the BroadWalk you will start to smell the mangrove swam air. It is a bit hard to take at the start but you will get used to it.

It was quite early when I reached the place. It was quite deserted. The only other person who is not working there is taking professional photos of a king fisher.
Along the trail you will see small labels that looks like this.
and
They are actually QRCode and ColorCode that you can scan and download information from handphone. Wireless@SG is also available if you do not have a data plan. I did not try it though.

You will return to the same entrance at the Guest Center. This time turn right to the main reserve area. The entrance looks like this.
Very interestingly at the shed on the entrance there is a warning hanging near the roof.
The actual trail along the way looks like this.
Along the way you will find quite a number of panels that look like this
These are spots where you could observe the birds and creatures without disturbing them. There are even houses built for you to enter and observe through openings. I was able to watch a large flock of birds from one of these.
Unfortunately, I have only my camera on my handphone to take pictures. You actually need a zoom camera of at least 400mm to take pictures from afar.

Some where at the middle of the track you will find a tower.

You can climb on top and view over the canopy.
Following Route 2, you will come across a few hidden views which is quite a distance off the trail. As you progress further. The land trail ends. You will need to go onto the bridge trail at this point
At the end of the bridge, you will venture back to Route 1. It is here that I saw an iguana about a meter long
Upon re-entering the Guest Center, I went to the Cafeteria. There is a pond with water lilies growing in it.
If you look at the right top corner of the picture, you can see another iguana sun bathing. There are some interesting plants in the pond also.
With that, I end the trip.

Just for curiosity, I took a picture of a scarecrow in front of a company's entrance some where near the entrance of the reserve. I don't know why that company put the figure there for.
I took two parnoramic pictures during the trip.
The first one is not so successful. The second look like fisheye picture. Both are failures.

If you are interested to visit the place, I have a map showing the route at http://sg.mapometer.com/walking/route_2794313.html. You could travel by bus or drive to the carpark and take the shorter way.


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