We came to the mangroves of Sungei Buloh early morning one weekend. It’s been a long time coming! My wife enjoys nature and is a frequent visitor to these parts, and she’d been wanting to show me around this area for at least a couple of years.
Well, we finally came. It turned out to be a rather pleasant, peaceful walk. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and much to my own surprise. We talked about the neighbouring region of farmland before, but it’ll be my first time stepping foot into the mangroves here.
It’s a pretty chill excursion, and we didn’t have to pull a Yogyakarta (ie wake up at 3am) for this. Thankfully. The crowd’s pretty manageable when we arrived around half past eight in the morning, and for the most sun-adverse of us, rest assured that it isn’t that warm. The park was free to enter, and ditto for the parking. I celebrate all little joys.
I’ve heard of crocodile sightings along Sungei Buloh, but I didn’t think it was common. Well, we spotted four different crocodiles during our walk. Three of them were drifting in the waters, and one of them was lying on land right next to the boardwalk. They're a common sight around these parts, as it turns out. My wife estimates seeing crocodiles in about 70% of her visits here.
There were also plenty of monitor lizards around the mangroves, swimming in the brackish waters, or trudging on the boardwalk. The largest one we’ve seen was lying prone along the pavement, which just about everybody gave a wide berth.
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At the bridge overlooking a broad stretch of water, we saw schools of fishes circling the mangroves, with constant splashes from the fishes as they jump out of the waters.
Not far away, a flock of squat little puffs of birds (if I’m a better blogger I’ll know what they’re called) gather on another bank, pecking at the soil.
It was low tide as we came, and we saw plenty of mudskippers amongst the mangroves. These are amphibious fishes that have evolved to walk and breathe on land. It’s pretty incredible to see them hoist themselves over soil and roots.
Well, we finally came. It turned out to be a rather pleasant, peaceful walk. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and much to my own surprise. We talked about the neighbouring region of farmland before, but it’ll be my first time stepping foot into the mangroves here.
It’s a pretty chill excursion, and we didn’t have to pull a Yogyakarta (ie wake up at 3am) for this. Thankfully. The crowd’s pretty manageable when we arrived around half past eight in the morning, and for the most sun-adverse of us, rest assured that it isn’t that warm. The park was free to enter, and ditto for the parking. I celebrate all little joys.
We saw a cheeky squirrel furtively raiding a bird’s nest. I have photo evidence.
The first sign that I’ve spent too much time in resorts and not enough time communing with nature was when I misread a post stating “Wetland Centre” for “Wellness Centre”. I had wholeheartedly believed there was a gym and sauna in the mangroves for a hot minute.
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| Picture by N. A second, more benign squirrel feeding while hanging upside-down. |
I’ve heard of crocodile sightings along Sungei Buloh, but I didn’t think it was common. Well, we spotted four different crocodiles during our walk. Three of them were drifting in the waters, and one of them was lying on land right next to the boardwalk. They're a common sight around these parts, as it turns out. My wife estimates seeing crocodiles in about 70% of her visits here.
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| Took us a minute to realise it's a crocodile amongst the tree roots, and it was sizing us up. |
There were also plenty of monitor lizards around the mangroves, swimming in the brackish waters, or trudging on the boardwalk. The largest one we’ve seen was lying prone along the pavement, which just about everybody gave a wide berth.
.
We also spotted a wee green snake in the bushes.
At the bridge overlooking a broad stretch of water, we saw schools of fishes circling the mangroves, with constant splashes from the fishes as they jump out of the waters.
At low tide, it’s mealtime for the birds, and they hunt for food along the shallow waters of the mangroves. A heron spreads its wing to entice fishes with shade, and then snatches up the fishes that come near it.
Not far away, a flock of squat little puffs of birds (if I’m a better blogger I’ll know what they’re called) gather on another bank, pecking at the soil.
It was low tide as we came, and we saw plenty of mudskippers amongst the mangroves. These are amphibious fishes that have evolved to walk and breathe on land. It’s pretty incredible to see them hoist themselves over soil and roots.
Sungei Buloh is a pretty sleepy destination, but popular amongst certain interest groups. There were two tour buses pulled up to the entrance as we came, and there were small roving groups of guided photography tours carrying heavy telephoto lens. These photography groups are also the nature buffs too, and I shamelessly eavesdropped on them to learn what they know about this place.
Mangroves used to comprise of 13% of Singapore’s landmass, but prawn farming and the subsequent land reclamation efforts have transformed most of the land into what we see today. Most of the remaining wetlands are now located in the North-western part of Singapore. We could see Johor Bahru just a short distance across the waters. You might want to turn off roaming on your phone plan as you walk along the trails, because you might incur international roaming charges along some parts. We overheard this from one of the photographers, and it turned out to be true.
A complete walk might take about three hours at a gentle pace with plenty of stops, and is just the right amount of early morning sun and fresh air. Much recommended, even if you, like me, can’t distinguish between a heron from a stork, or a monitor lizard from a Komodo dragon, or call every squat cute little bird a puffin (none of these birds in any way resemble actual puffins). It was a good time nonetheless.
A complete walk might take about three hours at a gentle pace with plenty of stops, and is just the right amount of early morning sun and fresh air. Much recommended, even if you, like me, can’t distinguish between a heron from a stork, or a monitor lizard from a Komodo dragon, or call every squat cute little bird a puffin (none of these birds in any way resemble actual puffins). It was a good time nonetheless.
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