Macritchie Reservior to Venus drive

Starting Point... ( by passing the route from mc ritchie centre) .. our aim is to hit Jelutong  Tower and hunt for the terrapins we saw several months ago and en route to Venus drive trying out the Venus loop for the first time.

Close to the overhead bridge i can reach out and touch the palm flowers swaying in the wind and trying to get a steady shot. The bees did not cooperate and sit still.  So no bees shown here.

Hollow trunk..

 A tiny orange- bellied flower pecker caught my attention.

Near the Golf Link at water edge, tiny flowers dotted ground.

Close up of the tiny ball- like flower of water  plant.

Opening of the spider web.

 

A dried out 'grasshopper'?

Terrapin under the bridge not far from Jelutong Tower. Watch the video.

Several month ago we saw an even bigger terrapin lurking in deeper water here. 

Unwelcome embrace? 

Venus drive loop -  cucumber tree, belimbing. Common fruit trees in kampong.

Bukit Timah Rail Station Jul 27 '11

Walking from Bukit Timah Rail Station northward....

Can you find the rail track?  

 

Another view of the Bukit Timah Rail Station.

Will they remove this bridge? 

Tracks near Bukit Timah Rail Station. Crowds still flocked to the station and walked the tracks.

Bukit Timah Rail Station - a fence was erected to box in this small station

What about the Rail mall?  At first i thought the rail might run along the Rail Mall. But using Google Map you can find the track is across the highway and quite a distance away. The rail track is surprisingly close to the main road.

1966...

The following pics do not come from BK rail station.  Sour fruit we tried.. and a adult bug 'touching' the smaller ones using the feelers

Pulau Ubin - Celestial resort etc

Star in above map marks the location of Celestial Resort.  My nth trip to this island but first time to spend a  quiet night there - no traffic noise nor generator noise. Scout the ground underneath durian trees but found none of the spiky fruit. Early risers had combed clean the forest floor bring guni sacks of the precious fruit. 

Fruit bearing branches.. hoping to see one fell but didnt..

Durian for the picking.

Saw a group of painters in and around the Public Jetty... something different from the usual  Ubin  activities

Master at work..  fantastic

Light is failing when this lone piped horn bill  was seen nibbling the palm fruit

Catch and release ..but some didnt survive the unhooking procedure..

China Chestnut, Sterculia monosperma  flower, 

Hoya diversifolia, mangroove wax plant.

The shallow and the deeper ends.

Serangoon River Walk - Lorong Halus Wetland - East Dam

Buangkok MRT -> Buangkok Dr> walk along the
Serangoon River- crossed the bridge to Lorong Halus Wetland continue towards the
East Dam one end of which is connected to Coney Island ( P Serangoon).

Serangoon PCN

under the TPE ....

Serangoon River 

Serangoon Reservoir

Passiflora foetida !!! 

You can find plenty of this kampong time wild fruit favorite along 

the Seranngoon River near the River walk.

Ripe fruits can be eaten. 

This is a rest rooms. Riveria LRT is a short distance walk  behind this structure

Looks like mangosteen.

A young one with cap.

Bridge crossing the Serangoon River to the Lorong Halus Wetland

East Dam - official opening July 4 2011

Canvas canopy offers slight relieve from the scotching  un.

Evening approaches - blue sky.  A lone sea eagle flew over head. The same one that 'pace' the Serangoon river...

A closer view of the East Dam

Looking towards P Ubin enjoying the evening breeze and watching birds doing a vertical  dive bomb  to catch fish.

Keep walking

lightning conductor and wind speed detection?

Papyrus reed

Field full of them

HG Well's War of the World - taken over by reeds

Reeds lined ponds

Artificial light fittings on long slender supports to simulate the effect of larang grass swaying in the wind.

Note the top West End Dam and the lower right East Dam joining the Coney Is.
The Punggol Promenade we didnt visit this time may be next time.

Fat kingfisher...