Penguin's afterthoughts of Kusu Island.

The story of Kusu Island is a rather interesting, albeit silly one. Its about 2 ship wreaked sailors, one Malay and one Chinese being lost at sea. A turtle too pity on them and turned itself into a gigantic island, allowing the 2 sailors to save themselves. The sailors, in gratitude of the turtle's heroic deed, constructed a mosque and a temple on the island and in addition, named this island Kusu Island, which means Turtle Island literally.

A panaroma of the Marina Bay Ferry Terminal. This is where all boat trips to the Southern Islands will start the journy from.


The photographers of the day, Ivan and Edwin


A panorama of the Singapore skyline, as viewed from the ferry.


The pier off Saint John's Island.


The entrance to Kusu Island.

The ferry that brought us to Kusu Island.


An Eurasian Sparrow.


The turtle wishing well as viewed from the temple.


A terrapin, taken from the temple.


Enjoying the simple pleasures of life. People come all the way from the mainland to fish


The innocence of life. Tourist frequent this place to enjoy the sandy beaches and clear blue sea.


Nature at its work. Powerful waves attacking the unmoving rocks of the breakwater.


Once upon a time a tiny life, these shells now lay dead on the sandy beach bars.



A female blue pansy. For a tiny island, it host quite a number of life forms.

Two sentinels, standing guard over the island, all day, all night, all weather.

A panorama of the island from the entrance.

Panorama of the turtle pond.

The higher you fly, the more you shall see. An eagle, soaring majasticly over the Kusu Island.

Penguin's report on Bukit Timah Nature Reserves

Ok the night is getting lonely. I will start on my post on My bukit Timah Trip.

A panaroma of the Bukit Timah Hill from the over head bridge.

Bukit Timah, Bukit Timah, which literally means "tin-bearing hill" in Malay, was identified on the 1828 map by Frankin and Jackson as Bukit Timah. The hill was depicted on the map towards the northwest as two hills at the eastern source of the Kranji River.

A rock by the visitors center gretting all visitors entering the Bukit Timah Hill


A long steep path that leads all the way up to the hill.

A young monkey, one of the more hyper active residents you will encounter as you walk up the path.


A young female monkey. Signs are being put around, warning visitors not to feed the monkeys.


Like humans, monkeys are highly social animals that live in large groups, interacting with one another.


A male monkey relaxing by using a branch as his back rest and the trunk to support his feet.

Mushrooms and other fungi's can be seen growning on dead logs. These are known as nature's garbage disposal. They will break down decaying matters into other forms of nutrients.


A tiny seed now, a potential forest in the future.The Bukit Timah Nature reserves contain nearly 840 species of flowering plants and over 500 species of fauna. Today, it is one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore.

Signs are erected informing visitors of the multiple dangers beyond. It is not advisable to enter Bukit timah during bad weather due to the occurances of mud slides and fallen trees.


Steps leading up the the summit of Bukit Timah Hill. Lighting is poor here as the tree canopies cut away nearly 95% of availiable light.

The two photographers of the day, Mr Penguin and Ivanified.
Bukit Timah Hill stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres (537 ft.) and is the highest point in the city-state of Singapore. It is located near the centre of the Singapore main island.

The road leading down to the base of the hill.

We took a detour and ended up in the rock paths. It is a pretty dangerous poorly defined path where you will have to scale down steep moss covered boulders. In this picture,the slope is about 70 degrees and we used the vine as our hand hold. The descent is relatively peaceful after we got out of the place.



The Hindhede Nature Park is a park built around an old disused quarry next to the hill.

Map of the Hindhede Nature Park. Hindhede Nature Park was opened in 2001 by the Minister of National Development, Mr. Mah Bow Tan. It is a park next to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve which aims at providing easy trails for families with young children and the elderly.


A panaromic shot of the quarry as seen from the look out point. The waters have been rising at a rate of 3m since 2007. Soon all that might be left of this quary is a giant lake.


A stork billed kingfisher. A regular visitor to the quarry.


Monitor lizards can be seen all over the park. This is monitor lizard paradise.


Another monitor lizard.


We proceeded off to the kampong trail, which links Bukit Timah Hill to the MacRitchie Nature Reserves. It consist of 4 trails, the Pandan trail, the Rifle range trail, the Nangka Trail and the Durian Loop.

A Signboard leading our way.

A rare find of the day, a Common Lescar Butterfly. It is not as common as the name seems to depeict.
Mushrooms are seen on dead logs all over the trails.

An isolated shed owned by the Singapore Gun Club.


A wonderful meal to a very long walk. Bon appitite!

Penguin Goes to the Botanical Gardens

I was with Edwin Lim last friday, trying to do a little exploration, and getting to know the little land that we live in better. I will attempt a little photo essay here. Hope this will flow well.


Swan Lake is an artificial lake located at the Singapore Botanical Gardens in Singapore. Added to the gardens in 1866, the lake covers an area of about 15,000 m². The lake was closed for upgrading in 2003, and it was completed in April 2005 as part of the gardens' Tanglin Core Redevelopment. This statue, known as "Flight of Swans" was erected in 2006.

One of the mute swans residing the lake. A pair of mute swans was imported from Amsterdam



One of the 600,000 plant preserved specimens that you will see in the Singapore Botanical Gardens.

One of the many sculptures in the park, this one depicting a mother holding a child.

The Botanical Gardens is a hotspot for both tourist and locals alike.



A waterfall by the ginger gardens.


Couples often come to this green paradise to have their wedding photos taken, amist the lush green back drop.



Love is a veil of mystery. The same shot of the couple, taken through the waterfall.


A precious moment, frozen forever in time.



The Symphony lake, weekly free concerts are conducted here. A wonderful place for picnic goers.




A lotus bud peeking out of the waters of the symphony lake. The Singapore Botanical Gardens Houses 3 lakes, namely the swan lake, the symphony lake and the exo lake, all of which are man made.



A duck, one of the many residents on the symphony lake.



Another resident of the Symphony lake.

The Symphony Lake is a hot spot for photographers and models.



A photographer and her models reviewing their images.

Children enjoying themselves at the Palm Valley.

A family on a picnic outing. The palm valley is a popular spot for picnics and outings

A visitor taking a break in the palm valley.



A new attraction at the botanic garden is the 1.5-hectare (3.7 acre) ( Evolution Garden, located within the Central Core. The Evolution Garden tells the evolution story of plant life on Earth throughout the ages.


A photographer exploring a "volcano" in the Evolutionary Gardens.

Memories from a distant past. A replica of an extinct plant in the evolutionary gardens.



Tiny little tracks resembling dinosaur prints litter the paths of the gardens.



The eco lake, the third man made lake found in the Singapore Botanical Gardens.


A small shelter by the lake. It has a very dreamy landscape, resembling a painting.

Though far off from the main enterance, quite a substantial number of visitors could be seen here.



The gardens is also a hotspot for dog owners and retirees alike, taking advantage of the tranquil evening breeze.



The gardens is also a popular place for birding enthuist. Being located well withing the city limits, its a very accesible place for all park lovers.


A tiny winged resident living near the Eco Lake.




One of the Cygnus atratus living on the Eco Lake

A mother's love, a child's innocence.

Three girls looking at the terripines inhabiting in the pond.


A father taking a precious moment with his son.


Reflections of their past; An elderly couple taking a leisurely stroll by the lake.


That will be all for this Singapore Botanical Gardens write up. I will do a Bukit Timah nature reserves write up soon.