Saturday, July 7, 2007

Chek Jawa is now open! ...any-tide

Was at Chek Jawa the fourth consecutive day today, and it is a big day for this special place. It is the offical launch of the boardwalk in Chek Jawa which features the mangrove, intertidal shore, coastal forest etc. You may now visit CJ anytime between 9-5, and any-tide! Yes, it's finally opened to the public, without the constraint of booking limited places for guided shore tours. But if you really wish to go down, you can try booking guided tours starting July.

The day started with a thunderstorm, but I saw that it did not dampen any of our spirit. I also got to know Dewi and Lei today :-)


After a heartful speech on the Chek Jawa journey by Minister Mah, the volunteers and important people of CJ were awarded for their passion and work with this place.


Thankfully, the weather fine much better after the speech and awards. Managed to tag along with Ron as he guided. Went up the observation tower for first time and wow, what a pleasant sight! Something different from usual working trips indeed.


The nipah fruits give you the attap chee you eat in desserts. But do not just open it, it needs processing before you get the gluey sugary attap chee.


First time seeing the inflorescence of the Nipah plant. Bees are busy pollinating the plant.


And a special find in the mangrove! A banded krait.


At the shores, we stopped and marvelled at these fiddler crabs, waving their huge orange claw.


Chek Jawa is so lively today! Wow.


And here is Ron, the professional guider to shores with our group on the boardwalk.


Suddenly, Dewi's hairs started to stand up! It's static and I wondered is the lightning going to strike her? This thing made everyone of us laugh... lol.


At house no. 1 or now the visitor centre, here is a rescue tank to house any injured animals. Seagrasses are also found inside. Do wonder will they do well in a tank?


The fireplace is such a classic of House No. 1!


And it's also the first time I see barcode scanner used to give information of each species found in Chek Jawa. Cool.


So do make a visit at this HSBC gallery at House no. 1 the next time you visit Ubin yah.


The jetty outside house no. 1 has been repaired and it continues to give a nice scenery of the spectcular house no. 1, the nicest building in Ubin. It faces Sekudu too giving grand view of the wonderful rock formations there.


Mass media FM958 caught hold of Ron for an interview in Mandarin, that must be bit hard.


Siva here with the mass media... Other veterans including Ria etc were also interviewed extensively :-)


And we ended the day with champagnes and 100 plus (for those who don't drink) to celebrate this special day and to mark the start of the next phase of Chek Jawa journey. Here's Evelyn, being always enthusiastic and game to cheer up our spirits.

Come visit Chek Jawa now!

The boardwalk is able to allow you to explore that place anytime, without getting down and dirty like what we did for the 2 days of transect (more stories on transect will be posted soon on my CJ project blog).

18 comments:

  1. Wow! Thanks Kok Sheng for putting up a complete story about the launch!

    And the photo of the Banded krait too!

    Yes, Chek Jawa never fails to charm, even in miserable weather :-)

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  3. The banded krait alone is enough to make me hissterical! Good shot! Kok Sheng, do you mind if I link it to SLOG?

    Yes ria, CJ never fails to inspire.

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  4. Aaargh!!! Banded krait! I am so insanely jealous right now. =)

    I am definitely going to pay a visit to the boardwalks one of these days and check it out for myself.

    Long live Chek Jawa!

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  5. Great post, thanks!

    Cited in Habitatnews twice, for the launch and the banded krait.

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  7. Thanks Ria, C K, Ivan and Siva!

    Please feel free to link it to SLOG.

    It's my pleasure to share :)

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  8. Hey, there!
    Keep up the good work! Your blog is really inspiring! The photos were really great too!! Thanks for sharing. Indeed, God's work is really really amazing!!
    Cheers!
    Dewi

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  9. Hi Dewi,

    Glad to see you here!!

    Hope that you eventually made it on time to Earth Fest that day. Haha.

    See you around yah.

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  10. Dear Me...

    Looks like i've missed out some interesting sights and fun.

    No matter what, am glad now the board walk is now open and guided walks are starting soon again.

    Let's hope that CJ can remain undeveloped as long as possible!
    =)

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  11. Yo! Kok Sheng, that's a really comprehensive entry :)

    Pai seh, me no professional guide, just a volunteer guide, some more that day kalang kabok so much. Made a few mistakes here and there and forgot a few things :P

    But really, that banded krait was a special treat for the day! And to think I forgot to take a photo of it...

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  12. Hey July, you can now bring your friends along to CJ anytime. Yay.

    Ron, to me you are a professional guide. Definitely there's always room for improvement, so keep it up!

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  13. Hi!

    Yupz, we managed to get there on time, in fact, we were one of the earliest ones since we took a cab down to One Fullerton from Changi Point Ferry Terminal... :p hehe..

    Yupz..see u ard and all the very best for your UROP!

    Take care and may God bless u!
    ..dewi..

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  14. See u Dewi.

    Have a blessed week ahead

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  15. wow, i never know that the house is where chek jawa is. been there once before they close that area. i'm so glad that they didnt tear it down =)

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  16. Yes An ni, glad they preserved it into a visitor centre :-)

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  17. Is this Koksheng who used to be from SRJC ODAC and astronomy? :)

    I ran into this treasure trove on some random search of Chek Jawa online. Just by browsing your posts taught me many about the biodiversity :)

    Thanks for the awesome posts!

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  18. Hi wafflegeek, Yes I'm the Kok Sheng from SRJC! wow, managed to find someone through this blog.

    Would be best if you can tell me who you are. Glad you like the blog and I hope my reply is not too late.

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