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Sunday, March 11, 2012

~ Chek Jawa Boardwalk Tour with our Kiddos - Part 2 ~

Our journey continues.... next on - taking the broadwalk around the mangrove zone. This is where we keep our eyes open for CRABS! The eyes of our kiddos are really sharp and they can spot the colourful fiddler crabs, tree climbing crabs and mudskippers!

This red and black fiddler crab is spotted by Denver. It is only about 2cm long and it's amazing how observant he is to spot this beauty! I need to change my glasses!


Tree-climbing crab

More crabs!

 Mudskipper. We spotted a couple along the way.

As we are in the mangrove area, this is also the place where mosquitos are most commonly found. We sprayed a lot of insect repellant but still fallen prey to these commandos. Nevertheless, that did not dampen our mood as it was all part of the natural habitat.

Visitors who wish to visit Chek Jawa, please prepare insect repellant and wear long sleeve if necessary. Kindly understand that it is a natural reserve and mozzies are bound to be around in the area. :)

Everyone kept a lookout as we took on the broadwalk. Squatting down and calling out when they spotted a creature of the wild. It's like a treasure hunt to see who can spot the most!


Our guide, Ria also pointed out the Nipah palm that is found within the mangroves. Ihe palm's sap is rich in sugars and can be tapped and fermented to produce alcoholic beverages. Its most recognised use locally is its edible young seeds (attap chee).

Mangrove forests is found along the coast and the edges of rivers. During high tide, the roots of the mangrove plants are fully immersed in seawater and exposed to the sun during low tide. Just take a good look at these roots!



Hmmm... what are they looking at?

Keep a good closer look and you will notice more crabs on the fine sand! They are so small that I nearly missed it! Notice that one claw is bigger than the other?




This is probably one of my favourite - The Coastal Broadwalk. I love the sea breeze, the ocean and the greenery! A relaxing and cooling walk with the aeroplanes flying above us past every other minute.



We avoided touching the railings as fire ants were spotted! Lots of them! It will be extremely painful to be biten by these little creatures!


A close-up look at the red ants.... scary...

I love the surroundings of the coastal broadwalk! The tide was getting higher and we probably missed out seeing some of the animals during lower tides. But I am looking forward to another guided walk in June where we will be exploring the shore again!





Denver and Gladys are having fun snapping away. Watch out for our Part 3 write up on the Broadwalk tour!

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