Getting closer to wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

When it comes to places for spotting wildlife, not many places in Singapore come close to Sungei Buloh. In fact, it's so popular with nature photographers that just before I visited, I came across this disheartening article on their actions stressing animals just to catch the perfect shot. As such, I resolved to stay on the path, not disturb any living things and leave good photos to chance.  

Part I - The Boardwalk

Enter the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Visitor Centre via Kranji Way to gain access to the new boardwalk which was opened to visitors late last year. The route through this area is full of lookouts, and you'd be able to see the Johor Straits, and the mud levels. 

I enjoyed this part tremendously because of the beautifully designed, vaguely conical lookouts which reminded me of both acorns and birds' nests. The structures blended perfectly with the surroundings and made for some interesting photos.  

This area was also particularly rich in wildlife, with familiar animals such as crabs, mudskippers, spiders, wild dogs, birds, monitor lizards and I've heard that you can even catch sight of a crocodile if you're lucky! We didn't, despite our best efforts, so we might have to go back there to give it another go. 

The red pincers gave it away.

A pretty shy mudskipper.

I spy a spider.

There were quite a few of these lookout points along the boardwalk.

The steps going up and down through the reserve made it a real "Jungle Gym".

The pretty shaky rope bridge was amusing to cross.

Part II - Mangrove

The reserve can be accessed by another entrance, with parking, via Neo Tiew Crescent.

The bridge that links the visitor centre to the reserve.

This part was significantly different. It was no longer a wooden boardwalk structure. Instead, we found ourselves walking on a dirt track that led us round the perimeter of the mangrove.

From one of the lookout towers. Spotted some white birds from here.

At this point we were probably a tad tired out from the noon sun and the initial exploration at the board walk. However before we left, one of  the inhabitants at this small pond with "deep water", came by to say bye.

Sungei Buloh is huge and if you really want to see it all, it would probably take 4-5 hours. Also, it is no Bishan-AMK park. There aren't any food places around, so you might want to bring along some snacks and drinks for the walk.

Resources:
NParks - https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/sungei-buloh-wetland-reserve 
Straits Times - Get closer to nature at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve