Two walks/hikes are planned before and after the conference period. These will be organized by Manuel Rigger. Contact him for any questions.

Central Reserve Hike (Saturday, October 11)

This is a 3–4 hour (around 13km) hike through the biggest reserve area in Singapore, the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. It will pass through multiple nature parks. It is best suited for outdoor people; although there is no major elevation change, it will be more tiring than a leisurely stroll.

Logistics:

• Please check for any updates on this website before the hike. Unless we expect heavy rain, we plan to proceed with the hike.
• Meeting point: 2:30 pm at Windsor Nature Park at the main entrance. You will see the car park, a “Stop feeding the monkeys” sign, as well as a stone with the park’s name. We will leave punctually, so please be sure to arrive a bit earlier. Arriving via ride-hailing (e.g., Grab) would be most convenient as the car would drop you off right at the entrance. You can check public transport options via Google Maps.
• End point: ~6:30 pm at Beauty World MRT station

Some highlights:

• Sampling various nature parks, namely Windsor Nature Park, Central Catchment Nature Reserve (MacRitchie), Rifle Range Nature Park, and potentially Hindhede Nature Park.
• Crossing a 250m-long freestanding suspension bridge (the “TreeTop Walk”). If you are prone to getting Vertigo, the bridge can easily be circumvented.
• The possibility of seeing various species of wild animals. Seeing Long-tailed Macaques is almost guaranteed. Other animals depend on luck. On this hike, we have seen Colugos or Flying Lemurs, Monitor Lizards, wild boards, snakes, fish owls, and various species of birds (e.g., kingfishers).
• The hike will end near the Beauty World MRT station, with many great food options. You could consider eating at the Bukit Timah Food Center or at one of the many restaurants in the area (featuring a concentration of Korean restaurants).

What to bring:

• Enough to drink. Given the high humidity, bringing isotonic beverages (e.g., natural coconut water) would be a good choice to stay hydrated. We will pass three bathrooms with possibilities to refill drinking water.
• Rain protection. Note that during heavy rain, we might still get drenched even with an umbrella. You could thus consider also bringing some clothes to change into to prevent catching a cold when taking transport after the hike.
• Snacks. There will be no opportunities to buy food on the way.
• Sun protection. For most of the hike, we will be protected by the tree canopy. Having a hat or sunscreen might help for the other segments.
• Insect protection. Having mosquito spray or long sleeves would help to stay protected. Mosquitos mostly bite at dusk and dawn.
• Shoes or hiking sandals suitable to walk on unpaved trails.

Description of the itinerary: We will start the hike at Windsor Nature Park. Close to the entrance is a bathroom where you can fill up your water bottle if needed. We will follow the signs to “TreeTop Walk”, which will lead along boardwalks and trails. When entering the MacRitchie Park, we will see a map and continue to follow the path on the right-hand side (the left one leads to a large water reservoir). At the Ranger Station, there is another possibility for a short bathroom break and fetching water. After that, we will ascend on the path to the suspension bridge, from which we will then descend on a boardwalk. We will merge again into the main trail of MacRitchie and continue to the right. For those who have vertigo or want to shorten the hike can directly walk from the Ranger Station and wait for us at the hut at the merge point. We will continue until we see another smaller trail on the right toward Rifle Range Link. From here, we will enter a less-walked trail that will eventually merge into a road. While not ideal, we are unlikely to see (many) cars, but might spot some macaques. We pass over a bridge on a highway. Soon after that, we will enter the Rifle Range Nature Park on the left. We will ascend to a viewing platform overlooking a pond and an old quarry. Soon after that, we will pass by another bathroom. We will cross over an overhead bridge, entering an “old-school shopping mall”, namely the Beauty World Center. Depending on the energy level of the participants, we could do a small detour to Hindhede Nature Park, where we could see another pond with quarry and would have a high chance of seeing flying lemurs/colugos.

Food suggestions:

• In case you want to eat lunch before the hike, you could consider doing so at the nearby Thomson Plaza mall. It has various restaurants as well as more affordable food-court options.
• When entering the Beauty World Center, you could consider buying a typical Pandan Cake at nineteen niche.
• At a top level of the Beauty World Center, you can find a hawker center with affordable, local cuisine. In addition, within the shopping mall and outside, you can find many restaurants. You can find many highly-rated eateries in the area.
• I would recommend eating at Bukit Timah Wet Market & Food Centre, where you can find many local food options (or even pizza). If you have space for dessert, you could consider buying Durian if it is in season. Alternatively, you could Chendol, a typical local dessert, a try at Nyonya Chendol.

Sungei Buloh Walk (Sunday, October 19)

This is a leisurely walk through a mangrove area. The highlight is the wildlife here.

Logistics:

• Please check any updates on this website before the hike. Unless we expect heavy rain, we plan to proceed with the walk. There are many shelters to hide from possible rain.
• Meeting point: 2:30 pm at the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve Visitor Centre. Arriving via ride-hailing (e.g., Grab) would be most convenient as the car would drop you off at the car park close to it. You can check public transport options via Google Maps. You will likely need to take the 925M bus, which runs only on Sundays. Ensure that you will come on time; if you are earlier, you can look through the exhibit at the Mangrove Gallery of the visitor centre.
• End point: There is no fixed destination, and we might keep looking for wildlife depending on the participants’ energy level. From the Wetland Centre, you can call a taxi or exit to a bus stop. Alternatively, we can go back to the entrance at the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve Visitor Centre.
• There are no options for food within Sungei Buloh except for some vending machines.

What to bring:

• Enough to drink. The walk will be flat with water refilling stations at the entrance and the Wetland Centre
• Rain protection. Note that during heavy rain, we might still get drenched even with an umbrella. You could thus consider also bringing some clothes to change into to prevent catching a cold when taking transport after the hike.
• Snacks. There will be no opportunities to buy food on the way.
• Sun protection. For some parts of the walk, we will be walking in the sun.
• Insect protection. Having mosquito spray or long sleeves would help to stay protected. Mosquitos mostly bite at dusk and dawn.
• You can wear any kind of shoes, as we will mostly be walking on boardwalks.

Some highlights:

• We might see many species of birds. It will be a good time to visit, as migratory shorebirds pass by Singapore during that period.
• We will also have a chance of seeing saltwater crocodiles and multiple other mangrove species, such as mudskippers, crabs, various fish (including archerfish), monitor lizards, and, more seldom, snakes.
• You will be seeing the biggest Mangrove area in Singapore, covering 130 hectares.

Description of the itinerary: We will start the hike at the Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve Visitor Centre. If you arrive early, you can look through the exhibit at the Mangrove Gallery. From the visitor centre, we will proceed to the Little Heron Deck and climb up the Fantail Pod, a small viewing platform. From Eagle Point, we will have a view of the bordering Malaysian city of Johor Bahru; in addition, we are likely to see various kinds of fish (e.g., stick-like halfbeak). The Kingfisher Pod is another viewing platform. At the Wetland Centre, you can refill your water bottles and walk through another exhibit. The lowest tide on that day will be between 4 pm and 5 pm; at that time, we will attempt to be at the main bridge to maximize our chances of seeing crocodiles. After crossing the bridge, we will follow a circular path in either direction, after which we will pass many hideaways from which we will see birds wading in the water. After that, we will either exit the park via the Wetland Centre or head back to the entrance.