Pulau ubin island’s chek jawa wetlands’ mangrove boardwalk

From the lushness of the sea grass around the mangrove roots, the walk changed into a quagmire of mud and what appeared to be anthills. I soon discovered that these muddy mounds which could sometimes be as high as three metres, were the work of mud lobsters that burrowed through the slush to extract rich organic matter. They acted like earthworms by mixing up and aerating the soil. Additionally, the mounds provided habitats for other animals such as crabs, spiders and snakes. 

Return to Sandy Beach

Over a year later, I returned to the same Russell Island beach where North Stradbroke Island stretched like a giant crocodile across the channel. Last visit, the tide was high and the beach appeared no more than a metre wide, but on my next trip, the tide was out, and the rippled sand stretched for one hundred metres to the sea.