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It struck me as weird, unfamiliar, that I was using my D200 to shoot intertidal scenes. Then I realised - that had never happened before. My last intertidal trip, to Changi, was more than two years ago… before I had acquired the D200. I was going through my old intertidal photos and the bulk of them were taken with the CoolPix 4500, including those from my favourite location and where I was first introduced to our wonderful shorelife - Pulau Sekudu, and that was in June 2003.
On Friday I finally had the opportunity to experience Cyrene, the infamous amphibious landing and all. It was the virgin trip for my D200, my new G10, and myself. I was excited, for Cyrene’s kicked up much fuss and much hype among the nature/marine community in Singapore. I’ve been wanting dearly to go on an intertidal, and Cyrene in particular, only that I kept missing my chances.
Cyrene Reef is an elusive nymph in our seas. A mysterious submerged reef in Singapore that is visible only at the lowest tides of the year. It doesn’t have a jetty and accessibility is rare. But it is also one of the biggest patch reef with magnificent and rare sea creatures found only at Cyrene!
- so says on the Facebook page dedicated to Cyrene.
Admittedly, I am very much a terrestrial animal. Not used to seaward travels, my perception of the world was still somewhat wobbly hours after I disembarked the boat. I feel rather directionless when I’m out there on the shores, not knowing where to look, or not knowing what I’m looking at is, or if there is indeed something out at my feet but I’m just not looking hard enough. The general taxonomic group I’d recognise - ie. holothurians/sea cucumbers, nudibranchs/sea slugs, etc., but that’s just as good as saying ‘coleoptera/beetle’, or ‘leipidoptera/butterfly’, which is hardly satisfying. I do try to read up, but there’s a lot to take in, and nothing beats experience in the field. Most of my then-existing knowledge of reef ecology from high school and undergrad days has been displaced. Next time, I’d know to tag along more closely with the sharp-eyed vets, whose photos I’d see when I’m back at home and go, “Oh, there was that there?!”
Despite my shore-going noobness, it’s not difficult to appreciate the beauty and fragility of it all. Located between Pulau Bukom and Jurong Island, the reef patch is surrounded on almost all sides by industrial islands, dredging works, shipping lanes… Any visitor to the reef would be amazed at the fact that there is anything there at all. Every single knobbly seastar I come across on Cyrene brings with it a consoling message: that there is still hope, that all is not lost even in seas of despair.
Photos:
Links:
- More about this trip on the Wildshores blog
- More about this trip on the Team Seagrass blog
- Blog posts on Cyrene on monkey’s blog
- Blog posts on Cyrene on budak’s blog here, here and here
- More posts on Cyrene via the Wildsingapore feeds