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lie off the West of Pulau Hantu.

From Wikipedia:

"The island is currently the site of the Shell oil refinery and plants for the manufacture of chemicals. Shell's association with the island dates back to 1891, when the company used the island to store kerosene. Shell is currently extending its facilities on the island."

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One way in which the mangrove trees adapt to their highly saline conditions is through their leaves. The leaf shown here is from the Sonneratia tree. One of the more salt tolerant species of the mangrove trees.

It feels waxy to the touch - the waxy coating seals in water and minimizes water loss through evaporation.

Some mangrove trees also secrete salt on the underside of their leaves. Excess salt absorbed by the trees are sent to the leaves, which then secrete them. The salt will be remove by wind, morning dew and rain. If you visit the mangroves early in the morning, some of the leaves may taste salty. Mangrove trees with such adaptations are the Avicennia species of mangrove plants.

Other mangrove trees also have shed excess salt by depositing them in old leaves, which are then shed.

Useful links about mangroves:

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1042.htm

http://www.lighthouse-foundation.org/index.php?id=74&L=1

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A Sonneratia tree on the mudflat between Pulau Hantu Besar and Pulau Hantu Kechil

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A Sonneratia tree on the mudflat between Pulau Hantu Besar and Pulau Hantu Kechil

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Quite an awesome sight - a single fully grown Sonneratia (or maybe Avicennia tree) growing on the mudflat. During high tide, the pencil roots you see in the picture will be submerged by the sea water.

Such roots, very unlike what we see further inland, help mangrove plants survive in the harsh, muddy and waterlogged conditions.

From the American Museum of Natural History Website

Breathe in a variety of ways: Some mangroves grow pencil-like roots that stick up out of the dense, wet ground like snorkels. These breathing tubes, called pneumatophores, allow mangroves to cope with daily flooding by the tides. Pneumatophores take in oxygen from the air unless they're clogged or submerged for too long.

http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins/bio/documentaries/mangroves-the-roots-of-the-sea/what-s-a-mangrove-and-how-does-it-work

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these grasses are waxy compared to the grasses we seen on the mainland.

The waxy coating helps reduce loss of moisture from evaporation, sicne most of the water available here is saline water from the sea.

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On the mudflat between P. Hantu Besar and P. Hantu Kechil

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On the mudflat between P. Hantu Besar and P. Hantu Kechil

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A single propagule stands firm on the mudflat. This is a seed from a Rhizophora plant, a mangrove species. I didn't see any Rhizophora on the Hantu Islands, but the parent plant may have come from the nearby P. Semakau, where dense forests of Rhizophora can be found.

Seeds from the mangrove trees are all buoyant and float in the sea till they reach suitable ground for growth, as seen here.

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These are the uglier cousins of corals, unlike the soft corals which are more colourful and photogenic, the hard corals are rather dull looking, but nonetheless an important part of the coral reef ecosystem.

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on the nearby Pulau Bukom. The refinery is in operation 24/7, we can here the drone of the refinery throughout the night.

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In the morning the waters in front of me will be gone as the tide recedes further, revealing a large stretch of mudflat.

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as the tide is receding means we have to carry the kayaks a longer distance up to shore. Since we are spending the night here, we had to carry the kayaks up to the berm, where the tide waters will not reach. If that is not done, we may find ourselves without kayaks and a way back to the mainland.

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The oil refineries seen in the background are on another island, P. Bukom.

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are in a stage of disrepair. Since it is far from the mainland and not a main tourist destination, I guess it doesn't make economic sense to maintain the seawalls well.

Once the seawall collapses, it wont be long before the land behind it becomes eroded.

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Pulau Hantu Besar is to the left, while the refineries in the background are on P. Bukom.

Seawalls line the island in a bid to protect the island and its beaches against erosion.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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Not to far now...

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is a large forest of Rhizophora trees. These are a type of mangrove trees that are easily identified by their prop roots.

One importance of ecosystems is ingeniously encapsulated in the following quote:

"Mangroves are like the kindergarten, seagrasses are the secondary schools, and coral reefs are the high schools and colleges for fishes! And, once [the fishes] graduate from university, they return to kindergarten to spawn!"  --Khun Pisit, cofounder of Thailand's Yad Fon mangrove preservation project

http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins/bio/documentaries/mangroves-the-roots-of-the-sea/why-mangroves-matter

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the landfill of P. Semakau. This is where our waste, after incineration, is deposited. However, the landfill is finite, and despite ever advancing technology, there may come a day where we need to look for alternative methods of managing our wastes.

The best we can do today is to keep our wastes minimal, reduce, reuse and recycle where possible.

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about another 45 minutes from Jong is Semakau - our offshore landfill.

Nearing it, you can smell a distinct burnt smell. The waste brought here needs to be properly incinerated in order to be safe the environment.

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You can see the oil refineries as we pass the island.

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Or affectionately known as The Pau since it looks like a Pau from far.

There's nothing here and hardly any place to beach up.

However, there are corals exposed during low tide.

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We don't have oil, but we make good money refining oil.

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Resting near anchored ships that can protect us from strong winds and waves

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Resting near anchored ships that can protect us from strong winds and waves

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We are about 30 min away from P. Jong here.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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we head out to the vast open seas, away from the calm of the Southern Islands.

We head to a small uninhabitable island called Pulau Jong - some 1h 30 min paddle away. That's our final spot before reaching Pulau Hantu.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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about 1-2km from the rest of the well known Southern Islands are the Sister's Island.

To the left is Big Sister, while the right is Small Sister. The former has a lot more monkeys while the latter only has 2. We wondered how the monkeys swam over.

The straits between the 2 was a good fishing space but currents can be very fast here due to the narrowness of the channel. However, waters are very clear there during low tide.

This Strait has also been scene of a well known murder case in the 1960s

(Sunny Ang murder case).

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1789_2011-09-26.html

The islands are now designated as a Marine Park.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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First of many Southern Islands we will pass

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First of many Southern Islands we will pass

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According to a fellow kayaker, this is known as Magazine Island ( the Malay name of this island escapes me...).

Apparently this island is a storage site for disused arms/ weapons from the military since the colonial times. Not sure if it is still being used, the fences, jetty, small buildings on the island look are in a state of disrepair.

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are a common sight in the seas, oceans near the coast. They mark out channels, islands, danger zones for the ships to avoid.

This is a marker for the Buran Channel (I think). There are red and green beacons to mark the 2 sides of the channel.

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This is an example of channel crossing. A channel here refers to routes marked out in the oceans where motor boats, ships can pass. Kayakers move closely as a group for increased visibility during channel crossing.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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Seawalls line the coast here to protect the million dollar properties and the marina within (where the yachts are)

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There are many currents occurring in the oceans at any one time, some are due to the movement of cold water from the polar regions to the warmer regions in the tropics; some occur when waves approach the sea at an angle (forming longshore current - not referring to longshore drift here).

Tides also can cause currents to form. Kayakers usually consider if the tide is flooding (approaching high tide) or ebbing (approaching low tide) as the 2 causes water to flow in different directions. For Singapore's case, the directions of currents change according. The main cause of current direction change is due to the rise and fall of the South China Sea during high tide and low tide.

*picture courtesy from friend

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Heading further offshore, nearer where the anchored ships are. Apparently the ships have specific parking lots in the water.

The ships also make it easy to see how the currents are flowing. Since the bow (front of ship) is where the anchor it, the direction the stern (the back of the ship) is pointing to is the direction that the current is moving.

And since we are kayaking in the direction of where the stern is pointing, we are travelling with the current - makes for a more relaxing paddle.

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Route from ECP(Green marker) to P. Hantu(Red marker)

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Route from ECP(Green marker) to P. Hantu(Red marker)

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about 30 km?

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Setting off from Xtreme Kayaking (East Coast Park SG)

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Setting off from Xtreme Kayaking (East Coast Park SG)

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On sea kayaks, packed with food for 3 days.

Expedition route: XK - Hantu - St John's - SG