Friday, January 8, 2010

MacRitchie Reservoir

We've been going to the Botanical Gardens so often, it was time to hunt for new picnic grounds. When X goes to MacRitchie for his jogs, we tag along.

MacRitchie holds a special place in my heart. During my school days, I used to go there several times a week for our canoeing sessions. Gosh I remember carrying the canoes into the water, rowing for hours, cleaning the canoes, carrying them back to the rack & doing our circuit training - I've lost count of the number of times I've ran around the reservoir. Those were the days....


I am happy to see that you can now rent canoes or kayaks for S$15 per hour. It's not quite like the Ardeche river but the water's calm & a fun way to explore the reservoir.

There's wild life too - we caught this monkey chewing on a ketchup satchet left behind in a KFC box while another one was munching on a piece of chicken. Why would anybody leave that behind ? Another time we were there, some monkeys grabbed food from a stroller.

There are lots of signs reminding us not to feed the monkeys. Once we start, they would expect to be fed & be agressive but worse of all, they won't learn how to look for food. So please don't leave food around for them.

We saw this lizard just lazing next to a walking trail. We're reminded that MacRitchie is a Nature Reserve & not just a park.

Having said that, we still enjoy picnics at the Botanical Gardens. Nobody seem to picnic at MacRitchie. Besides ourselves, we have yet to see anybody lay out a mat & have a picnic there.



But it's clearly popular with the joggers & the walkers. We love taking the various trails. We have yet to go to the Tree Top Walk but will do that one day. The walkways are well paved & well posted. You can choose the ones along the water or into the reserve with many different distances to choose from.




That LikeaBike is a hand me down from her cousin.

When we moved, I didn't pack her bicycle & thought of buying one here. However my brother offered her this after my nephew starting cycling without training wheels from using this Like a Bike. It's ingenious cos learning to ride is about balance & not about peddling so this is perfect.

This zig zag bridge hasn't changed one bit

It's awesome that we live close to town & yet within minutes from a Nature Reserve & a Botanical Gardens - a little bit of nature when you need it. Who says Singapore is a concrete jungle ?



6 comments:

Lilian said...

Likeabike is the most ingenious thing ever. I first saw this bike in Frankfurt, tiny German tots zipping by confidently. What? No pedals? And I realised it really works, as you said, it's all about balance, which you don't learn with training wheels.

I should have bought one when Sean was still small, but I balked at the price, it was more than 100 Euros then. Rather regret not buying that.

Katina Bradley said...

I really like your blog and became a follower. I just started my own, if you like it become a follower.
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petite fleur said...

Lilian - It was also a German friend who first introduced me to it. In France, it was even more expensive so I never got it for her as well. Glad my brother generously loaned us his.

People are always amused & a little confused when they see her on it. Quite funny.

Katina - I tried to leave you a comment but can't seem to do it. Love what you are doing on your blog. Keep it up. I'll help you with #238.

Edith said...

I used to go there alot. We even have our dinner there but we simply ignored those strange look.

Now I am trying to find a nice spot at our place here. Hard luck. THere isn't much flat ground.

petite fleur said...

You're right - it's hard to find a good spot to picnic. Not even a place by the water. Such a pity.

dalegoh said...

I'm looking for a used likeabike for my son.. Would u consider selling me yrs if u dun need it?