Chek Jawa Boardwalk Launch Saturday 7 July 2007 NParks has finally finished construction of the Chek Jawa boardwalk. You can now visit Chek Jawa any time though you still have to book if you want to get down to visit the sandflats during spring lows.

The launch was held at 1 Pulau Ubin, an old Tudor-style cottage built before the War by the then Chief Surveor, Langdon Williams . Mah Bow Tan was the Guest of Honour and he gave really cute seastar plaques (plastic Knobbly Seastars mounted on wood) to the NParks volunteers who had put in more than a hundred hours of service at Chek Jawa (Ria's award probably represents over a thousand hours of service). Going round the cottage, I thought that the restoration had been done well. It must have been quite the task: I know that in the late 90s, part of the place had been eaten by termites and there were also nest holes in several timbers. The view from the restored jetty is great! I could spend a day here watching the raptors, the ships and the planes go by. NParks hasn't moved in yet - I'm sure it'll become quite the research station and not just a visitor's centre.

After the launch, there were guided walks along the boardwalk. The viewing tower, which they named Jejawi Tower after the fig tree behind it, had a good view of the northern side of Chek Jawa. The view I found interesting was the grove of Nipah (attap chee) Palms below.

A Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus) was the star of the day. It was lying right next to the boardwalk in the back mangrove just after the viewing tower and I think everybody saw it. It's actually only rarely sighted - this is only the second time it's been seen on Ubin. It's a secondary forest krait that is also found in the back mangrove. Am surprised to see it in the tidal region - maybe looking for its sea krait cousin,, the Banded Sea Snake (Laticauda colubrina)? Apparently one has been seen going down a mud lobster hole - perhaps there is something new happening here?

Finally, here are shots of the boardwalk. The view is lovely and I definitely recommend a visit.