Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

We were late, in getting up from bed and out from house and breakfast on the replacement holiday of Labour Day. Yet, at 11am, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve was not too hot for a late morning trekking and mountain biking. Naturally, the microclimate of the forest is lower and the layers of green filters the sun penetration directly to the ground.

This time, from the car park at Hindhede Road, we randomly picked the nearest trail which led us to a Quarry, and a very fun playground. Swings, obstacle course, flying fox, climbing trees, etc. One part of the playground was cordoned off though. 

Not too far from the playground, there was a short hanging rope bridge for trekkers to cross. The girls were extremely thrilled with themselves conquering the fear of crossing the swaying rope bridge.

The girls love the playground and the flying fox very much and we stayed here for a long while. SC made a remark that, this seems the best outdoor place for kids- with shade, not too hot, not crowded, it's free and we certainly hope time was slowing down a lot more.

As urban kids, swaying, narrow wooden log tied with ropes looked frighten to them. After one round of brief guide by the daddy, they acquired the skill to cross the rope bridge confidently. Since then they enjoyed going back and forth the bridge. At one point, after we left the bridge and went far for exploring more of the forest, they had requested to go back to the rope bridge. The were so eager that, they went ahead of us boldly and we lost them the sight of them for almost two minutes. They were able to recognise the pathway amidst the wild nature and found back the rope bridge. 

They perspired a lot, but truly enjoyed the late morning activity.

Seeing the girls enjoyed so much of the forest, we were glad that we were able to drag them out from the house this lazy morning. 

The Quarry hidden inside the Nature Reserve.

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Time spent: 2+ hours- for trekking and playground time as well.

Notes: Bring some snack and lots of drinking waters. Bring towel too.

Since Apr 2015, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is only opened to public during weekend as it is undergoing a 18 months restoration work, including slope stability and trail repair works. Maybe that was why lesser crowd compare to the time before restoration.