2D1N Gelang Patah - Seagrass & Seahorse

It was a 2D1N trip to the very south of Malaysia, Johor Bahru (JB). Gelang Patah is in JB near the second link to Singapore. The trip is supposed to be an awareness program for us to learn the different types of seagrasses and seaweeds and the threats that they face.

There are actually two different societies/clubs that are based in Gelang Patah. Both have different focus in their area of researches. One is Kelab Alami that researches on seaweed and seagrass while the other is Save Our SeaHorses (SOS) that focus on saving the existing seahorses from extinction due to the heavy pollution around the area.

The one that we signed up with is Kelab Alami.

The night before, we have to go through a briefing by the club advisor. After that we were asked to be at the jetty the next morning by latest 7am. It's important to be punctual as there is only a certain hour that the tide will be low and it is at this time that we can get down from the boat for our studies.

We reached the jetty just before 7am. This is the walkway to the boat jetty.

It was still a little dark when we arrived so I took the opportunity to snap a few sunrise pictures while waiting for the boatmen to get ready.

These are the boats that we will be using. It costs RM250 per boat and can take a maximum of 10 passengers.

After getting into the boat, I took this picture while waiting for the rest to get ready. The day is just about to start at the other part of the world.

The boat ride to the seagrass area is about 15 minutes ride. Along the way, we passed by some "kelongs". Although I know of kelongs, I have not actually stepped foot into one or been this close before. Haha, talking about city folks ....

Our boat passed beneath the bridge that links JB to Singapore. This is the second link. Can you see the Singapore custom at the far end?. Actually we are now in between Singapore and Malaysia :-).

We see another boat approaching ....

Hah, looks like it's our cikgu-cikgu in the next boat. Cikgu is teacher in Bahasa Malaysia. The night before in our briefing, we were told that our guides will be the students in the villages. Don't think that they know nothing just because they are kids. You will be amazed. These kids know a lot about the seaweeds and seagrasses. The advisor has specifically requested us to follow the instructions from the kids while we are out there.

The advisor checking out the area to see if it is safe for us to get down from the boat.

The moment we got down from the boat, we were all excited to search for the different types of seagrasses and seaweeds around us.

We were divided into 3 teams with a designated guide for each team. The team is given a board with all the seaweeds and seagrasses' references. Our task is to identify the seaweeds and seagrasses that we found and indicate the names on a list of paper.

Before that, our guide has to set a border for us to start our findings. We are to work within the border. It only lasted for a while because as we get more excited we started to venture elsewhere - outside the border to find more things.

We found many different species just by digging in that border. Below are some examples. The difference between a seaweed and a seagrass is that seagrass has roots, can grow flowers and fruits. Seaweed can't.

Our guide helping the team to identify the different species.

We also found many other things. The one to the right is called a ball sea cucumber.

Suddenly we heard someone shouted "I found a seahorse"!! Immediately everyone screamed and ran towards him because we have never seen a wild seahorse before and we were excited. Then our guide told us to hush hush and do not frighten the seahorse. He also told us that seahorses normally travel in pairs so the other one must be nearby and asked us to be careful not to step on it. Why now only he tells us??? I wonder if I have stepped and killed any seahorses while wondering around just now.

The advisor told us that we were very lucky to find seahorses that day because this area is not the seahorse area. They have been here many times and have never encountered any. And we actually found 3 seahorses that day!

Here's a bigger picture of the seahorse. We took turns holding and taking pictures of the seahorse. It was very soft and if you put your finger on its tail, it will curl around your finger just like how a baby will grab your fingers.

As you can see below, when the tide is low, you can see many different types of seaweeds and seagrasses.

The picture below shows the trail of a dugong. Dugong feeds like a vacuum machine and if you see something like this means a dugong was here. There used to be many dugongs in this area until the pollution starts. Now it seems the dugong hardly enter this area.

Our people still busy looking for seagrasss and seaweeds. Or are they looking for seahorse now?

These are our findings for the short trip. We were only there for about 1 hour plus because the moment the tide rises, we have to leave immediately. Well, it was a very fun and educational trip for us and I believe all of us enjoyed this trip very much, even the children.