Trifter

My friend and I took our children on a hike through MacRitchie Reservoir to the HSBC Treetop Walk during one of the public holidays.

There are many trails leading to the Treetop Walk. The one we chose starts from Sime Road, which is the road leading into the Singapore Island Country Club, Bukit location. The trail from here to the Treetop Walk is approximately 5 to 6 km and is mostly flat land (board walk) and there are some uneven terrain along the way since part of the trail winds through the forest and ends with a short uphill to Bukit Pierce to reach the Treetop Walk.

We underestimated our walking time and forgotten to take into account the time required for the return journey. We decided not to make it a round trip and return by the same route. Instead, we exited via Venus Drive, which is near Upper Thomson Road. This is only possible if you are not driving. Otherwise, you would have to factor in the time it would take you to return to your starting point to collect your vehicle.

So, the walk that we estimated would take only two hours turned into a four hours hike as the children stopped to examine every little thing that they found fascinating along the trail.

The beginning of the trail is actually a mud path leading down towards the exercise station. There are rubber trees growing next to the trail.

Since it rained the night before, the children were delighted to find a rubber pod which had been blown down from the tree.

Look what I found, Mom.

At the junction near the exercise station, we came across a bush with little red berries on them. However, what we thought were little red berries turned out to be little red insect like the one below when they started moving.

Little Red Insect

On a bush next to it, we found grasshoppers and ladybirds. Being city kids and living in high-rise apartments, the children were fascinated by them.  We also came across a number of kingfishers near the water edge. Unfortunately, the limited functions of our camera do not allow us to take closed up pictures of them.

 Grasshopper

Ladybug

The trail took us past the golf course of the Singapore Island Country Club. We can see golfers at their Sunday morning game as we made our way past the golf course.

The trail leading pass the golf course

There are signboards along the perimeter of the golf course to warn the trail users to “BEWARE OF GOLFERS TEEING OFF” and disclaiming the club’s liability for any injuries. It is prudent to keep to the trail here in case you unwittingly trespass onto the club’s property.  

As we walked passed the golf course, we spotted this little dragonfly resting on a blade of grass by the water edge.

As we continued on our way along the trail next to the reservoir, we noticed many interesting flowers and ferns growing next to it or along the water edge.

Little white flowers

It’s beautiful but I don’t know what this flower is!

Bird-nest Fern

We came across more insects and flora as we made our way deeper into the forest surrounding the reservoir. As we walked along the board-way skirting the reservoir, we came across this pair of mating mayflies! At least my sister thought they were mayflies.

Mating mayflies

We took a break at the Jelutong Tower, which was almost the halfway point of our walk. Was I glad that I packed sandwiches and packets of drinks that morning. By now the children were hungry and the food was quickly finished.

Taking a break at Jelutong Tower – “Eek, I’m afraid of height!”

View from the top of the tower

Photograph of the map showing the trail we took.

After a short break, we continued on our walk. We have since left the board-way behind and the rest of the trail consisted of mud path and even metal road. Along the way, we came across more of nature’s treasures.

Hairy caterpillar

Curly fern

Shell shaped fungi

Finally, we arrived at the HSBC Treetop Walk, almost 3 hours after we started that morning!

Signage at the start of the Treetop Walk

The HSBC Treetop Walk is actually a suspension bridge connecting the two highest points in the MacRitchie Reservoir Reserve, namely the Bukit Pierce and Bukit Kalang. The traffic on this bridge is only one way, with the entrance from the Ranger Station via the Peirce track, and is restricted to only 30 people at any one time. There are park rangers stationed at the entrance to ensure that this is adhered to. 

The Treetop Walk

At 25 metres (at the highest point) above the ground, the walk on the 250 m bridge offers you a magnificent bird’s eye view of the plants and animals that live in the canopy, where all the action takes place. Forest birds, flying lemurs and long-tailed macaques have been spotted here and you can also view trees from a different angle.

However, to make the most of the walk across the bridge, it is best to come early in the morning. Early morning is the time when the forest is most active, with most of the inhabitants going about their daily business. By noon, all you will probably see would be the monkeys and miles of greenery.

Monkeys grooming each other

Though tired after a long walk, we had an interesting time hiking through MacRitchie Reservoir. If you stay alert and keep a lookout, you will find many interesting things to see and observe as you walk through the nature reserve.

Things to Consider

• Do take into consideration that the trail is approximately 10.3 km (to and fro). Even if you exit via Venus Drive, it would be approximately 8 km. This would not be a problem if you are fit but will pose a challenge if you do not exercise regularly like me. The trail is mostly on flat land, with a stretch of board-walk and there are some uneven terrain when the trail winds through the forest along the way. 
• Do wear breathable cotton tops, shorts and good shoes.
• Spray yourself with mosquito repellent or simply stick on an anti-mosquito patch (these can be bought at most pharmacies).
• Bring lots and lots of water. Part of my group ran out of water 3/4 of the way. Luckily, we were not too far from the Ranger Station, where there is a water cooler where we can replenish our water. This is not the Singapore Botanical Gardens, where there are snack kiosks conveniently available.
• Do bring along rain wear. The shelters are few and far in-between. So in the event it rains, you can just don your rain wear and carry on without getting drenched.