Kusu Island

For me, Kusu is all about corals. It is one of the few shores in Singapore (the others being Tanah Merah and Sentosa) which boasts of densely packed coral gardens. For a great overview of how dense the coral growth is, check out the photos on James' blog here . It is hard to imagine that such "coral gardens" remain in urbanised Singapore which is a mere 20 minute boat ride away.

Unfortunately, these "coral gardens" at Kusu which are located outside the sea wall only reveal themselves at the lowest tide. This was not the case during our visit last year, but fortunately for us, we were blessed with a fairly low tide this year. Incidentally, this is also the only area (be it terumbu or natural shore) with the highest concentration of Heteractis magnifica. Large clumps of this anemone could be found clinging onto large rocks and coral rubble. However, no clownfish or anemone shrimp were sighted amongst these anemones. They appeared to prefer the Stichodactyla gigantea and some of the ones I saw had orange body columns. Strangely, the largest giganteas are to be found within the lagoon areas and not outside the sea wall. I also managed to see one Heteractis crispa but no sightings of Stichodactyla haddoni (Haddon's carpet anemone) or Actinodendron (Fire Anemone).

A first for me on this trip were sightings of the elusive Saron shrimp. In fact, they were hardly elusive on this shore as they were all over the place, some of which were fairly large. There were a couple of interesting fish, including a fairly large nervous seabass like fish (possible escapee from the nearby farm at St John's?). However, the trouble with Kusu is the silty conditions which makes the water murky and non-conducive for photography.

Coral-wise, one could hardly be disappointed with the diversity that could be found here. The most obvious corals were the large boulder-shaped faviidae and Heliopora. Others include large fields of Montipora, Pavona (Lettuce), Pocillopora (Cauliflower), Psammocora (Sandpaper), Galaxea (Galaxy), Fungidae (Mushroom), Goniopora, Mussidae (Brain), Acropora, Porites (Pore coral), Montipora, Turbinaria (flowery Disk), Alcyoniidae (Leathery soft coral) and Nephtheidae (Asparagus Flowery soft coral). I'll let the photos speak for themselves. You can also view more photos here

pilgrimage to kusu island

Kusu Island is one of several islands located south of Singapore. It is better known to the Chinese community in Singapore for the chinese temple Tua Pek Kong (the Merchant God or God of Prosperity). Every year, particularly during the ninth month of the lunar calendar, throngs of worshippers make their annual pilgrimage to the temple. At other times, Kusu Island is usually quiet with the occasional day-tripper(s) out to enjoy the sun and the sand. Yesterday, a yacht had foolishly anchored itself above the reef just outside the lagoon's seawall.

We set off just before sunset and like the day before, it was glorious, despite the very threatening dark rain clouds looming overhead. We approached the island just as the tide was receding.

























The first thing we noticed was that half the lagoon was blanketed with a thick carpet of ribbon sea lettuce (Ulva reticulata). Another seaweed I noticed growing amongst the ribbon sea lettuce was the bubble green seaweed (Boergesenia forbesii). As I ventured deeper into the the lagoon, I came across a proliferation of hard coral such as cauliflower coral (Pocillopora sp), different types of favids, anemone corals (Goniopora sp) and acroporas.






















































There were also quite a few sponges, a haddon's carpet anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni), and lots of giant carpet anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea) and magnificent anemone (Heteractis magnifica) both in and outside the lagoon. There was even a large rock at the mouth of the lagoon which was filled with magnificent anemones. Sadly, no clownfish were spotted amongst the tentacles of these anemones.



Chay Hoon pointed me to my 2nd octopus sighting, plus I got to see another sea hare, this time the extraordinary sea hare (Aplysia extraordinaria). I also chanced upon the white-rumped sea cucumber (Actinopyga lecanora) taking cover under a coral. Apart from that I didn't see anything too spectacular or unusual. I've yet also, to see my first blue spotted fantail ray and I will probably have to wait till October when the tides are low enough.



*All images taken with Canon 7D and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro lens, Canon 580 EX II Speedlite, Canon Powershot G10*