Been to Cyrene: Exotic destination for students!

"Cyrene Reef: not many people get to visit Cyrene, and even fewer know of its existence, for the matter!" says Tyronne Toh who shared about his experiences in the Raffles Ecological Literacy Programme.

Photo from Tyronne's blog post

As he explains, "every trip is an eye-opener; life and beauty are truly ubiquitous in nature- one simply has to take a closer look to realize this."

More about the Programme in Tyronne's post: [Please Mind The Platform Gap] Enrichment Programmes: Raffles Ecological Literacy Programme

Been to Cyrene: Illogically amazing

Sankar says after his Cyrene trip: How would you react if I told you that there is an entire reef, filled with a cornucopia of living things, smack in the middle of the industrial triangle, near a huge and busy shipping lane.

I know... That's what I thought. And yet, it exists!

Sharing Cyrene with MPA

Last week, I had the pleasure of sharing Cyrene with an intrepid team from the Maritime and Port Authority led by CE MPA Lam Yi Young and organised by the tireless Joanne Fang.

We started well before dawn and were rewarded with a glorious sunrise!

Sharing Cyrene with Shell volunteers

Thanks to Azlin from NParks, some volunteers from Shell visited Cyrene in December 2011 and January 2012!

The first team of volunteers who visited in Dec 2011

Everyone had a great time and we saw lots of fabulous marine life!

Sharing Cyrene with CEOs NParks and URA

Last week, I had the pleasure of sharing Cyrene with two CEOs!

We had a great time exploring Cyrene's rich marine life!

Been to Cyrene: "Exceeding expectations"

"I was in anticipation after being able to go to Cyrene - expecting to see stuff on other intertidal shores of Singapore", says Tony.

Knobbly that seems to have raised its arm to "shake hands" -
remarks Tony of this photo he shared.

"However, I was able to see far more than I had seen before!"

Been to Cyrene: "An ecological jewel"

Azlin says: I'm thankful for this ecological jewel in the midst of a busy busy “highway”.

Cyrene lies in the middle of an "Industrial Triangle" and busy shipping lanes.

Been to Cyrene: "Mother Nature's treasure"

"It's great to be back with Mother Nature again and this always put life back into perspective for me," says Teck Hui.

Teck Hui recently visited Cyrene and is great at spotting the fascinating marine life there! She shares this scuffle among tiny moon crabs over a colourful shrimp.

Been to Cyrene: "Go visit at least once in your life!"

"It's a reef? A sea reef? It's off an island? Oh, it's part of an island? Erm it has starfish and other cool looking animals, corals on it. Do I get to see a 'Nemo'?". Probably common questions if I were to ask a land lover who's never been to our country's smaller islands (Mainland Singapore, Tekong and Sentosa doesn't count!!).

Just one of Andrew's many gorgeous photos of Cyrene.

So begins Andrew as he shares awesome photos and stories of his trip to Cyrene on his One° North Explorers blog.

Been to Cyrene: "A safari-load of animals!"

To probably anyone else around the area, it’s just a patch of rocks and sand.

Glorious weather over Cyrene, photo by Clarence Chua.

But take a boat out and take a close peek ....

Been to Cyrene: "Unlike any other reef I've seen in Singapore"

I had the most awesome time visiting Cyrene reef in the early morning hours of 13 July 2010, says Oliver. It was an unforgettable experience!

Cyrene was not like any other reef I have ever seen in Singapore!

Sharing Cyrene with URA, June 2010

An enthusiastic and excited team from URA visited Cyrene on 16 Jun!

A happy team makes it safely on to Cyrene!
Photo by Ria.

They join the Mei Lin who is here with a small team of volunteers to look for Giant clams. And what amazing creatures we saw!

Been to Cyrene: "Am I in Singapore?"

It's truly surreal, says Russel, to be standing in the middle Cyrene, basking in the rays of the rising sun, against the backdrop of the heavy industries in the distance and being nonchalant about the large vessels just sailing by. One can't help but wonder, "Am I in Singapore?

Surreal Cyrene!  Photo by Russel

Russel shares more about his first trip to Cyrene on his awesome blog into the wild

Been to Cyrene: "A mesmerizing gem"

Jane and Terry Heppell join us for their first trip to Cyrene. And among our first night trips there!

A glorious sunrise at the end of the night trip to Cyrene
Photo by Terry Heppell

They are amazed to be standing almost as if in the middle of the sea surrounded by the bright lights of the nearby petro-chemical facilities. They share what they saw in their brand new blog: Urchin's World.

Been to Cyrene: Succulent Drumstick and Mystery Tentacles

Ling Ling shares a delightful report of her encounters at Cyrene. And I intrude in italics in her text:

Cyrene reef first came to my mind when I was planning for our tri-monthly Central Nature Reserve volunteer gathering. I wanted our ‘terrestrial’ volunteers to know that there are other valuable habitats in Singapore.

Today is Labour Day and full moon was just a few days ago. The moon was hanging over the water and there was serenity at Marina Keppel Bay before we depart for the reef. This is one taken when I was on the reef.

Been to Cyrene: "A Precious Experience"

Chai Joo shares her visit to Cyrene Reef, "it was my first and most exciting intertidal walk!"

I remember the very first marine animal I saw - the sand dollars! The entire reef was teeming with life - sea cucumbers, flat worms, nudibranch, sea urchins, knobbly sea stars, common sea stars, cushion stars, a lovely carpet anemone with resident shrimps, hairy crabs, sponges, sea grass, corals ... the list goes on.

Been to Cyrene: "Yoga sea stars!"

Anuj is a big fan of Knobbly sea stars. So when he sees one, he usually photographs it and he tries to keep a running count of them on the field. But, he say, "this proved to be a disaster" during his first trip to Cyrene!

There were just too many of them!

He's shared about some of these sea stars and the intriguing 'yoga' poses they adopt when stranded out of water, on his blog: Knobbly Yoga at Cyrene Reef. Go and read all about them!

Been to Cyrene: "Magic in my own backyard"

"Cyrene seemed like a fantasy at first. But when I set foot on Cyrene, the fantasy disappeared and the magic began!"

Wunson is captivated by Cyrene!

Wunson Khoo shares more about his first trip to Cyrene!

Been to Cyrene: Sea Star Paradise!

Baby Pentaceraster photographed by Sean at Cyrene Reef

Sean is an 18 year old student who volunteers with Teamseagrass. He is also a volunteer guide as part of a school-based project. He describes himself as an "avid photographer, nature wanderer, activist against illegal wildlife trade and the consumption of threatened species such as sharks." This young volunteer recently found the first baby Pentaceraster sea star in Singapore!

Sean recounts his experience with Cyrene in an interview for this blog.

Been to Cyrene: "like Jack Sully in Avatar"

Eddic Lim is enthralled by Cyrene Reef. On his first visit there, he shares "it was like I've entered another world, similar to Jack Sully in Avatar".

Some of the denizens of Singapore's own Avatar! Photos by Eddic.

"Everything is special and exotic!" says Eddic.