Adventure to Frog Island

Frog island, also named Pulau Sekudu locally, is a small islet, just off Pulau Ubin. We went there by chance, on March 26, 2022.

We planned to kayak from Changi beach park to the dam of Changi creek reservoir through Sungai Changi (i.e. Changi Creek). Unfortunately the entrance portion of the creek is also the busy waterway for ferries from main island to Pulau Ubin. Our one attempt to paddle into the creek got us splashed by the high waves generated by a speeding ferry, the kayak and us were soaked :(. 

Tip of the Changi beach

taking a break after being soaked by waves from a speeding ferry

We backed off from entering the creek, and beached our kayak Emma, emptied water from it, and changed our plan - now kayaking to Pulau Ubin to see the east end of the island.

The red dots represented our approximate kayaking trail 

Even though the water in Johor strait is calm almost like inland lake, due to the blockage of flow by woodland causeway, the area has many routes for cargo ships and speed boats, and it was pretty busy there. The east-west dash lines in the above map are for the big ships, tow boats.

As we paddled toward Pulau Ubin, we saw huge airplanes just taking off from Changi airport flying low above our heads, magnificent but noisy; we noticed brownish foams floating in water - likely air plane fuel residues and/or discharges from boats and ships.

Paddling about 100 meters into the strait, we saw a big cargo ship coming our way from west, we were debating if we should paddle fast to get across its route or wait for its passage, the ship's horn sounded, warning us not to cross in front it! We slowed down substantially, nearly stopped, kept a good distance from its route. Last time, and the first time, we paddled across Johor strait, I was much more cautious, we waited for long time for big ships to pass, and paddled in parallel to the ships' waterway.  Did our last 3 successful ocean kayaking embolden me, made me reckless? 

Beacon Light 

When the water was clear of big ships, we paddled fast toward Pulau Ubin, aiming at a  beacon light. Passing the beacon we saw a rock formation on the shore of Pulau Ubin from afar. The rocks turned out to be offshore to Ubin, and are part of Pulau Sekudu. 

rock formation along the shore

Pulau Sekudu - A lone heron

From water marks on rocks, I could tell that it was low tide at the time, there were many waterfowls on the wetland of the islet, mainly egrets and herons, and some other smaller birds I could not see clearly. 

Egrets and Heron on wetland of Pulau Sekudu

The white rock in the center is the Frog

A closer view of the Frog (right hand side rock)

The water was shallow, even though we were at least ~ 10 meters away from the islet. The rudder of our kayak scratched under water rocks a few times. To keep as close to the islet as possible, we paid attention to water color, and tested water depth frequently using the paddles.  In sharp contrast to Changi beach, the water at Frog island was clean and clear, the view was fantastic, both on land and in water.

The rock formation is a vista in its own right. We saw the Frog! As we paddled along the islet, the views were evolving, and the islet felt remote, primitive and lively at the same time. 

View of Frog island from different angle 1

View of Frog island from different angle 2

There is a pretty wide and deep waterway between the Frog island and Pulau Ubin. There was a wild boar and a baby boar wandering on the shore of Pulau Ubin. In fact a little bird was riding on the big boar's back all the way when we looked at them. A group of large birds making loud noise in the woods there as well, and later they flew out of woods in flock. I did not bring my regular camera, and had to use cellphone camera, which could not capture them well.

As shown in the last photo of this post, we paddled around Pulau Sekudu, and then along the shore of Pulau Ubin for a short distance. In fact the islet is only accessible by small boats such as kayak. We are the lucky few who enjoy a close up look of the Frog island. Our misadventure to Changi creek turned into a great paddling (5km) experience to Pulau Sekudu - the Frog island.

A wild boar with a small bird on its back

rocks dotted the shoreline of Pulau Ubin

A big ship coming into the strait from the ocean, cruising in front of us when we were on the return trip 

The silhouette of a large bird

Sail boats by Changi beach

our paddling trail to the Frog island - Pulau Sekudu

Notes

1. Our misadventure to Changi creek was due to my inexperience and impatience - hindsight, if we waited at the entrance until it was all clear, we might be able to paddle through the creek mouth, and the ferry jetty. 

2. Typically we could overcome a small wave (1 foot or less crest) by aiming the kayak at the wave and ride though it. For large waves (amplitude is large, > 1 foot), if the wave speed is high, the wave simply crashes through the bow of the kayak, flood the cabin and soak kayaker(s). 

3. If a kayak is parallel to the wave front, even a small wave can overturn the kayak.

4. Inflatable kayak has large relatively flat bottom, which make it hard to paddle straight. Typically inflatables have rudder at its bottom to make it resistance to force from side, e.g. cross flow, cross wind.