Posts Tagged ‘gps unit’

 

Ubin abandoned prawn farms – 21. December, 2009

Prawn farming used to be thriving in Pulau ubin. Inland swamps are parceled out with dykes. Sluice gates are constructed to control the flow of water.

Water pollution contributed to its demise. Lease are given up back to the Government and building structures demolished.

From GoogleEarth, one can see its scale by its tell tale remnants.

abandoned prawn farms

With GoogleEarth, we manage to plot our course by connecting dots of white roofs peeking through dense trees canopy seen under satellite. The course or path is then downloaded into our handheld GPS.

It led us first to a swing.

swing

Then a lovely house

malay house

Finally a sweeping view from the remaining sluice gate, also a prime spot for bird watching.

view from sluice gate

Natural swamps are an important spawning grounds for fishes and with young fishes finding easy refuge. The sluice gates continues today as barriers. At low tide, the remaining fish are easily caught by fishermen casting their fine nets.

sluice gate

The government should consider demolishing them to bring life back to our natural swamps.

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Ubin Highest Point – 24. February, 2009

Ubin Highest Point

Click here for panorama view of Ubin from its highest point.

The last time we went up there was more than 10 years ago. Then, fallen branches and overgrown bushes would block our path making progress slow and difficult. I was deterred also by the uncomfortable vertigo sensation and the worry of being struck by lightning.

But weather has been dry in Ubin for several weeks already. The sun was hot and its good time to update the blog by taking pano shots and record its tracks on gps.

We went up but were again blocked by overgrown bushes. As machetes are viewed unfavorably by the police, we can only use a little saw from a Swiss army knife to cut through.

Our efforts at making a trail for others were in vain when ants from a disturbed nest went on a biting rampage. Its was only then when we were looking for an alternative way that we found out there is a already a well maintained trail leading to the top.

The trail is easy to find and is just next to Merbah hut. It is also easy to climb and slightly steep at one point. The view is just magnificent. Do watch from a safe distance. Do not peer over the cliff and lose your balance as a result.

You can download the directions and view it on Google apps.

View in Googlemaps
Download for viewing on Googlearth

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Ubin for GPS exploring – 13. February, 2009

I having been exploring Ubin with a GPS for a number of years. The problem with GPS is the babel of formats limiting its usefulness. Fortunately times have changed and formats like Google Earth KML are becoming popular, allowing users to share their maps on-line.

Watch this space. I will be adding more tracks and locations of interesting places. You can also download the kml file and view it on Google Earth. With a bit of technical know how, you should also be able to download them into your GPS unit for your next trip to Ubin.

When exploring jungle terrain, make sure you bring a compass with you as it is not easy to get a satellite fix under thick tree cover causing you to walk in circles.

Ubin on GoogleMaps
Download Google earth kml file Updated 01 Mar 2009
Download Free Google Earth Software
picture sample

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