Exploring Upper Pierce

Living in a concrete jungle here in our fast-paced highly urbanised city, it is a real pleasure to find quiet, pockets of greenery. When we came upon this lovely spot, I almost couldn't believe it was Singapore.

There is a beautiful serenity about the place that is Upper Pierce Reservoir. Back when we used to travel along Upper Thomson Road on-route to and from church, my parents used to stop by the reservoir occasionally for a walk or a picnic lunch. It's been years since then though, and I had forgotten quite how lovely the place is. 

We had the opportunity to explore Upper Pierce Reservoir on National Day when we joined an informal outing organised by our church at the reservoir. It was a hot sunny day - perfect for exploring. I'll let the photos do the talking.

Peaceful and serene, even my two rascals stopped for a bit to take it in.

There were plenty of people fishing with lines or wading in the shallow water to catch fish. Noey was fascinated by a box full of shrimp that some one had brought along (complete with a portable air pump) and it kept him occupied for quite a while.

There were plenty of these snails (I think) in the shallow water.

Running free!

Beautiful lantana flowers in the bushes lining the dam separating Upper and Lower Pierce.

We stopped to puff on heads of dandelions we found growing randomly in the grass.

Giving cheeky smiles. Naomi has recently started to pose for the camera, like so.

Taking a walk with her Tata, as she calls my helper.

We spotted an eagle in the sky! Our church's resident bird expert identified it as a white-bellied sea eagle. I never knew you could find eagles around Singapore.

While the kids were a little young to participate in the games which had been organised that morning, like Captain's Ball, we gamely tagged along for the Treasure Hunt, which had been painstakingly designed by our Pastor. Each team started at different points and had to cover 7-8 clues before reaching the end point. Each clue was bible inspired (there would be a relevant verse), and required some nature knowledge. The clues would lead each team to a locked bag secured with a combination lock. Each team would have to figure out the combination to get the prize inside. It was honestly one of the best planned treasure hunts I've ever participated in!

Noey started out enthusiastic, but faded after we had to walk down the slope all the way to the edge of the Lower Pierce reservoir and the back up again. "I need to rush!" he told me breathlessly. "You need to carry me!" That was the end of his participation clearly!

One of the many clues that had been placed around the site.

While I followed on with our team on the treasure hunt till the end, DD and Noey had some father-son time just sitting by the water and talking. I believe they both enjoyed that time they shared very much.

We ended the morning listening to the message by our second pastor and praying for our nation. 

Naomi the garderner does some weeding while everyone else is listening to the message.

We left thereafter for lunch. We hadn't thought to bring a picnic along this time. We will the next time we're back, hopefully soon.