This blog was written by Chil (Choo Seong)
Cubs met at school at 715am where Akela briefed the pack and divided the Cubs into their groups for the hike. There were 5 groups.
We had help from Eagles Scouts from NUS High, New Town and Bt Merah Sec. They had helped plan the entire hike, complete with admin instructions, including a map of the various checkpoints that the hike would take the pack through.
After the initial headcount check, we set off for Changi Point Ferry Terminal.
Upon arrival at Changi Point Ferry Terminal, another headcount was conducted and to our horror, we counted an additional head!!! We were worried as today is
the second day of the Chinese Seventh month and certainly do not wish to carry the extra "baggage". Turns out, Justin Thong had arrived late and was put on board one of the buses at last minute.
The pack quickly reformed into the 5 groups designated for the hike and embarked on the bumboat journey towards Pulau Ubin. It was the first bumboat ride for many of the Cubs and they were evidently excited during the bumpy ride to the island. It was a beautiful day and we could see the townships of Paisr Ris and Pungoll on the horizon.
Upon arrival on the island, the entire pack quickly made the 5 min hike to the basketball court next to the HSBC Volunteer Centre. The basektball court would serve as the starting and end point for the hike.
One of the notable feature that we passed was the Wayang threatre in the town centre, which many think is the last of its kind in Singapore.
Pulau Ubin had been transformed from its former rustic self to quite a tourist attraction. Restaurants and bicycle shops can be found around the jetty and we spotted many tourists amongst the people there.
Back at the basketball court, young leaders from Eagles Scouts and adult volunteer leaders were also appointed to the 5 groups.
The hike consists of 4 checkpoints and 1 Log Point (which is also the lunch point). The hike is divided into the Green and Blue routes respectively. Groups
assigned the Green Route would start the hike by heading west towards Pekan Quarry while the the groups assigned the Purple Route would start by heading
north along Jalan Ubin. All groups passed thru 2 checkpoints along the way and acitvities were conducted at every checkpoint. For the return hike, the groups
swapped routes. Some of the activities conducted at the checkpoints include passing the hula hops and dog and bone.
The young leaders were given instructions to ensure that safety was to be observed at all times, ensuring that the Cubs were in good hands. Headcount checks were made once a while, especially during rest stops along the way. All lagers are monitored and not let anyone wander off. It was a very hot day and the Cubs took numerous water stops. Good thing that it did not rain during today's hike, so the ponchos brought along were not used.
The target was to arrive at the Log point (also lunch point) by 12noon and most groups arrived on time.
Justin Thong complained of stomach pains, and was given some ointment to soothe the pain.
Some notable changes had arrived on Ubin island. Firstly, there were definitely more people, especially tourists on the island. The number of bicycle shops
next to the jetty had at least tripled. There are also many mini-vans plying on the roads, catering to people who wanted to hitch a ride to Chek Jawa. We even passed by a solar panel setup behind one of the kampong house along the way!!!
At the log point, Cub scouts proceeded to cook their lunch of maggi mee and sausages using the mess tins that they had brought along. Portable stoves and two pieces of solid fuel were issued to each Cub. The older, more experienced Cubs had no problems starting the fire. The newer ones were assisted by the Eagles Scouts.
The group started to make the way back to the basketball court at around 2pm. The group coming back on the Purple route had to make a detour and back track to take the Green route as the route through a bund was covered by seawater due to high tide. Jiong Hao, in Group 5, has his shoe stuck in the mud as he tried to get actoss a mudy stretch. After some effort, he managed to retrieve his mud-covered shoe. Nonetheless all of us made it back to the basketball court safely. As a reward for completing the hike, all Cubs scouts were treated to freezing cold ice-cream!!!
We made the journey back towards mainland Singapore at around 3:30pm and the cubs were dismissed at around 5pm back in school
We are very sure that the Cub Scouts had enjoyed the hike in P Ubin today. It was a very warm day. In all, we walked about 6 kms, but all the kids made it wihout any problems, except for 2 who had stomach problem, but they were OK shortly after.
Footnote:
About 80 cubs had signed up for the hike, and yet only 68 turned up. We appeal to parents to let us know in advance in future if the cub is uable to turn up
for event after parental consent have been given. This is mainly to save on costs on snacks bought and arrangement for buses. Apart from waste, it is only
courtesy to inform Akela.
Another issue we face is the late submission of consent form. This causes us additional administrative work. More importantly, we are always inculcating
responsibility on the part of the cubs, that they will remember to do something that we ask them to do, to meet deadline and to be punctual when doing
things. Late submission will undermine our efforts and your child will be worse for it. Some parents have very kindly written to explain reasons for the
delay, which we appreciate very much.
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Regards,
Teo Choo Siong 张子祥
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