Soaking up the rich biodiversity of Pulau Hantu

At 5.10am on a wet Wednesday, 10 participants clad in long-sleeved shirts, trousers and covered shoes assembled at Marina South Pier. The group awaited the arrival of a small boat - with a maximum capacity of 12 passengers - to take them to Pulau Hantu, or "ghost island" in Malay.

Leading the trip was nature enthusiast and freelance tour guide Richard Kuah, 50, who stressed the importance of proper attire.

In an hour, he said, everyone would be wading in calf-deep waters amid corals, anemones, stingrays and the occasional stonefish. He added that some of these creatures could cause an allergic reaction on human skin when touched. If stung by a stingray, a helicopter evacuation would be in order.

The "Welcome to My Pulau Hantu with Richard Kuah" tour is one of the programmes on offer for My Community Festival. The tour costs $50 per participant.

Mr Kuah, a volunteer guide with the National Parks Board since 2015, has prepared magnified photos and maps.

After a 45-minute boat ride, Pulau Hantu came into view.

Alighting from the boat at a basic wooden jetty, the participants' path was guided only by the dim light of their torchlights, as they shielded their faces from the rain pelting down.

Pulau Hantu, with a total area of 12.6ha, is made up of two islets - Pulau Hantu Besar and Pulau Hantu Kechil. It got its name from the spirits of two warriors rumoured to have died in combat.

Much of the island was reclaimed in the 1970s and today, it remains uninhabited but is frequented by scuba divers looking for pristine waters.

Mr Kuah told participants to watch out for a lone monkey, also "haunting" the island.

When the sky cleared and the sun rose, an idyllic landscape came into focus. A mango tree stood serenely amid a lagoon. If its leaves turn yellow, it means that the waters surrounding the island are polluted, said Mr Kuah.

By now, participants were wading calf-deep in water. The tides were receding, revealing a rich biodiversity hidden in the intertidal zone that would stay walkable for only a few hours.

The first unusual sight to generate a murmur of excitement was a large, pink and fleshy organism half-resting in the water - a leathery soft coral, Mr Kuah noted. It houses microscopic algae that produce food through photosynthesis, which is shared with the host.

There were also hard corals such as the magnificent anemone - where clownfish can sometimes be found burrowing in and out - and the enticing, edible bell sea grapes.

Pay more attention, and more lively creatures could be spotted darting around and under the rocks. Soon, a flower crab defiantly raised and snapped its pincers. A moon snail frantically burrowed a path under the sand. A worm eel, which one participant mistook for a snake, explored holes in search of food.

All this time, the only monkey on the island had been stalking us. He looked old, and in need of company. He moved in the intertidal zone effortlessly.

Two-and-a-half hours passed quickly. On the way back to the jetty, participants stood amazed at an acorn worm's excretions being expelled above ground in spurts. The excretions were all that were visible, with the worm itself feeding underground. Addressing the wide-eyed tour participants, Mr Kuah said the worms can grow up to a metre in length.

The trip back to the mainland was a contemplative one as participants reviewed the dose of nature they had just experienced.

In parting, Mr Kuah said: "In 100km of Singapore's shoreline, we have practically everything, from petrochemical plants on Jurong Island and Semakau Landfill for trash, to recreation at Pulau Hantu and Lazarus Island. This needs to be shared with more people and not taken for granted."