A Malacca Vacation

Five days before Christmas, we set out in high spirits with our cousins for Malacca. There, we visited museums such as the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum where we learned about the culture and history of Malacca. We also visited the Maritime Museum, which was a replica of a Portuguese ship. Another historical site was the ruins of the Al Famosa fortress that was built by the Portuguese after they conquered Malacca.

One place I particularly liked was the Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary which we visited on the 2nd day. The butterflies there were a lot more colorful than the ones in Singapore. Best of all, they were friendly and easily attracted to us! It felt itchy as the butterflies crawled on my body, but it was kind of fun. Besides butterflies, there were other amazing creatures such as scorpions, alligators, snakes, emus, peacocks, electric eels, otters, weasels and even a bearcat! I think it is called a bearcat because it looks like a bear, and climbs like a cat! So much for a butterfly and reptile sanctuary; it looks more like a zoo to me.

We walked a lot around the town but we also tried the local transport, like the trishaw. It is called a trishaw because it has three wheels. We sat in what looked like a carriage while a man cycled us to our various destinations. On the last evening, we took a boat ride along the Malacca River. I enjoyed the ride very much for the weather was breezy and the river was lighted up with colorful lights.

We spent the last evening at a shopping mall. I am talking about this not because I love it, but because of what happened there. It was pretty late in the evening when we finished shopping. We decided to take a trishaw back to the hotel for we were weary from walking. You might think that it should not have been a problem but guess what? They charged us RM 50 for just a short ride to the hotel! This is five times more expensive than the offer we had earlier. It is most ridiculous! Finally, we decided that it was better to walk back to the hotel. By the time we reached our room, I was exhausted and after a shower slept almost immediately.

A retreat in Changi

It is about a week since we returned from our CG retreat to Changi Village. I have decided to talk about our trip, for I loved the activities we did there...

I awoke with my head buzzing with excitement for today is the BIG day. We are going to Changi Village with our CG! After a wait which seemed like eternity, we started off. The hotel which we were staying in looked a bit like an office to me. However the inside was more welcoming. There was a mini house made of all sorts of delicious goodies, but of course, it was not edible. After brunch, we went to our rooms. At first, our rooms were on the smoking level and I did not want to stay in it for the smell of smoke was unbearable. Unfortunately, there were no other available rooms, and we had to wait till 5.00pm. We past the time by watching a movie at Noah's room with the CG and before we knew it, our rooms were ready.

The following day, we woke up bright and early for our guided tour at Chek Jawa. The tour was excellent. We got to observe and identify many creatures unknown to us, like the Oriental Tree snake and the male wild boar. They looked pretty scary too! After a session of drawing, we started back to the jetty for the ride back to mainland in the bumboat. Lunch was delicious for it was a buffet. I drank mushroom soup, ate rice with curry, chips and tomatoes. I even tried olives! Dessert was ice-cream. In the evening, we went for a stroll at the Changi beach. I did not really enjoy the walk but it was through the walk that I spotted a lizard hiding behind a rock and a White Bellied Sea eagle soaring high in the sky. We also spent some time at the beach digging a deep pit. Come to think of it, I actually enjoyed the walk after all!!

Upon returning to our hotel room, I immediately prepared a soapy bath in the bathtub. This also was one of the favourite things that we did at this Retreat, for the water was warm and soothing against the cold November evenings. Eating dinner under the stars in the open courtyard was another novelty, only there was not a single star to be seen that night! We had to rely on Samuel's torchlight but it soon blacked out, and we had no choice but to eat in darkness. Of course there were some light from the hotel corridors but it was inadequate. Our eyes soon adjusted to the darkness and all in, I kind of enjoyed it! A while later, I could not eat anymore probably because I could not really see what I was eating! Soon my friends, brothers, and I were in our room watching TV.

Time certainly past quickly when you are having fun, for the time came for us to check out. The highlight of the day was a swim race with my friends and the adults. We challenged our fathers to a race and guess who won? Us! Actually, it was not a fair race for our fathers swam breaststroke while we swam the frontcrawl. I was famished after all the workout and was glad the lunch was pizza. I ate three big slices!!

This is one trip I would never forget.

The Wizard of Oz

When Dorothy and her dog Toto werte whisked away by a cyclone, they found themselves in the Land of Oz. Soon she realized that the only way they could return to their home in Kansas was to journey to the Emerald city to ask The Wizard of Oz for help. Along the treacherous journey, Dorothy met new friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin woodman, and the lion. They wanted to join her to look for Oz to give them something. Together, they faced many perils like the two Kalidahs and the deadly poppies. Finally, they reached the Emerald city. But before Oz could grant them their wishes, they had to kill a wicked witch. Dorothy “melts” the witch by pouring a bucket of water over her and they travelled back to the Emerald city to have their wishes granted. Soon they realized that the Great Wizard is actually a humbug! All hopes of returning to her home in Kansas were lost, until a guard told her to ask the good witch Glinda for help. After many adventures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy and Toto finally reunited with her Uncle and Aunt back home in the Kansas prairie. I enjoyed this adventure story. It a book that you will not want to put it down once you begin reading it!

At the Jurong Bird Park (behind the scenes)

Yesterday, together with other homeschoolers we went to the Jurong Bird Park for a talk on birds. The venue is at the Bird Discovery Centre. We were early, so we look at the many interesting exhibits and learn more about the birds and their body parts. It was all very interesting. I, especially was fasinated by the owl. Owls have large eyes to search for their prey in the dark, and they have firm feathers so they would not make any sound when they fly. After that,

In the afternoon, we went for another exciting programme 'behind the scene' . Well, to the penguin expedition but this time behind the scenes! We were split into two groups. My group went in first while the second group had a brief talk about penguins from a guide. Inside we had to put on boots and wear a jacket for it was very cold. The temperature was It was very fishy and I felt like vomiting. I wondered how the staff could worked in there. After a while, I got used to it. The sight was so cool. We could hear the sound that the king penguin made. It sounded like a trumpet. The staff told us that there were about five males that were incubating eggs. He also told us that there were five species in there. The Macaroni, Rockhopper, King penguin, Fairy penguin, and the Humboldt penguin. After that we saw a sick King penguin placed at a corner and even touched a Humboldt penguin. It felt very smooth. We then came out of the cold place and back to the guide for our lesson on penguins. Later we went into the penguin expedition. Now I began to notice the other species and managed to spot them. I loved this experience as I had never been behind the scenes, touched a penguin and came so close to a penguin. I was glad that I knew it now. It was a very eventful day.

Astro Night

Last Friday, my family and I went to Science Centre. Over there, I was very surprised to see an extremely long queue to enter the inflatable planetarium. While queuing, I met Bailey and Dominic. Since the queue was so long, we decided to try some of the hands-on activities while daddy stood at the queue. At one station, we saw some mini rockets flying all around. The lady put a tablet into the film container filled with some water. Awhile later, the lid popped opened, pushing the water out. This was my favourite station as it was exciting waiting for the it to pop! After that, we headed back to the queue to wait for our turn to enter the planetarium. Inside, a man taught us about the star constellations. I knew all of the constellations that he mentioned. Next, he made the fake stars spin around us like it would, in the North Pole. I felt very dizzy.

I liked the exhibit very much and next time, I hope to go up to the observatory tower to stargaze, without the queue.

Chemistry

We just came back from the Chemistry Lab at NUS. Over there we were splitted up into pairs of two, and together with a student scientist, we did some exciting experiments. Most of the chemicals that we used were harmful to our skins. So we had to wash our hands immediately after an experiment. My favourite experiment was called the "elephants toothpaste". We used detergent, food colouring and some other chemicals to form a warm soapy paste. The end product looked like a giant toothpaste. I had a fun time at the chemistry lab today.

Our trip to Bintan(Indonesia)

Last week, My family and I went to Bintan for a holiday. We boarded the ferry called Aria Bupala ". During the ride, I felt very seasick. I guessed the waves were a little more choppy this time.

This is a picture of my brothers and I seating at the top deck of the ferry.

When we reached the hotel, daddy went to the reception to check in. Our room numbers were 1037 and 1035. In the room, my brothers and I quickly changed into my swimming shorts so that I could go and swim in the pool immediately! But when we reached the pool, I found out that the pool was not what I had expected because there were no slides, only a basketball net. I felt disappointed. A while later, we decided to head to the beach. The beach was my favourite place because there were so many black-striped fish, mudskippers and lots of crabs swimming in the stream that led out to the sea. After playing at the beach and climbing large boulders for a while, I decided to explore the stream further. We were so surprised when we spotted a Monitor Lizard!!! Below are some pictures of what we saw at the stream.

The monitor lizard

Mudskippers

The next day, we went to the beach again after breakfast. This time I saw more fish than yesterday. But they were swimming very fast. So, I could not catch any at all. In tthe afternoon, we went to another swimming pool which had a slide, but was not slippery. We ended up walking down the slide instead of sliding down. Daddy, Jabez and I also played table tennis which was fun, but difficult to play. In the evening, we went to the beach again. But this time I managed to catch a small black fish in a rock pool! I was so excited and went to show daddy and mummy my catch. After that, I released the fish back to the sea. I also saw a school of big fish. But they were too big and fast for me to catch. Later, my brothers and I built a dam to try and block the water current. We used rocks and sand to build it.

Our brother Nat wanted to help too! But he ended up destroying our dam.

After building the dam which did not really work, the 3 of us climbed the large boulders again. Jabez and I found some rocks that we thought might be a granite and a geodeo!! As it was low tide , so we could make our way down to a big rock pool where we found more fish and some BIg crabs!

The black spot under the rock is a black crab hiding under a rock.

This is a picture of the 4 of us in the big rock pool

After dinner, we went to take a stroll at the beach. The sky was filled with many stars as the beach was very dark. It was a breath-taking night scene! We spotted 'The Orion' . Actually it was daddy who saw it because I did not know much about star constellations. I enjoyed the night stroll at the beach and listening to the waves splashing.

On the last day, right after breakfast, we went to check our dam. Although it was low-tide, but the water actually covered the whole dam!! We decided to move to the beach and enjoy the gentle waves and swim in the cooling water for a while. By about noon time, we had to return back to our room and get ready to check out. I was sad to leave Bintan, but happy to return home to Singapore. I had a memorable vacation.

Making my first Crossbow

Yesterday, I decided to make a Crossbow. I got the idea from a T.V programme called the Mythbusters on Discovery Channel. The programme is about people who heard of stories and try to make them true. For example Archimedes built a big shield with lots of glass pieces to reflect sun rays to burn down the Roman ships. So, the Mythbusters would try to build what Archimedes built to destroy a ship. This time, the Mythbusters tried to make a Crossbow out of paper and homemade glue and this project worked! I was fascinated by this creation; that they could make actually such a strong crossbow out of flimsy paper! That was why I decided to try and make a Crossbow. These are the steps:

How to make a Crossbow

Things you need:

1. two rubberbands
2. string

3. double sided tape

4. a pair of scissors

5. musking tape

6.wooden chopsticks

7. ice cream sticks.

8. paint(any colour you like)

Steps

1. First, tie two wooden chopsticks together.


2. Then, using a double sided tape and string, attach a ice cream stick to the middle of the pair of wooden chopsticks.


3. Next, use the musking tape to join four ice cream sticks to the first ice cream stick. It should look like a long house.


4. Then, tie one rubberband to each end side of the crossbow. (you might want to use the musking tape to secure the rubberbands)


5. Lastly tie a string to each end of the rubberband with a short piece of string. The string should be about 20 to 30cm.

Optional: You can use the rest of the ice-cream sticks to extend the length of where the arrow would be before fired.

Caution!

do not shoot the arrow at someone. Or Else!

Your Crossbow should look like this

My busy March holidays

During the March holidays, I did lots of things. On Tuesday, I went for my second chess competition. I won four rounds! Although it was better than the last time, I still could not get into the chess junior squad. I was very disappointed, but I enjoyed playing with other players. I also realised my weakness, when I play white.

On Wednesday, my brothers and I went to a road safety park. My friends, Bailey, Dominic, Christian, and John were there too. When we reached the place, I quickly grabbed a cart as cannot wait to start driving it around the course. I felt like driving a fomular 1. After having fun at the road safety park, we headed home to rest before going to Farrer Park swimming complex for my swim meet. When we reached Farrer park, I started to feel nervous. Soon, it was my turn to swim. I chose the 50m Freestyle event because I was most comfortable with that stroke. When I finished the race, I realised that I was in second place!! I was very happy. In the end, I came in third overall amongst 17 swimmers. I won my first my trophy!!! I had a great day.

Read about our trip to Sentosa in Jabez's Jet Plane Our trip to Sentosa(Thursday)

On Friday, my brothers and I went to Bailey and Dominic's 8th birthday party. The theme was on medieval times so when we reached the place (Jurong West) we got to wear knight costumes. When everybody had arrived, we started playing games. The game that I liked very much was "the dragon hunt." We went round the estated looking for clues that would lead us to the dragon. The clues were not easy to understand and find. Our team, found the first clue which was stuck to the extinguisher. In the end, it was a draw. After we finished the game we sang a birthday song to Bailey and Dominic before eating their cake which was an apple pie! The pie was delicious!! Then, we practiced shooting arrows at the dragon. I enjoyed this party.

On Saturday, my brothers and I went to Sungei Buloh for the young naturalist day camp. After we were divided into groups, we went to the boardwalk with our guides to look at animals, mangroves, crabs, and many other interesting things. I saw a Torchginger plant which is used for making the fragrent taste in Rojak. We also saw a very big mud skipper, some tree climbing crabs, a cicada, and mangrove roots that are called"pencil roots" After that, we went to look at birds at the bird watch shelter. Along the way I saw a few Monitor Lizards, Archerfish, Strippednose half backs, and a poisonous black viper with red eyes!! It looked very scary. When we reached the bird watch area, I did not see many birds except a few Little Egrets. I think this is not the migration period. Soon it started to rain and we headed back to do craft and draw. We made a clay mud skipper, weaved a leave to form a Tailor bird's nest, cut out a picture of a purple Heron for a mask, and, cut out a picture of a snake as a wristband. This is my first time seeing so many interesting things in Sungei Buloh. This is my most exciting trip to this place.

My First TRYthalon

I just finished my Trythalon. The day before, I felt excited and nervous. We had to wake up very early, at about 6:30am so that we could reach the venue by 7.30am. Halfway along the journey, it started to pour heavily. However, when we finally reached Sentosa, the rain subsided. I saw many children riding their bicycles to Tanjong Beach. After checking in our bicycles, we played at the beach, while waiting for the senior and intermediate group to start first. Meanwhile, my brothers and I dug moats on the beach, swam in the sea and watched the older children taking the race. They looked pretty funny when they ran to the transition area to ride their bikes. When it was our turn, daddy brought Jabez and I to the starting point to start our first event; swimming. The water was so shallow that I walked most of the time instead of swimming. There were also too many children in the water and made it difficult to swim. After getting on to our bikes, we started to cycle the 4km distance. This was my favourite part because I liked cycling best. Sometimes I moved slower so as to save my enery. Other times, I tried to OVERTAKE other children! Next, I parked my bike back at the transition area and began my run. The run was the hardest of all as I was a little tired by then. Near the finishing line, I gave all my best and ran as fast as I could. When I crossed the line, I felt so happy to have completed my first TRYthalon. Mummy who was waiting at the end, gave me a cup of water to drink. Then I went to collect my prize and guess what was my prize? It was a big tin of MILO!! I was a bit disappointed though as it was not a real trophy. But this race was a good experience for me. I enjoyed myself.

My trip to the Zoo

My highlight at the Zoo today was the Kids World and Fragile Forest which I am going to tell you about in this post.

At the Kids World, the slides were very fun. There were two slides; one of them was very steep and the other one was slow but spiral in shape. I prefer the steep one because I could slide down very fast in it. There also was a big bucket hanging on top of the playground. When the bell rang, everyone would rush under the bucket and wait for the water in the bucket to fall on them! I enjoyed the water splashing down on me and felt very cooling. Later we went to another section at the kids world, the river raft. There were two rafts in the muddy water. We went to the raft with fewer children. It was absolutely thrilling racing with the other raft up and down the river!

At the Fragile Forest it was a nice experience strolling through. We saw butterflies that were flying around, lemurs swinging from branch to branch and Malayan Flying Foxes hanging from the trees. My friend, Bailey, told me to put some nectar on my fingers to attract the butterflies. Wow! it really DID!! I felt ticklish when the butterfly moved around my fingers trying to find the nectar. Later we walked back towards the entrance feeling exhausted after a long day at the zoo. I am looking forward to another visit to the Zoo again.

A Beautiful Rainbow

Just now after cycling downstairs, I saw a rainbow! I was so EXCITED because this was my first encounter with a rainbow in Singapore. My first time seeing a rainbow was in Perth! At that time I was only about 7+ and do did not remember much. I quickly took out the camera and took a photo of it. I could only see three colours red, orange and yellow. What was interesting was that, the rainbow started in the middle of the KJE. I thought that the cars would crash into it. We went to check out more from the Internet and found out that rainbows are made when light is refracted through millions of droplets in the air. Rainbows usually occur when there is moisture in the air such as after a rain, when the sun is out. Sunlight is a combination of the visible spectrum, infrared and ultraviolet. Infrared makes the sunlight hot while ultraviolet makes you sunburn or sun tan. However we humans cannot see ultraviolet and infrared except some creatures like the bees! I had a very exciting day.

This a picture of the rainbow

The bright light in this picture is the sun

Wisdom and the Millers (The Multitude of Words)

Proverbs 10:19

When words are many, sin is not absent,

but he who holds his tongue is wise.

This story is about Sharon who has a habit of not talking wisely. One day, after school, Sharon shuffled home feeling very miserable. When she reached home, Mrs Miller saw Sharon and knew that there was something strange about her. She decided to talk to Sharon alone. Sharon told her about what happened in school......

Sharon did not talk very wisely to her friends and hurt their feelings. As a result her friends barely talked to her for the rest of the day. Another occasion was when Sharon and her friends were walking to the ball field, she told a silly and loud joke. All her friends stared at her because they was a group of first graders who were sitting on the grass praying. Sharon felt embarassed for being inconsiderate. And at the last recess, she also teased one of the older girls about a boy. Brother Ken sent her to the classroom until recess was over.

So Mrs Miller told her that she was already a very talkative child when she was young. Mrs Miller taught Sharon a rule that "it is always wiser to say nothing when you don't know what to say."

Wisdom and the Millers (Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee

Proverbs 9:8

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;

rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

Tonight the Miller family were studying the 9th chapter of Proverbs. Dad explained the meaning of wisdom: By knowing what God wants of us and trying to please Him. Dad went on to tell two stories from the Bible. The first one was about Korah, Dathan and Abiram in the book of Numbers. Dad told the children about how Korah, Dathan and Abiham rebelled against Moses and did not listen to his rebuke. The second story was about Aaron and Miriam They also rebelled. However, they admitted their mistake and confessed their sins. Aaron and Miriam were wise but, Korah, Dathan and Abriham were foolish.

Our trip to The Henderson Waves

This was our first time visiting the Henderson Waves so I am going to blog about it. Yesterday my family and I went to Hort Park after my swimming class. We decided to walk to the Henderson Waves because we wanted to see how it looked like. We started with the forest trail bridge first. When we completed the walk, the Henderson Waves was another distance to walk. When we reached the Henderson Waves bridge, it was very beautiful. The view was very good too and I think we even saw our flats from there! The Henderson Waves really looked like waves! The bridge was made of long strips of wood and at some areas, we could slide down its walls. My brother Nathanael was very excited about sliding. Each time he saw a wave, he will ask daddy to let him slide down. At the end of the walk, we rested on the benches, took some pictures and looked at the map. Do you know what? We were very close to Sentosa! Later we headed back to Hort Park. We were really exhausted by the time we reached the end. The total distance we walked was about 5 km! My family decided to reward ourselves by going to one of our favourite restaurant in Ikea for dinner. I ate fries, and swedish meatballs with jam. Mummy also ordered chicken wings for us which was delicious. We planned to walk the Faber Walk for our next trip. Wait for my next blog about the Faber Walk.

Go to the Ant (Wisdom and the Millers)

Go to the ant, you sluggard;

consider its ways and be wise!

It has no commander,

no overseer of ruler,

yet it stores its provision in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

Proverbs 6:6-8

story is about Peter, Timmy and Sharon Miller who were supposed to snap beans into pans. But instead of doing what they were told to do, they started complaining. They were arguing about who should get busy first. Soon Mrs Miller heard the commotion they were making. She took out the bible and read aloud from Proverbs 6:6-8. Then later, she pointed to an ant that was carrying a crumb of bread twice its size and the ant did not stop to rest at all. When teh ant reached the edge of the grass, another ant came along to help. Then both ants disappeared with the food. Mrs Miller told her children that the ants did not boss each other around, but worked in a team. The children learned to work together and not to make complaints.

The Froward Mouth (Wisdom and the Millers)

Put away perversity from your mouth;

keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Proverbs 4:24

The Millers family were having their evening devotions and dad read to them Proverbs 4. Then dad explained the verse. He said a person who has a froward mouth and perverse lips is someone who argues and talks back. Then mum remembered this incident when she was a child...

In her class there was a boy named John, who does not like to obey what the teacher says. For example, when the teacher said to play football, he will reply why can't we play basketball instead. One day, the class went for a field trip to the factory. Over there, the manager brought out white paper hats, shoes and masks for them to wear. Everyone, but John put on the attire. As such he was not allowed to enter the factory. He was asked to sit on a bench with a stern-looking lady. Because of his disobedience, John missed the fun the class had in the factory.

A day at Sentosa

Yesterday my family and I wanted to go to Sentosa to visit a flower exhibition and play at the beach. However, we ended up spending the whole afternoon at the beach instead! Tanjong Beach, has very nice sand. When we reached the place, we quickly took out our buckets and spades, and started digging a big deep pit. It took us a lot of time and effort digging it. My youngest brother decided to join in the fun. But he messed up our sand castles and added more sand into our pit instead. Although he did not help much, we enjoyed him as he was very funny. We had so much fun that when it was time to go, we thought that it was only minutes before we came! I had an unforgettable day.

My Miniture Garden

We are doing botany right now and mummy had just completed a chapter on seeds. I decided to make a miniature garden in our house. First we had to get plants. We chose Mint, Rose, Orchids, and nuts. We bought them at Ten Mile Junction and at a nursery nearby. Do you know, what? Our Orchid plant started to bloom yesterday! I was very surprised that it bloomed so fast, from a small green bud to a flower with five white petals! When we bought it, it had only three flowers. Now the orchid has four flowers. I am waiting for the other four buds to bloom. The next day mummy told us that we could grow small onions! I was very excited to start planting it. I will tell you more about it as soon as it has grown. I am looking forward to the germination process ...

My miniuature garden

Our Orchid plant

Ambrose Bishop of Milan

Mummy just read a chapter from Trial and Triumph. I decided to blog my narration....

This story is about Ambrose, a Roman governor who became a bishop. The people and Emperor Theodosius wanted Ambrose to be the bishop because he is kind and generous. He did not want this post because he did not have the training and was not baptised. Emperor Theodosius worshiped at Ambrose church. Once, Theodosius learned about a riot and ordered his soldiers to retaliate violently. Seven thousand people were massacred as a result of this. Ambrose was outraged at the slaughter and commanded him to repent of his sin. Theodosius repented. Later, Ambrose became ill and the christians were greatly fearful of fights and divisions again. However, Ambrose told them not to worry because God will be with them. I admire Ambrose as he was brave enough to tell the Emperor that he had sinned.

Ships Ships Ships!!!

Last week I built a lego ship. It took me about three afternoons to complete this creation. This ship had three decks and my favourite was the top deck because it had a watch tower with a cannon on it. This ship was difficult to build because my box of lego pieces were in a mess. But in the end, I did it with the help of Jabez. What a day and thanks to my brother.

A Day of Monitor Lizards

I just came back from Sungei Buloh. I am very excited to blog about my day. This is my second time going out with the homeschool group. Auntie Minna was very kind to give us a ride there. When we reached there, my brothers and I went to look for our friends. But we were surprised that no one was there and we were the first family to arrive. While looking around, we saw a stork-billed kingfisher standing very still on the verandah. I thought it was a statue from far. This kingfisher has a red beak, and its body is blue and yellow in colour. Later, we hiked a trail through the wetlands and was eager to spot birds along the trail. However, we were disappointed that we did not see any migratory birds, although we saw many golden web spiders and a cotton stainer bug. After that we went to a platform for our lunch. We also saw many striped-nosed halfbeaks fish swimming in the water nearby. I noticed they had a white tip on its lower jaw and they were swimming in a group. Later we went to the bird watching tower to look at migratory birds. My friends and I were very eager to climb up to the top. When we reached the top level, I quickly borrowed Dominic's binoculars and looked outside. It was a wonderful view of the wetlands. A while later, it started to drizzled, but it stopped pretty fast. We continued with our walk on the trail. Along the way, my friends and I were bitten by mosquitoes. We decided to walk faster to avoid bitten again. On the way, we saw a monitor lizard 'sun-bathing' on the timber board. Later at the visitor centre I saw some more monitor lizards! They were swimming, sleeping, and walking so close to me. I was excited because I have never seen a monitor lizard so close to me. I quickly asked mummy for the camera so that I could take a picture of it. Here are the pictures of the kingfisher and monitor lizards.