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Labrador Park Outing on 28.04.2012
It was
supposed to be a cool day. It poured in the morning. It was not the passing
rain which would barely last for less than half an hour – it rained the whole
morning! Anticipating a fine weather for a trail into Mother Nature, the 1st
RO outing of this work year turned out to be a test of endurance under the blazing
heat sun.

This was
one week after Earth Day 2012. We decided to bring our members on a relaxing
trail in Labrador Park to embrace Mother Nature and appreciate what the
environment has for us. We were set on an ambitious conquest. We intended to
take a 1-km walk through the Belayar Creek mangrove trail to feed our eyes with
greenery and make our way to the resting point by the ocean near Dragon’s Teeth
Park. At the resting point we would have our tea break, and of course, take our
timely rest. After which, we would walk 330m on Bukit Chermin Boardwalk to
Reflections at Keppel Bay. In fact, our ultimate destination was to be Keppel
Island where we could enjoy a splendid view of the Park and the skyscraping
property. We also dreamt of sipping coffee at cafes at “Marina at Keppel Bay”.

Our last experience at Labrador
Park was dated back to 2008, when we held our RO Annual Camp at the park then.
That was a 2D1N camp, with the 1st day as a half-day exploration of
the Park via 8 stations of games. Members were set on a laborious but
fulfilling mission to conquer 8 stations and did acts like: building
sandcastles by the ocean; Treasure hunts at the war relics; adopting animated
postures for photo-taking and dancing at the studio. It was a day of indulgence
in history and nature – without actually knowing them. And yeah, it was packaged
as an Amazing Race, and we had half-day to complete as many stations as
possible.
Our Labrador
Conquest 2012 turned out to be even more challenging. We had only 2 hours to
complete what we had planned. The scorching sun was challenging. It sapped our
energy by the second as we marched our way through the Belayar Creek. However,
our members were still deriving personal entertainment from the trail. Liting
was having intimate conversations with Shuhui under an umbrella while Choon Wee
would keep commenting on the little plants or insects he saw. The members
appear oblivious of the heat most of the time, despite drinking water when they
realized that they were thirsty. The 1-km walk on Belayar Creek did not yield
surprises, but it sure did yield some bonding where volunteers and members
engage in casual conversations.
If
there was any demonstration of fatigue, it was only explicit when we reached
the resting point. Suddenly, every member was either heading for the toilet to
wash their faces, or rushing to grab a seat in the shelter and look around. Well,
we were indeed glad to be sheltered after spearing through the heat earlier. Surprisingly,
there were still energetic members like Andrew who might not have many
opportunities to use his camera. He went on a shooting ecstasy and shot every
plant that intrigued him.
It
was at this moment when our Chairperson and Vice-chairperson made their grand
entrances with the TEA BREAK!! Pizza from Sarpinos and packet drinks~~ Both
members and volunteers re-vitalize by feasting on the pizzas and drinks, and
feasting on the ocean and island in front of them.
At
the end of tea break, we did realize a bit of urgency. We have barely 1 hour
plus a bit to stroll to Keppel Island. Our excursion leader Jianming alerted us
and we sprung off. The great thing about the second part of this conquest was
that the sun was more compassionate at the second half. Our stroll on the Bukit
Chermin Boardwalk was greeted with blue skies and ocean, in contrast to the
overwhelming greenery earlier. This was a refreshing start for some of us, and
apparently members like Yong Xiang seemed to be energized and shared his
experiences of his new enrolment into Temasek Polytechnic. As he skipped and
hopped on the boardwalk, he recounted his interests in the new course.
Upon
reaching the mid-point of the trail, we were greeted by the amazing view of
Keppel Island, the yacht harbour and the surrounding buildings. While we were
indulging in the scenery around us, we also came to realize that time was not
in our favour. Some of our members who are more mobility-challenged have
remained at an end point of the boardwalk. At the call of our decisive
volunteers, we decided to abort the rest of the conquest. Well, the emphasis of
Labrador Conquest 2012 was never to complete the trail but to provide a
platform for RO volunteers and members to enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon. And
we did!

Labrador Conquest 2012 concluded at
the end point with a group photo. It was heartening to note that members went
through the experience with little discontent and that even the less mobile
members like Felice and Foong Leong made the endeavor to walk as much as
possible. In fact, Foong Leong insisted in walking all the way and wanted to
stay with the group and take the MRT despite being offered the more comfortable
option of ferry service on Lilian’s car. Well, guess that’s what the RO spirit
is all about!
Written by: Q Jinyao