The visit to Coney island with FP has been in the plans for 1 month since it was officially opened. From Google Map, it appears there are two ways to get to Coney island - either from Lorong Halus or from Punggol Settlement. NParks recommend visitors to take a bus 84 from Punggol Interchange to Punggol Settement and walk 500m to the Coney Island West entrance. Street Directory map shows there are 3 connections from the mainland with the 3rd bridge connecting from the Punggol Promenade. It was later verified that this 3rd bridge is actually not in existence.
Our focus is to have a one way walk from one point to another and not do a back track. Secondly, besides exploring Coney Island, we can also check out Punggol Promenade and Lorong Halus at the same time since it's only next to each other. The best way is to come in from Lorong Halus and exit at Punggol Settlement. We decided to take a cab to Lorong Halus from Joo Chiat, which cost around $15.
It is 1.15pm when we arrived at the Lorong Halus wetland reserved. There is an exhibit and rest area explaining about the wetlands.
It is an absolute nature getaway.
Behind the main entrance, is a crossroad. One path will lead to Coney Island, and another to Punggol Promenade. Since we would like to visit Punggol Promenade at the same time, we decided to cross the bridge.
The weather is perfect for photography. Here is the steel bridge connecting Lorong Halus to Punggol.
Towards south on the left, is a great view of Punggol new town.
And to the north on the right, is a view of Serangoon Reservoir Dam.
Past the bridge are the lalang fields. Before Lorong Halus was developed, this area were filled with lalang fields. Now only a small part of it is left.
A short walk away are some rest pavilions and benches.
There is a curve walkway linking to the bridge that links to the opposite side of the shore.
Here is a vantage view of the bridges and pathway.
From the bridge at the other side, we can see the Punggol waterway. It looks very impressive.
We walked further down slightly to get a feel of the Punggol Promenade. Here is a scene of Coney island and the dam from the opposite shore.
We made our way back to Lorong Halus to where the crossroad is and proceed down the path towards Coney Island. This side of the road is not yet paved. There are workers clearing the path and I believed the road should be ready in a few months time.
Past the dirt track, is the dam linking our Singapore mainland to the east entrance of Coney island. From this bridge, we can catch a view of Changi Point and Pulau Ubin.
Here I am at the east gate of Coney island.
Here is the map of Coney island below. It is an approximate 3km walk from one end of Coney island to another end. From the east gate, there are the East Promenade, several beaches and well-walked side dirt roads to the southern parts of the island.
We explored the East Promenade first. It is just better paved roads with some benches.
The main road is basically a dirt track that stretches all the way. There is not much sight except for greenery.
There are 5 beaches where visitors can hang around.
It took us around 2 hours to cover the Punggol Promenade, Lorong Halus and Coney Island before we reached the Punggol Settlement.
Another good method to explore Coney island is on bicycle. Visitors can rent bicycle from the Punggol Settlement. But as most of the track are dirt track, it will be quite tough to also cycle on those roads.
While waiting for the bus, the Punggol ranch is just next to the final stop. We walked around and take a look at it.
From there we took a bus 84 back to Punggol Interchange. It is just a 10mins ride away
