Sunday, June 13, 2021

Adventure River (More a Lazy River) @ Adventure Cove (Part of Sentosa Marine Life Park) [Singapore]

With the borders closed, Singaporeans have taken to being tourists in their own backyard! I am no exception although I have frequently said there are many things to do in Singapore. 

One attraction I had been waiting for its re-opening was Adventure Cove at Sentosa! It was closed since circuit breaker last year and when I heard it would restart operations on 12 May 2021; I immediately bought tickets for 14 May 2021! 

Despite just using only my phone camera, I managed to take close to 150 photographs! Given that dining in would still be disallowed until 21 June (and that's a maybe), I decided to break the post apart and shall therefore concentrate on Adventure River for the first part.

Safety rules and regulations; due to COVID-19 safe management measures, the water park only allowed a maximum of 50 persons along the adventure river (it's really more a lazy river in my humble opinion).

In case you are wondering about the depth, it's only about 90 cm deep. Nevertheless, if you are still concerned, it's always recommended to wear the lift jackets (came in 4 sizes) that can found in containers at a few locations within Adventure Cove.

Let's now throw ourselves into the slow-moving current! 

Said to have 14 different surroundings, it's an interesting experience meandering down the 620-meter "river", almost doubling the length of its rival Wild Wild Wet

Overhanging buckets and artificial waterfalls dotted the river, making sure adventurers do not get bored. Maybe that's why it's not called a lazy river per se since it might be hard to fall asleep with all the "activities"! 

There's even a cavern exploration! Frankly, this would be my third trip to Adventure Cove and even though I had wanted to publish a review of it; I never got round to doing it as it was so tiring to haul along a camera and making sure it doesn't get wet! And quality of photos taken by underwater cameras weren't that great. 

Ceiling looked like a ribcage of a massive marine creature! 

The everlasting youth of fountain can be found, together with a guardian who made sure you keep a distance away. Oh well, it boils down to a lot of imagination right? By the way, the bats on the ceiling were fake. 

Bridge for those who preferred not to get wet to get to another section of Adventure Cove. Can't be asking everyone to take the lazy river right? 

You can feel the water pushing out from this corner. I bet Jovyn would love Adventure Cove and with her birthday coming soon; maybe I should treat her for a visit?

Secret door - okay, maybe not that secret although I can't seem to get it to open. Would there be treasures behind it or would I unleash the monsters that had been kept locked up?! For someone who is of middle aged, I sure have a lot of imagination.

Flying dolphin archway!

Outlets for both the Spiral Washout and Whirlpool Washout attraction rides! They were not operational as the rides operated on a half-day basis; likely due to cost and manpower constraints. Hence, some rides open in the morning and some, in the afternoon. 

Looking back at the grotto we just went through; on top was supposed to be a "wet maze" but access was blocked. The hard copy of the map also indicated it would be "unavailable".

This trail appeared to be going into an abandoned water kingdom. Instead of sprouting water, the towering squids could have blown bubbles instead. 

Journey continues - inflatable buoys are must-haves on the lazy river! My itinerary always puts the lazy river as the last stop, with the rides taking place in the beginning when I still have the energy.

From seashell to seashell to river. You know what would be nice? The use of bamboos and water to make music; that would have been beautiful!

Man-made waterfalls! 

Coming to the other exit of the lazy river. If memory serves me well, I think there were only two entrance / exits along  the adventure river. 

Alex was waiting for me as I needed to get out to take some photos. I must admit I am not exactly the person you would want to travel with and Alex has always been so accommodating; a shoutout to him to express my deepest appreciation! 

Second part of the adventure river might not be much as far as decorations are concerned but what you are able to see would be different from what you would have expected from a lazy river. 

Like the humongous broken tree trunk that allowed visitors to test their strength by climbing up the rope and ringing the bell! Housed in the Adventure Cove attraction known as Splashworks, It's a bit like Ninja Warriors.

The other section of the broken tree trunk; I was there earlier and thought it would just be a boring climb up the net. I should have stayed a bit longer to see what it was about.

There was a bell too but in order to get to it, it would be harder as the climb would be fighting against your own body weight! That should have been fun! 

Boring part.

Another water kingdom; albeit likely for the turtles given the statues. Hm... were there supposed to be water sprouting out from the mouths? 

Before bypassing the octopus archway, there was a transparent water bridge. Would we have the luck to have dolphins swimming underneath us?! That would be so cool.

No such luck as water had been drained out.

Eyes everywhere, literally. Jokes aside, it's heartening to know that the establishment continued to place heavy emphasis on safety despite the heavy reduction in capacity due to COVID-19 safe management measures. 

A sneak peek into the dolphin island; can't see shit. 

With Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins as its permanent residences, this attraction had gained prominent yet controversial publicity in the past from animal-rights groups. As entry is separately charged, and I am just a normal working adult with hardly any savings; I don't think I would have the chance to go in to look see.

Trumpeting octopuses!
No sound, no water though.

Tallest waterfall within Adventure Cove; I figured it's at least 4 meters and so therapeutic to have the water massaging my back! There's a staircase from the side; maybe I will explore in my next visit. 

Floating within a tunnel with aquarium life surrounding us! 

I might not have the funds to pay for separate entry for the Ray Bay but I am already happy to be able to watch the stingrays up-close, separated by just glass.

Beautiful creatures, aren't they? 

Ray Bay doesn't only have rays; this would be new as I don't recall seeing this marine creature the past two times I visit, which would be quite a few years back. 

Sea turtles! Don't blame me if I am wrong but these are hawksbill right? My reason being their iconic "their narrow, pointed beak". 

Oh, another transparent bridge! 

Even though filled with water, there wasn't any action. I remember when I was at the S.E.A Aquarium, there was this window where I can see the dolphins. Not sure if it looked up to the same pool of water underneath us since the aquarium is technically built beneath Adventure Cove.

Coming to the end of the adventure river. 

One thing to note for everyone; even if you happen to avoid the waterfalls, the buckets of water etc, there's still a chance for you to get wet, with water guns strategically placed on bridges for strangers to take a shot at you! 

=====

Location
Adventure Cove,
Marine Life Park, Sentosa,
Singapore 098269

Map
As above.

Website

2 comments:

  1. Hi, may i ask what's the best place to park for visiting Adventure Cove?

    RWS website seems to offer 2 rates: (a) $7 for 1st hr and then $1 per half hour thereafter for Adventure Cove CP (although the CP entrance is identical to the rest of RWS CP), versus (b) a much cheaper $6 per entry (weekday whole day) or $9 per entry (weekend whole day) for all the places in RWS (i.e. Festive Hotel, Equarius Hotel, Convention Centre, etc.).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hello! if you are looking for the best place, the nearest the better. For me, i prefer cheaper and would usually park at Sentosa beach station which charges S$1.20 per hour.

      Delete