Open water swimming from To Tei Wan to Shek O I found a waterfall which plunges into the sea. Very spectacular, above all when the sea is clean. Which was not the case second time going there with the GoPro.
MTR to Shau Kei Wan and from there minibus or bus in Shek O direction up till To Tei Wan bus stop.
Down the stairs seeing Stanley in front and in little time you will arrive to the beach, where to get ready for the swim.
In my case, I am using a swim safety device that is also my “movable locker” or “swimming backpack”. This:
Basically a waterproof bag which you can inflate and fasten to your waist, so that follows you while swimming, without much drag or discomfort. I am using a big size one, so that I can put my clothes and other belongings inside. For extra precaution, I frequently use additional bags inside for the wallet and electronics.
From here on:
Total distance swum this time was a bit more than 3 km to the waterfall + 1 km to Cape D’Aguilar itself. Map
and the Garmin track. Update 2020: since some time ago the marine reserve is a forbidden swimming area (purple area marked above). So you would need to keep your shoes in the bag (not good for flip flops) to leave before through the rocks. If you want to continue swimming to Shek O you will need to do it around all the forbidden area.
Once there I decided to visit the peninsula and take some pics. The (whale) bones of Miss Willy.
The rock formations.
Beautiful coastline.
With a little natural passageway.
From here on, if you are still fresh, the best option is to eat and drink something and jump back into the water and swim to Shek O. Additional 2km in a straight line, although there is not anything special more to see.
Otherwise, you can walk up the road, which I did to take some more pics of the way swam before.
OK views but just on a concrete and almost shadeless road
with some houses around, no more, up to the roundabout. The frequency of buses here is not great, so I would recommend walking a bit more, half a kilometre. All the (mini)buses coming from Shek O or Big Wave pass through this stop.
If you are not into long swimming, there are different options to consider. Bit of rock scrambling and shorter swimming starting from the Marine Institute. Renting a kayak or a SUP from Stanley. Approximately 4km paddling then.
January 3, 2021 at 7:12 pm
Is that not a shark infested area? Kudos to your nerves for that open water exploration!
January 3, 2021 at 8:53 pm
Seriously? 😅 Unluckily we do not have shark infested waters in Hong Kong. There are very few and mostly harmless. Last death by shark attack was 25 years ago… Sharks killed by humans in the area thousands, although little by little people are changing their views about them, shark fin soup and others.
https://hkoutdooradventures.com/2019/04/11/wild-life-encounters/ if you want to know more.