Continuing the exploration of all Hong Kong coastline, this little island with so so coasteering, peculiar spots and a bit of (sad) history.
- Beauty/fun: 3.5/10. Only a small part offers decent coasteering. The abandoned village is interesting albeit sad. Not especially clear water anywhere, worse around the constructed areas.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 3.5/10 if good enough swimmers. The most interesting area is on the even tinier Tang Lung Chau island on the South. It is less than a 200m swim but the wind and currents here can be very strong. Simple scrambling if ready to wade a few sections.
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)
See full screen & Garmin track of most of the coastline, another day directly going to the abandoned village and coasteering in Tang Lung Chau.
I will write here about all I could see on the island and later explain what I would recommend the most.
Several buses connect Ma Wan with Tsing Yi and Kwai Fong. Look in Google Maps for Park Island. One of the main attractions for touristy visitors is on the very beginning: Tung Wan beach with the bridge just in front of it.
Even more touristy, next to the bridge, the Noah’s Ark Hong Kong theme park. The beach itself does not offer anything special. At the Northern end a little promenade and the ferry pier. Another option to arrive at the island, with connections with Central and Tsuen Wan.
After the pier another small beach
and the start of the little coasteering.
There are some peculiar rock formations
but nothing noteworthy. A little pier and another beach after.
Pak Wan small dirty beach a little further West.
With a small temple and the Island Park towers (30+ overall) behind.
Just after a man-made rock and concrete areas popular for fishermen and a garbage handling facility at the end of Pak Lam road. If you want to keep true to coasteering you will need to swim to pass it.
Instead, I would advise you to just go a little further back and find between the buildings a little path parallel to the facility itself (marked on the map). Continuing you will find another antenna similar to that seen in the Tsuen Wan area.
OKish rocks to scramble on here before arriving at Tam Shui Wan. The floating fishing rafts area.
Does anyone know what is this structure for? “Waterworld“y.
The small pier on the Southern side. Under it is full of hoses which connect with the rafts.
Definitely tons of fishermen all around the island.
After turning SE on Ma Kok Tsui we see the bridge again.
And little later the dolphin sculpture, made to celebrate all the White Chinese dolphins that used to gather around Ma Wan.
Next to the old fishing
abandoned village.
If you are ready to get wet I would suggest you swim from the walls of the typhoon shelter. Otherwise, you would need to walk on the muddy floor here in front.
Little nice spot here and
another tiny beach before walking under the bridge.
Man-arranged rocks
before arriving at a longer beach.
And the pier of Nam Wan. First time in the area I just decided to avoid the swim to the nearby island. I had not brought paddles nor a rope or whatever to pull the backpack, so I would need to swim with it on. It is OK for a short swim but makes me significantly slower. The wind was hitting hard on the channel NE direction and the current in the area was really strong too. As per the HK Tidal Stream Prediction System, up to 2 knots (3.7kph).
So I gave it a pass. I did not want to end up in the channel with heavy boat traffic. Leaving the island behind me.
The rocks are nice to coasteer on in this Southernmost part of Ma Wan.
Including the purple line, with some fishermen trash.
Eventually you will connect with the man-made coastline again. Grey line. Continue on concrete and rocks and you will return to Noah’s Ark, next to the bridge.
Next to the beach shown three pics up, approx 30 meters from here,
I found a hiking path going to the hill above. Dirt path initially and then stair sections.
Nothing especially interesting. Just graves looking towards
Tan Lung Chau.The aforementioned little island next to Ma Wan.
On my second day in the area, with better gear and significantly less current, I swam to it easily. It seems that people come here kayaking or else with several cute structures created on the beach.
The beach improved a bit just after the rocks on the East side of the island.
I continued coasteering all around. After a small pier the only “tricky” scrambling required. You could swim/wade to avoid it easily. Testing my foot (recovering from a broken calcaneus) on the 3 meters high slab on the right side of the pic. The climb up after was a bit easier.
In no time you will get to some stairs heading up to the top of the island with this old building and
the lighthouse (behind a fence).
Historic site.
Continuing with the coasteering.
Better than all the rest in the area.
Although short and nothing impressive.
The island offered one more “attraction”. I have mentioned before that I could find some abandoned houses next to the typhoon shelter. But the reality is that almost all the old village is abandoned. Starting way higher.
Approximately all the yellow area marked on the map.
With buildings that have not been lived at
in the last three decades.
Some looking better than others.
I was curious about this. It looked a bit like Chernobyl. After some research, I found the story behind the eviction of the local population, which in HK fashion included a luxury residential project and bribery.
If you want to do it short. I would take the bus to the green stop marked on the map. Head to the abandoned village and check around. Go to the coastline after the typhoon shelter and easily coasteer till the pier. Cross to Tang Lung Chau and check all the tiny island. Swim back and return through the coastline to the bus stop around Noah’s Ark.
Leave a Reply