Spectacular island with an arch, long tunnel, hexagonal columns, a nice sandy area, clear water. A challenging approach for added fun 😉

  • Beauty/fun: 9/10. Kinda remote (more boats going there recently), beautiful arch and hexagonal columns, clear water, tiny beach, fun tunnel to cross. If looking for a shorter route, the island itself is a 10/10
  • Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 10/10. I wouldn’t recommend our route to almost anyone. Just for elite swimmers. Tons of boat traffic and a really long swim to shortcut. If you try going back and forth the same way, minimizing the swimming, it is a long route. Very exposed to swell and wind. In our version few high scrambling sections. A calm sea day, with a boat or even kayaks, and only doing the island itself is way more manageable.
  • The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)

See full screen & Garmin track.

We had originally planned to go to Po Toi that day, wake up and learn that Paul was not available. Tyler proposed a more aquatic route instead. So public transportation to Saikung and taxi to High Island reservoir, here. 15 minutes walking downhill on a concrete path and arrive at Pak Lap Wan. Walk on the beach

and coasteering time! The initial part on the peninsula is relatively easy

with a few nice scrambling areas and cliff jumping spots.

Arriving at the first swimming section. Regularly heavy boat traffic here. Supposedly it is a slow sailing area, but you can find quite some speed boats and yachts heading fast towards Tai Long Wan.

In our case, it was easier than expected. Even if the traffic was heavier than usual, with tons of people heading to spend Easter in the area. Having an elite swimmer with me was a nice “trick”. Fins and paddles on, Tyler leading and checking for boats. Any time any was coming, water polo kick and move his arms in the air. With the added visibility of his orange arm protectors, he was spotted immediately and the boats went safely around us. Approx a dozen total 😅

We didn’t spend almost any time in Town Island shortcutting in the water with the fins still on. The swim to Wang Chau itself was a lot easier with no boats around. Arriving at the initial small islets.

On the island itself. Wang Chau 橫洲. You can clearly see that crossing from East to West shoreline is really easy on the Northern side. So if with a boat pick up you can make the route as short as you would want/need.

The East shore initially was just OK. Improving little by little

till arriving at the arch. Really pretty.

And next to it further fun, a longer tunnel that also crosses the island. Where Tyler is you find the entrance.

At 00:48 in the video below we swimming it (full tunnel video in this Instagram post). To see all the island, we swam back through the arch. In any case, the Western shoreline is the most impressive.

With several shallow

caves,

a beautiful colored tidal pool,

and the

columns

in various formations.

In the North a sandy area with shallow water to enjoy snorkeling and where kayaks tend to land.

Spectacular water quality that day (most of 2021 spring). Also visibility. We could see Basalt Island arch in front.

And just after the return swim in front.

Only Tyler would have proposed it. Head more or less in Wong Nai Chau island direction and then turn NW to end on the pebble beach next to Mok Min cave. Crossing again the speedboat/yacht line. Even pulling our backpacks, 2 kilometers in barely 40 minutes! Gotta love the power of drafting behind a big guy with fins 😄 I almost cramped my legs on the last meters.

Remove all the gear and head up above the cave

to the hiking path and back to the starting point.

Tyler’s video.

A fun challenging day out.

Everything you should know before coasteering

Update Nov 2021: We rented a kayak in Pak Lap and paddled to Wang Chau to hike in the middle of the island. Quite a clear path, but for a short scramble down. Everything is included in the map above (green color line and markers). You can see a bit of the columns too without needing to get wet, but the nicest lower part is not accessible that way.

The upper last section is very worthwhile anyhow. It reminded us one of the most famous views of Nusa Penida. So you could see way more in case you go directly with the boat there and you have extra time: coasteering + hike the upper part. Please, keep to the paths already present there. Do not step out of them so that the fragile vegetation can survive and erosion does not increase.

Update 2023: Buddies went there with a speedboat and checked all the caves and tunnels. Highly recommended to go into the U-shaped tunnel (U型洞). Just beware of the waves.