Do you want to try “coasteering” in the most controlled easy way, starting to see the old geology of Hong Kong? Then this might be for you.

See full screen & Garmin track.

I had already visited the South side of the geopark within Tolo Channel. I could see that there was another section here + a tombolo.

I was looking for an easy recovery day. Time to give it a try.

To summarize the geological aspects, Ma Shi Chau Special Area has rocks over 280 million years old from the Permian period. The Government created the Ma Shi Chau Nature Trail where to see part of it. More information from the Geopark.

I took the MTR to Tai Po and bus to Sam Mun Tsai. Start walking on the West side of the village, passing next to piers and among the houses. Until I arrived at this boat repair / anchoring point.

Path closed. Time to get wet. This initial section has almost zero interest. Long wades, partly muddy and tons of rubish.

There are tiny islets around where big heron groups gathered. Very sparcely nice colored rocks.

So I would advise avoiding this first brown line over 1 hour section and going directly to the next bay, through the green concrete path. Kind of marsh with tons of tombs in the hill in front.

Very clear water, easy to walk/jog on and the nice rock formations

up till

the tombolo.

Usually the hikers come till here through the aforementioned easy hiking path. This moving forward goes most of the time very close to the water line.

So I jog part of the next section directly on it. Eventually the “path” is the shoreline itself.

With more of the characteristic Geopark rock types.

Tiny Bay of fires.

What someone has named Ma Shi Chau Viewing Spot in Google Maps is not more than a rock that you can scramble on from where to look around.

It marks the end of the Ma Shi Chau Nature Trail. Up looking towards Pat Sin Leng and where to continue “real” coasteering on.

Quite some wading and really easy scrambling with kayakers around and clear water.

I found some water gathering structures and a dry (April) creek around mid way the NW shore. Little later and until the tombolo a long sandy area in low tide.

I continued further the tombolo… Eh… Muddy, completely uninteresting coastline.

I would, again, not recommend this brown line. Unless you are into cemeteries and you want to check all the tombs around. You could see a big part of them from the easy hiking path anyhow.

I eventually arrived at a small pier from where the rafts in the bay receive the electricity.

And I walked back to the starting point to take the minibus back.

A video (in Chinese) showing how the super simple Nature trail looks like, without any scrambling nor getting wet.

Everything you should know before coasteering.