Low swell good to enjoy a nice East route but you want to do a short one? This is perfect with varied rocks, cliff jumps, caves, clear water, and more.
- Beauty/fun: 8.5/10 if you are OK with a short outing with some kayaking. A fun-packed tiny island that only lacks a beach for a perfect score.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 7.5/10 if trying to swim as little as possible. Very exposed to swell and wind waves, very high scrambling, very diverse rocks, a few of 💩y quality (check before going too high), deep caves that require a torch to explore fully, kayak approach is short but through a heavy boat traffic channel.
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)
See full screen & Garmin track.
As I already mentioned in the previous post, finally we had a calm sea weekend,
and I decided to enjoy it as much as possible. After the Golf course route on Saturday, time to explore Steep Island on Sunday.
MTR to Hang Hau and taxi or minibus to Po Toi O. We rented the kayak at this shop. The paddling is very straightforward. Come out of the bay turn right and the island is just there in front.
Before departure, I had checked the Satellite images for the best landing spot. Easy. Start walking on the rocks counterclockwise (more rugged ground first, as usual) and in no time already in a nice-looking spot. The water can be pretty clear here and you can find some of the Geopark characteristic rock formations.
The navigation was relatively clear but sometimes required us to scramble high to avoid too many swims.
Arriving at the caves section.
With the same colors seen before on Basalt Island.
Here is one of those spots where you could short swim or just scramble high before
arriving at the biggest cave. Perfect spot too for really high cliff jumping. There are a lot of options for jumps full route long.
The biggest cave is easier to watch in the video.
Deep enough to get pitch dark. We were using my 900-lumen torch. That way we realized that this was a double-entry cave. You can see just below both entries. The one on the left the biggest.
Continue on nice-looking rocks, sometimes going really high to avoid complicated slabs or further swims, as mentioned. Later heading closer to the water
as the shoreline becomes easier to walk on. Ending up at the start point
with the kayak landing small pebble beach. I am guessing you could park max half a dozen kayaks there relatively easily.
Nice drone footage with quite some of the spots to be seen.
February 24, 2023 at 5:46 am
Excellent description. I have used my surfski there a few times. Each time, it is like being in a washing machine. Which app do you use for wind and swell conditions? Love the way it displays the information.
February 24, 2023 at 10:45 pm
Hi Kerry.
It is from windy.com
Everything explained, including its accuracy, in the basics of coasteering that I link in all these posts.
Enjoy out there!