Coasteering the big island in Sokos. Some nice rock formations, several beaches, and part of the not-so-nice nor distant history of Hong Kong.
- Beauty/fun: 7/10. Remote, with fun cliffs, a few beaches, and interesting rocks. Not as nice as its little brother Siu A Chau.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 8/10 very varied terrain, starting with easy flat areas, cliffs increasing their size little by little, with very different rock types too, detachable handholds included… It is less protected than some would guess with possible big swell from SE, as it was in our case. One early exit in the middle of the island.
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)
See full screen & the Garmin track.
We had the big island pending for long. Gather a few swimmers and a coasteers and get everything ready for a long day out, Tyler’s farewell. We were hoping to book a speedboat, but finally, we could not (splitdly and others didn’t work). So small slow kaito departing from Cheung Chau. This meant a bit more than 1-hour ride each way and overall more than an hour less for our adventure.
The landing was very simple with two well-maintained piers. The swimmers decided to head clockwise fighting the East to West tidal currents first. In our case, we headed in opposite direction. The plan was to push the pace initially. Try to do the South bigger side (the head and front legs of the poodle dog, turn the map 90° to see it) first as fast as possible. Once close to the camps reassess if all the island was feasible and even try to swim to Yuen Kong Chau.
The initial section was as easy as we expected. A couple of beaches and relatively flat rocks easy to go fast on.
But on the West side, coasteering gets spicier with higher cliffs, even a small slab.
We could pass it easily atop, although it might be trickier in the rainy season. According to the water marks we saw. After the slab, there is a small lighthouse atop and then several peculiar rock formations.
Including a shallow cave on top of the cliff. The further we went the trickier the scrambling became. Rough sea and high walls.
Beware of the rock quality. Some walls are really solid granite, but you can find way looser materials. We had a couple of tricky situations with “detachable handholds”. Fun little tunnels to cross through too.
When we arrived at around Yuen Kong Chau we were barely within our time estimations. Not sure how difficult the Northern part would be. Therefore we decided to avoid the swim to the small islet and continue on the main island. Just a bit later a small tidal pool, a big beach and the last wall before the man-made structures.
In the pics, it looks like it was a relatively calm sea day. Far from reality. Watch the pool in the video for some 🤪
The forecast was quite accurate. As already mentioned these areas are very exposed to SE swell.
At the remains of the old camps, we split. Tyler, Wayne & Janis decided that it had been enough for them and went to check this area.
Denvy, Luke & I continued. As you might have watched in the video it was quite choppy initially. There are some high walls and a few nice rock formations. Once we turned the corner and protected from the swell it became way easier
and we ended with plenty of time to clean our gear, remove the wet clothes, chat with the swimmers, etc. Before the kaito came and brought us back (slowly) to Cheung Chau.
Some drone footage + old-time videos of the Tai A Chau Detention Centre. It was home to thousands of Vietnamese refugees from 1991 to 1996.
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