AWESOME THINGS TO DO IN LANTAU IN THE FALL

Reporting By Ray Au & Rachel Sadler

Beachcombing, Bird watching, Cable car riding, Crabbing, Mountain biking, Pink dolphin spotting, Trail walking

Beachcombing

Of all the beaches in Lantau, Shui Hau is our top pick; it’s wild, compact and bijoux, and you can have it to yourself out of season. Large, frond trees dot the waterline and the sand is silky and white. Enjoy the splendour of the setting, nestled in a rocky inlet, with glorious Lantau Peak rising behind. There are no facilities here save a roughly hewn area for camping, so you’ll have to bring whatever you need for the duration of your stay. Shui Hau Beach is also home to the Kiteboarding Association of Hong Kong and a great place for beginners to test their mettle. [Photo By Martin Lerigo]

Pink Dolphin Spotting

If you are fortunate enough to spot Hong Kong’s famous pink dolphins playing in local waters, you’ll never forget the experience. To watch them launch themselves into the air and glide like eagles before nosediving back into the sea is truly an incredible sight to see.

There are many dolphin spotting tours on offer, but only Hong Kong Dolphinwatch is recognised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Its year round, half-day ecological tours cruise out from Tung Chung New Development Pier, taking every care not to disturb the resident cetaceans. Each trip includes a talk on the environmental situation by experienced guides, and helps generate revenue for research and campaign work.
[PHOTO COURTESY OF SMRU (Hong Kong) Tung Chung.]

Mountain Biking
If you’re looking for an opportunity to get off-road and back to nature, Lantau’s designated mountain bike trails are the place to be. Try the coastal trail from Mui Wo to Shap Long; the Lantau South Water Catchment maintenance road, which runs from above San Shek Wan all the way to Fan Lau; or the Chi Ma Wan Country Trail, which has incredible views of Pui O Beach below. Few bikers (or hikers) use the Chi Ma Wan Country Trail during the week, although at the weekends it gets busy. You’re biking across rough terrain, and the stones and rocks beneath your wheels add to the challenge and the ‘naturalness’ of the experience. The only noticeable man-made features, drainage channels which run across the trails at intervals, are unobtrusive and fairly easy to navigate. [PHOTO BY Col Spark.]

Crabbing
While fishing is a favourite local pastime, and still a livelihood for some villagers, crabbing is one of the joys of island life. You’ll find plenty of semi-terrestrial fiddler crabs at low tide in the inter-tidal mangrove near Tung Chung. When feeding, fiddler crabs look as if they are playing a violin with their claws; they communicate through a sequence of waves and gestures, and so they are also known as calling crabs. Make your way to the Shui Hau mudflats at low tide to witness hundreds of brightly coloured juvenile horseshoe crabs scurrying across the beach. Though they may hide as you approach, carefully crouch down and remain silent, and they will slowly emerge from their burrows. Should you actually want to catch a crab, know that you’ll need gloves, a crab trap, a knife and fresh bait. [PHOTOS BY Rachel Sadler.]

Trail Walking
We are fortunate on Lantau to have easy access to some of the last hidden wildernesses of Hong Kong. High mountains and lush valleys, groves of banana trees nestled around deserted hamlets, sparkling mountain pools stretching out like the folds of a skirt – there are still places you can hike without sight nor sound of the towns and villages just a few kilometres away. The 70-kilometre Lantau Trail is a great hike to tackle – in 12 stages. Beginning and ending in Mui Wo, it takes you up and over both Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak and offers up amazing views as it loops around the island. You’re far off the beaten track for much of the time admiring mountains, glens, beaches, waterfalls, brooks and glorious jungle canopies. [PHOTOS BY Andrew Spires.]

Bird (and Bat) Watching

Of the hundreds of species of resident and migratory birds that flock to Lantau, it’s easy to spot black kites along all local shorelines, hunting for fish. They fly in ever decreasing circles when they spy something to eat. The boldly hued Siberian ruby throat is much rarer, a prized find by ornithologists.

Fork-tailed sunbirds, the nectar feeding hummingbirds of Hong Kong, are still quite common in Lantau but they move quickly and are easy to miss. It’s easier to spot a harem of dog-faced fruit bats nestled in the vegetation. The dominant male makes a home for them by cutting a palm leaf so that it collapses into an umbrella-shaped shelter. Stand directly underneath, and you’ll see their eyes staring down at you. [PHOTOS BY Col Spark.]

Cable Car Riding
A trip on the Ngong Ping Cable Car is always a thrill, particularly if you book a glass-bottomed Crystal Cabin, which gives you a clear bird’s-eye view of the water and mountains beneath your feet. An incredible 3,500 passengers per hour can enjoy the ride either way from 109 cabins.

The 5.7-kilometre cableway starts at Tung Chung, and runs across Tung Chung Bay to Chek Lap Kok, where it turns about 60 degrees before returning across Tung Chung Bay. It then crosses Lantau North Country Park to Nei Lak Shan, before descending to the Ngong Ping Terminal. The 25-minute journey affords panoramic views over North Lantau Country Park, the South China Sea, Hong Kong International Airport, Tung Chung Valley and Ngong Ping Plateau. There’s arguably no better way to get your first (or 88th) glimpse of The Big Buddha. [PHOTOS BY Col Spark.]