Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [87]
The dolphins’ habitat has also been diminished by the erosion of the natural coastline of Lantau Island and the destruction of many kilometres of natural coastline. The North Lantau Hwy consumed about 10km of the natural coastline. The Hong Kong Disneyland theme park required large amounts of reclamation in Penny’s Bay.
Hong Kong Dolphinwatch ( Map; 2984 1414; www.hkdolphinwatch.com; 15th fl, Middle Block, 1528A Star House, 3 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui) was founded in 1995 to raise awareness of these wonderful creatures and promote responsible ecotourism. It offers 2½-hour cruises (adult/student & senior/child under 12 $360/255/180) to see the pink dolphins in their natural habitat every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday year-round. Guides assemble in the lobby of the Kowloon Hotel Hong Kong (Click here) in Tsim Sha Tsui at 9am for the bus to Tung Chung via the Tsing Ma Bridge, from where the boat departs; the tours return at 1pm. About 97% of the cruises result in the sighting of at least one dolphin; if none are spotted, passengers are offered a free trip.
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The beach at Tong Fuk, the next village over from Cheung Sha, is not as nice, but the village has holiday flats, several shops and a popular roadside barbecue restaurant called Gallery (Click here). To the northwest is the not-so-scenic sprawl of Ma Po Ping Prison.
West of Tong Fuk, South Lantau Rd begins to climb the hills inland before crossing an enormous dam holding back the Shek Pik Reservoir, completed in 1963, which provides Lantau, Cheung Chau and parts of Hong Kong Island with drinking water. Just below the dam is the granddaddy of Lantau’s trio of jails, Shek Pik Prison. Below the dam to the south but before the prison is another Bronze Age rock carving, which is unusual in that it is so far from the coastline.
The trail along the water-catchment area east of Shek Pik Reservoir, with picnic tables and barbecue pits, offers some of the easiest and most peaceful walking on Lantau. From here you can also pick up the switchback trail to Dog’s Tooth Peak (539m), from where another trail heads north to Lantau Peak.
CHI MA WAN Map
Inter-island service from Mui Wo & Cheung Chau
Chi Ma Wan, the large peninsula south of Mui Wo that can be reached via the inter-island ferry, is a relatively remote part of Lantau and an excellent area for hiking; just be sure to get a map (Click here) as the trails are not always clearly defined or well marked.
The Chi Ma Wan ferry pier is on the northeast coast; the large complex just south of the pier is not a hostel but the Chi Ma Wan Correctional Institution. There’s a decent beach to the south at Tai Long Wan.
FAN LAU Map
Fan Lau (Divided Flow), a small peninsula on the southwestern tip of Lantau, has a couple of good beaches and the remains of Fan Lau Fort, built in 1729 to protect the channel between Lantau and the Pearl River estuary from pirates. It remained in operation until the end of the 19th century and was restored in 1985. The sea views from here are sterling.
To the southeast of the fort is an ancient stone circle. The origins and age of the circle are uncertain, but it probably dates from the Neolithic or early Bronze Age and may have been used in rituals.
The only way to reach Fan Lau is on foot. To get here from Tai O, walk south from the bus station for 250m and pick up stage No 7 of the coastal Lantau Trail (Click here), a distance of about 8km. The trail then carries on to the northeast and Shek Pik for another 12km, where you can catch bus 1 back to Mui Wo.
TRAPPIST MONASTERY Map
2987 6292; Tai Shui Hang; kaido from Peng Chau
Northeast of Mui Wo and south of Discovery Bay at Tai Shui Hang is the Roman Catholic Lady of Joy Abbey – better known as the Trappist Monastery. The monastery