Hiking in Hong Kong --- Lung Ha Wan (Lobster Bay) Country Trail

Aptly named the 'back garden of Hong Kong', the district of Sai Kung is home to a score of scenic hiking trails that wind through the countryside and run over lush green hilltops with gorgeous views of tiny rock islands scattered beyond the rural coastline.  Most of these trails are easily accessible by public transport, and the choice is plentiful to suit one's physical ability or time schedule.

For a morning hike on a weekend last autumn, we went on the fairly short but very scenic Lung Ha Wan Country Trail located in the Clear Water Bay Country Park at the southern part of Sai Kung. 

Location of the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail

Our hike started from Tau Au Mun, joining the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail, and ended at the Lung Ha Wan rock carving. 

 Clearwater Bay as seen from the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail Viewpoint

View of Sheung Sze Wan from the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail

It is common to start and end this hike at Tai Au Mun, going round in a loop. In our case, we got there by taking the 103M minibus from the bus terminal at the the Tseung Kwan O MTR station. From the Tai Au Mun roundabout, it is a 20-minute walk to the carpark of the Clear Water Bay Country Park / Tai Au Mun Kite Flying Area, where the Lung Ha Wan Trail starts. The Trail ends at the Clear Water Bay Equestrian Centre. From there, one can walk back to Tai Au Mun along the quiet Lung Ha Wan Road. We would have done that, but just after a short detour to see the Lung Ha Wan Rock Carving, a taxi came in our direction from behind, possibly having dropped someone off at the Equestrian Centre. We flagged down the taxi and got a ride to the Hang Hau for a timely lunch.

The initial ascent of the trail is fairly steep and physically demanding. The distance is not very long though, and one would pause a couple of times along the way, not just to catch one's breath but to take in the beautiful views of Clear Water Bay.

Clear Water Bay Country Park car park --- starting point of the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail

Clear Water Bay as seen from the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail Viewpoint

Clear Water Bay

Clear Water Bay panorama

Reaching the highest point on the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail

From this point, the descent down to Ha Lung Wan is fairly gentle.

Start of the descent down to Lung Ha Wan

Downhill part of the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail

Interestingly, many of the tiny rocky islands in Hong Kong, some maybe as small as a few hundred square-metres in size, are named. On this trip, we came to know several of them, which we had never heard of before, such as Ping Min Chau and Trio Island.

Tiu Chung Chau 吊鐘洲 and Ping Min Chau 平面洲 off the Sai Kung coastline

Shelter Island 牛尾洲

Tiny Ping Min Chau 平面洲

Sheung Sze Wan and Lung Ha Wan panorama

Sheung Sze Wan

Sheung Sze Wan

Sheung Sze Wan

Shelter Island 牛尾洲 and Tiu Chung Chau 吊鐘洲

Shelter Island 牛尾洲 off Lung Ha Wan

Shelter Island 牛尾洲

Shelter Island Tiu Chung Chau, Ping Min Chau and Trio Island among the many rock islands off the Sai Kung costline

Trio Island in the foreground

Continuing down the hill, the Lung Ha Wan Trail ends at the Clearwater Bay Equestrian Centre. On this day, several young riders were practising  their skill on well-behaved ponies.

Clearwater Bay Equestrian Centre

Sandy beach at Lung Ha Wan near the Equestrian Centre

A short distance away from the Equestrian Centre down Lung Ha Wan Road is the location of some ancient rock carving --- one of several found in Hong Kong. These carvings are dated to pre-historic times well over 6 or 7 thousand years ago. We were particularly interested to see the carving here because we had seen the one at Tung Lung Chau in a recent hike. Walking down a flight of stairs to reach the rock carving, we got a view of various water activities in Lung Ha Wan.

Leisure activities at Lung Ha Wan

Canoeing in Lung Ha Wan

Lung Ha Wan

Lung Ha Wan rock carving

Lung Ha Wan rock carving

Rock carvings found in Hong Kong

Comparing the two rock carvings that we have seen, while they are both located by the coast, at about sea-level, on the eastern part of Hong Kong, they are quite different in style. The Lung Ha Wan carving has some rectilinear features that are absent in the Tung Lung Chau carving, which mostly consists of curved lines. Also, the Lung Ha Wan carving features some deeper depressions. Whoever made these markings possibly did not imagine the mysterious symbols they inscribed would remain for thousands of years down the generations and bear evidence of this land being inhabited in the distant past.

Comparing rock carvings at Lung Ha Wan and Tung Lung Chau