SCENIC BEAUTY, ECOLOGICAL HIGHLIGHTS AND THE STRANGEST HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG
Nestled deep within Lantau South Country Park in the southeastern corner of Lantau, Chi Ma Wan Peninsula is a remote and seldom-visited outcrop replete with secluded bays, white-sand beaches, untamed hinterland and towering peaks. The scenery is seriously majestic and, since there are no roads to speak of, the best way to see it in all its glory is on foot.
A hiking trail from Pui O takes you into the peninsula via Mong Tung Wan. Hiking here, you may not see anyone outside your group, particularly if you bypass the “popular” stretches of Lantau Trail, and you need to bring all your provisions with you. Occupying 56.4 square kilometres, Lantau South Country Park was designated in 1978 as the largest country park in the territory. There are several hiking routes inside the park, among them Chi Ma Wan Country Trail that orbits the peninsula and is the longest trail of its kind in the territory.
Hike even a stretch of the 18.5-kilometre Chi Ma Wan Country Trail and you will be treated to some truly Instagram-worthy scenery. As you navigate the glorious bays (Chi Ma Wan, Cheung Sha Wan, Tai Long Wan, Yi Long Wan and Mong Tung Wan) along the coast, you’ll be wowed by the desolate beaches which are alternately lapped and lashed by the tempestuous South China Sea. Peculiar rock formations on the headlands draw your eye inland to gently rolling hillsides and two towering peaks, where white-bellied sea eagles surf the air.
Heading inland into the “jungle,” you’ll find vast plantations of trees, planted to reinvigorate valleys and hillsides denuded by hill fires. Given the poor soil and coastal location, early afforestation species were mostly large, fast-growing trees, such as Taiwan Acacia, Brisbane Box and Slash Pine. In recent years, native species like Chinese Hackberry, Fragrant Litsea, Camphor Tree, Reevesia, Chinese Banyan and Strawberry Tree have been introduced. These verdant woodlands in turn harbour native flora species like Tree Ginseng, sweetscented Hong Kong Magnolia and the endangered Gmelina chinensis.
Many of the peninsula’s jungle trails are seldom used, which means you have a good chance of spotting some of Hong Kong’s most retiring wildlife on your trek. You may hear the distinctive cry, like that of a jackal, of a barking deer foraging on the upper slopes, and you’ll likely see tree squirrels moving nimbly through the trees. Be aware too that snakes are prevalent on these trails. Look out for a Burmese Python, Chinese Cobra or WhiteLipped Pit Viper basking on the open path or an a nearby rocky outcrop – and keep a respectful distance.
TRACES OF MAN
Traces of man are few and far between but there are a couple worth exploring in the area. Chi Ma Wan Reservoir, also known as Shap Long Reservoir, was built in 1966, and has a capacity of about 130,000 cubic metres. Originally the main water source for Cheung Chau, Peng Chau and Hei Ling Chau, it was converted into an irrigation reservoir in the 1970s. Surrounded by mature woodlands, it’s easy to reach via the Chi Ma Wan Country Trail.
On the shores of Shap Long Reservoir, you’ll find two prisons – a youth offenders’ establishment and Chi Ma Wan Correctional Institution – both now out of use. Christian Zheng Sheng College, a private boarding school aimed at rehabilitating young drug abusers, lies a few kilometres southeast of Chi Ma Wan.
Notably too, as history buffs will tell you, the government has recently finished restoring a group of ancient limekilns in Yi Long Wan. These relics, which back to the Sui Dynasty (500 AD), are now open to the public.
If you’re making a weekend of it, you can stay at the youth hostel in Mong Tung Wan, or pitch your tent at the free, public campsite at Tai Long Wan. You’ll find there’s plenty to do. In addition to hiking, there’s swimming, fishing and rock climbing (all of the climbs at Eagle Crag and Temple Crag are between 17 and 24 metres), plus all kinds of technical single-track mountain biking without too much hill climbing, a rarity in Hong Kong.
THE LURE OF SEA RANCH
Hiking Chi Ma Wan Country Trail above Yi Long Wan, you’ll likely spot Sea Ranch’s gleaming white towers and wonder who lives there – and how they get about. There’s clearly no road access, or public ferry, so does their day start and end with a hike to Pui O?
As it turns out, the 40+ residents who remain at Sea Ranch make use of a private ferry to and from Cheung Chau; still quite a schlep if you suddenly find yourself out of milk. But accessibility isn’t a plus for everyone – even everyone in Hong Kong.
The real sense of isolation is what must have brought the party people to buy here back in the 70s and 80s. (A swish weekend retreat for senior executives completed in 1979, Sea Ranch was an Eyes Wide Shut, secret-handshake kind of development that only those in the know, knew.) And arguably Sea Ranch’s inaccessibility is still the lure – that, and the price. A 1,240-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment, with a large balcony and beautiful sea view, comes in at around HK$3.7 million.
Designed as a HK$40 million utopian pocket of seclusion, with 200 five-star apartments, Sea Ranch sold well at the start but within a short while there was trouble in paradise. The original developer Hutchison Whampoa got into serious debt and sold the holding company Holiday Resorts to apartment owners for HK$1 in 1983. There was further disruption in 1996, when a group of residents parted ways with Holiday Resorts and formed a new committee named Incorporated Owners, which now holds majority control.
The closure of all of the original lures, including the helipad, clubhouse, swimming pool, a buzzing cocktail lounge replete with full-size snooker table, saunas and a children’s nursery, was inevitable. The man-made beach is still there, but everything else has been covered with tarpaulins or chained up.
Sea Ranch is now inhabited by a quiet bunch of retirees and reclusive/ artistic types – and people who get to work from home. The main staircase up to the resort has long been washed away by the sea but the rest of the development looks in remarkably good order. The few remaining residents clearly care about their hideaway. It’s cheap, underpopulated and by the sea. What’s not to like?