shek-o
Dec 27th, 2007, 04:02 PM
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shek-o
Hello,
Can anyone tell me a bit about Shek-O? I have 3 children, ages 1, 5 and 8. Needless to say I am not in a position to do much hiking. I have always wanted to try going to Shek-O, but don't know what I should expect there. Does it involve a lot of hiking? Is it like going to Repulse Bay where you have easy beach access? Do you take a regular taxi there?
We have been to Hong Kong several times and I think we have done all the major attractions. I thought maybe this year I'd give a trip to Shek-O a shot.
What are my chances with 3 young children?
thank you
Joanne
Can anyone tell me a bit about Shek-O? I have 3 children, ages 1, 5 and 8. Needless to say I am not in a position to do much hiking. I have always wanted to try going to Shek-O, but don't know what I should expect there. Does it involve a lot of hiking? Is it like going to Repulse Bay where you have easy beach access? Do you take a regular taxi there?
We have been to Hong Kong several times and I think we have done all the major attractions. I thought maybe this year I'd give a trip to Shek-O a shot.
What are my chances with 3 young children?
thank you
Joanne
Dec 27th, 2007, 07:19 PM
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Well I could post quite a lot about Shek-O. First question would be when is your trip. Weather is great now, and perfectly fine for sitting on the beach, but not really swimming weather: its in the high 60s to low 70s and quite breezy and cool. Surfers are in the water, but not too many swimmers. Lovely for a picnic, but bear in mind that you probably will not need your swim suit. Feb and March are pretty crummy and not usually beach weather at all, I would play it by ear.
Second is the water quality, it's not that great. You can see the water quality ratings at http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/en...q_current.html. A lot of beaches are tested in the winter. Personally I guess for the few minutes they may be in the water in the winter, you and your kids are going to be fine. I don't think that there is a medical waste issue or anything, you will see plastic bags floating around, however. As you seem to have been to Repluse Bay you may be aware of the water quality issues. I generally don't swim off Hong Kong Island, I do swim off parts of the New Territories. (I used to regularly swim and water ski in Singapore for the five years I lived there however, and believe me, that water ain't clean either, and I don't seem to glow in the dark or anything.)
Shek-O has a nice beach. So does Stanley, which may be easier for you to get to as a tourist, esp on a weekday, as there are more frequent buses from Central to Stanley. (There is that great bus ride over on #6, and the #973 is also good, it goes via Pokfolum on the west coast of Hong Kong Isalnd for some lovely water views; you can take this bus without changing from Kowloon if that is where you are staying; you miss the mountaintop pass, but you can take the #6 back and get that thrill, or vice versa.) There are also more good places for lunch, and you can shop as well. There is the Stanley Main town beach, which is on the opposite side as the shopping area which you probably have been to on previous trips. There is a map of Stanley at http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/e...-0-0-0,00.html that will show you where Stanely Main Beach is located; you want to go around the corner and in front of the bus parking lot in effect. (On the map, the bus station is denoted by the little red bus to the right of Marker 7, which is the market.) There is also a nice beach at St Stephens, a further walk north along Wong Ma Kek Road. St Stephen's beach is particually nice for sunsets.
Getting to Shek-O does not involve any hiking. To get to Shek-O, you can take the MTR to the Shau Kei Wan MTR, exit Door A3 and then take the #9 bus or a taxi to Shek O (about 25-35 minutes). A bit faster would be to take the MTR to Chai Wan, go out Door C and take a taxi to Shek O (about 10-15 minutes). In either case, it's not as pretty a ride as the bus to Stanley, IMO, but with three kids you may prefer the MTR and taxi option. (On weekends there is a bus direct from Central, the #309, it would take about an hour.) You could also take a taxi from Central or even Kowloon if you don't mind spending the money. Rough guess would be about US$25 or a bit more from Central. Shek-O has several good restaurants (Black Sheep and the Thai Chinese in particular) and a Tin Hau Temple out quite a long walk on the rocks, but quite scenic when you get there. The main village part of the town has a good bit of charm, IMO, very tiny and almost Tuscan-village like; you can wander around the lanes. (You really have to have a good bit of romance in your soul to see this, but I can see this.) It is surrounded by some very very expensive real estate and a very exclusive golf course/country club.
Repulse Bay is a good idea too, I love that huge sweeping curve of beach, and bus access is very good. There is also a nice temple at the far north/east end of the beach, and at the other end, the beginning of an easy, flat and scenic coastal walk that will take you over to Deep Water Bay (where there is an excellent restaurant Cococabana http://www.toptables.com.hk/coco/). The walk will only take about half an hour and you can turn right around and come back, or taxi or bus back. You can take a stroller on this walk. You can even walk to Ocean Park a bit further on (there are some steep stairs on that latter part to get to Ocean Park.)
Finally, there is Big Wave Bay, which IMO may be a better option than Shek O, as there is a very nice little restaurant right ON the beach which you may enjoy (Blue Room Restaurant). The waves are marginally rougher, but the views are prettier too. There is no village to speak of but there are little shacks selling surfboards and the whole place is a throwback to Gidget and Moondoggie, a hoot in my opinion. The best way to get there is a taxi or the #9 bus from Shau Kei Wan MTR station, or really the best way is to take the MTR to the last station at Chai Wan, go out Exit Door C and take a taxi (about 10-15 minutes, its about half a mile down the road from Shek O, you could walk there or vice versa.) There is minibus service on weekends to both Shek-O and Big Wave Bay, I have to look up the number, which I will repost.
I know you say you are not a hiker, but there are some excellent hikes in the area. I am just about to post on Monday with some directions and alternative hikes for the Shek O area for another poster (I need to do some last minute research on bus schedules tomorrow). Look for that and see if that interests you. I think you could easily do the hike to Big Wave Bay from the Cape Collision bus stop, it involves one hill of not overwhelming steepness, but after that is flat or downhill and has some really really lovely views. Assuming you have a backpack for the one year old for at least part of the walk, the other kids could do this walk, its about 1.5 hours all in, and could easily lend itself to a picnic, as there are several spots with covered gazebos/pagodas perfect for a picnics. You can also do a bit of this hike uphill from Shek O if you wanted some nice views from above the beach.
Second is the water quality, it's not that great. You can see the water quality ratings at http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/en...q_current.html. A lot of beaches are tested in the winter. Personally I guess for the few minutes they may be in the water in the winter, you and your kids are going to be fine. I don't think that there is a medical waste issue or anything, you will see plastic bags floating around, however. As you seem to have been to Repluse Bay you may be aware of the water quality issues. I generally don't swim off Hong Kong Island, I do swim off parts of the New Territories. (I used to regularly swim and water ski in Singapore for the five years I lived there however, and believe me, that water ain't clean either, and I don't seem to glow in the dark or anything.)
Shek-O has a nice beach. So does Stanley, which may be easier for you to get to as a tourist, esp on a weekday, as there are more frequent buses from Central to Stanley. (There is that great bus ride over on #6, and the #973 is also good, it goes via Pokfolum on the west coast of Hong Kong Isalnd for some lovely water views; you can take this bus without changing from Kowloon if that is where you are staying; you miss the mountaintop pass, but you can take the #6 back and get that thrill, or vice versa.) There are also more good places for lunch, and you can shop as well. There is the Stanley Main town beach, which is on the opposite side as the shopping area which you probably have been to on previous trips. There is a map of Stanley at http://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/e...-0-0-0,00.html that will show you where Stanely Main Beach is located; you want to go around the corner and in front of the bus parking lot in effect. (On the map, the bus station is denoted by the little red bus to the right of Marker 7, which is the market.) There is also a nice beach at St Stephens, a further walk north along Wong Ma Kek Road. St Stephen's beach is particually nice for sunsets.
Getting to Shek-O does not involve any hiking. To get to Shek-O, you can take the MTR to the Shau Kei Wan MTR, exit Door A3 and then take the #9 bus or a taxi to Shek O (about 25-35 minutes). A bit faster would be to take the MTR to Chai Wan, go out Door C and take a taxi to Shek O (about 10-15 minutes). In either case, it's not as pretty a ride as the bus to Stanley, IMO, but with three kids you may prefer the MTR and taxi option. (On weekends there is a bus direct from Central, the #309, it would take about an hour.) You could also take a taxi from Central or even Kowloon if you don't mind spending the money. Rough guess would be about US$25 or a bit more from Central. Shek-O has several good restaurants (Black Sheep and the Thai Chinese in particular) and a Tin Hau Temple out quite a long walk on the rocks, but quite scenic when you get there. The main village part of the town has a good bit of charm, IMO, very tiny and almost Tuscan-village like; you can wander around the lanes. (You really have to have a good bit of romance in your soul to see this, but I can see this.) It is surrounded by some very very expensive real estate and a very exclusive golf course/country club.
Repulse Bay is a good idea too, I love that huge sweeping curve of beach, and bus access is very good. There is also a nice temple at the far north/east end of the beach, and at the other end, the beginning of an easy, flat and scenic coastal walk that will take you over to Deep Water Bay (where there is an excellent restaurant Cococabana http://www.toptables.com.hk/coco/). The walk will only take about half an hour and you can turn right around and come back, or taxi or bus back. You can take a stroller on this walk. You can even walk to Ocean Park a bit further on (there are some steep stairs on that latter part to get to Ocean Park.)
Finally, there is Big Wave Bay, which IMO may be a better option than Shek O, as there is a very nice little restaurant right ON the beach which you may enjoy (Blue Room Restaurant). The waves are marginally rougher, but the views are prettier too. There is no village to speak of but there are little shacks selling surfboards and the whole place is a throwback to Gidget and Moondoggie, a hoot in my opinion. The best way to get there is a taxi or the #9 bus from Shau Kei Wan MTR station, or really the best way is to take the MTR to the last station at Chai Wan, go out Exit Door C and take a taxi (about 10-15 minutes, its about half a mile down the road from Shek O, you could walk there or vice versa.) There is minibus service on weekends to both Shek-O and Big Wave Bay, I have to look up the number, which I will repost.
I know you say you are not a hiker, but there are some excellent hikes in the area. I am just about to post on Monday with some directions and alternative hikes for the Shek O area for another poster (I need to do some last minute research on bus schedules tomorrow). Look for that and see if that interests you. I think you could easily do the hike to Big Wave Bay from the Cape Collision bus stop, it involves one hill of not overwhelming steepness, but after that is flat or downhill and has some really really lovely views. Assuming you have a backpack for the one year old for at least part of the walk, the other kids could do this walk, its about 1.5 hours all in, and could easily lend itself to a picnic, as there are several spots with covered gazebos/pagodas perfect for a picnics. You can also do a bit of this hike uphill from Shek O if you wanted some nice views from above the beach.
Dec 27th, 2007, 08:33 PM
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Sorry, St Stephen's beach is south of Stanely Village, it's shown at Marker 9 on the map I posted the link to...also, I meant to say that the water is NOT tested at many beaches in the winter so you won't know the quality.
Dec 27th, 2007, 10:09 PM
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Sorry, one more way to get to Shek-O or Big Wave Bay is to take the bus to Stanely and then simply go on by taxi from there to Shek O or Big Wave Bay. This would take 15 minutes or so, and cost about US$12-15. Of couser this is longer than taking the MTR to Chai Wan or Shau Kei Wan, but you do get the nice bus ride to Stanely. You can also go home this way.
Dec 30th, 2007, 06:55 PM
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I have posted a long thread on walks in the Shek-O area, you might want to look for it under " Cicerone's Favourite Hong Kong Walks III: The Dragon's Back ". I would suggest you consider Walk #3 to Big Wave Bay from the Cape Collision bus stop. The hill there is not so much a hill as a long incline, there is a set of steps to start the walk, but overall this is not at all a difficult walk.
Also, I have to correct my thread above, about buses to Shek-O stopping in the "parking lot at the beach". The vilage has compelted its restroation of its tiny art deco bus station which is in town, so the buses are stopping there now. This is about 40 feet before the parking lot for the beach, which will just be through the roundabout (circle) and down on your left after you get off the bus. The village is tiny, so you cannot get lost tyring to find the beach or in town.
Also, I have to correct my thread above, about buses to Shek-O stopping in the "parking lot at the beach". The vilage has compelted its restroation of its tiny art deco bus station which is in town, so the buses are stopping there now. This is about 40 feet before the parking lot for the beach, which will just be through the roundabout (circle) and down on your left after you get off the bus. The village is tiny, so you cannot get lost tyring to find the beach or in town.
