CNY Hike to Cape d'Aguilar

The dramatic landscapes are quite the sight at Cape d'Aguilar

With Chinese New Year basically cancelled because of Covid-19 social-distancing restrictions, it was time to hit the hiking trails. My friend and I went to Cape d'Aguilar, a place we had never been to, which is near Shek O.

After arriving at Shau Kei Wan MTR station, we took the number 9 bus to Cape d'Aguilar which entailed a long and winding road that passes Cape Collinson where the military cemetery is, and also the start of Dragon's Back hiking trail where many people got off.

Different rock formations are in this area

Cape d'Aguilar is "hok tsui" in Cantonese and named after Major-General George Charles d'Aguilar, a British army officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong from 1843-1848.

During that time he lived in Headquarter House, which was built for him in 1846 and is now Flagstaff House in Hong Kong Park. D'Aguilar was also an accomplished watercolour artist.

Meanwhile, the 14th bus stop is Cape d'Aguilar and we headed off down the road with the same name. It's a gentle road with many shacks and low-rise houses. After a while we came to a dramatic view looking over towards Stanley.

Further down we started seeing a secluded beach (though today was too chilly to hang out there) and then we spotted our end goal -- the marine reserve. There are different rock formations, some are smooth, others are jagged, with different colours. 

There's also The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, a building very close to the water, with a slope built to have boats go into the water. The building looks relatively new and we wondered what they were studying there.

The waves constantly crash into the rocks

As we made our way towards the water, it crashed violently against the rocks. Swimming is prohibited here and it's easy to see why. Then we found it -- Crab Cave -- though many people were taking photos there so it was hard to take a nice photo.

It's a natural rock formation that looks like a cave, but again the waves crash in from behind and one could easily get wet if standing too far in.

Then we went to explore other areas that also had good views to avoid getting wet. However, one domestic helper got parts of her legs and feet wet and complained about being cold. The perils of trying to get the perfect picture...

In fact most of the people there were domestic helpers, enjoying their holiday. My friend YTSL who regularly hikes has observed that many domestic helpers like to go hiking in the Shek O area. 

Many people taking pictures at Crab Cave

After we wandered around, we turned back and went back the way we came and had a few minutes to spare before the bus arrived to take us back to Shau Kei Wan -- and it was the same bus driver too!