[Lizabeth]

Hi all,

I went to Pui O Beach on Lantau on Sunday and I was in SHOCK over the water quality. It was completely polluted with tons of rubbish floating in the water. I'm not talking about an occasional peice of paper floating by like at other beaches we have been to... it was densely polluted.

I was wondering if Pui O Beach is usually like this or did we just catch it on a bad day or time. This beach was recommended to us by a friend so I was very surprised. But not as surprised as I was to see people still swimming in that water!! Yuck. Some of the rubbish included rotting heads of cauliflower, contraceptives, and HIV antibody wrappers ...sooooooo gross!!!! haha!!

If Pui O is usually this disgusting, can anyone suggest a cleaner beach that is good for small children?

Thanks!!

[amseiko98]

I haven't been to Pui O myself, but Cheung Sha beach, a bit further along the coast (away from Mui Wo) is quite good.

Originally Posted by Lizabeth

Hi all,

I went to Pui O Beach on Lantau on Sunday and I was in SHOCK over the water quality. It was completely polluted with tons of rubbish floating in the water. I'm not talking about an occasional peice of paper floating by like at other beaches we have been to... it was densely polluted.

I was wondering if Pui O Beach is usually like this or did we just catch it on a bad day or time. This beach was recommended to us by a friend so I was very surprised. But not as surprised as I was to see people still swimming in that water!! Yuck. Some of the rubbish included rotting heads of cauliflower, contraceptives, and HIV antibody wrappers ...sooooooo gross!!!! haha!!

If Pui O is usually this disgusting, can anyone suggest a cleaner beach that is good for small children?

Thanks!!

[dipper]

South Lantau is on a shipping lane so anywhere along that coast you're going to be taking your chances with what's washed up that day. I still like Pui O a lot though (perhaps because I'm not much of a swimmer). There's lots of space to run around and if you go to the far end there is a (seemingly relatively clean) river inlet with many fish, crabs, etc. Lantau beaches have also tended to be more laid back regarding rules (dogs, ball games etc) than many of the beaches on HK side, for example, although last time we went they seemed to be getting a bit more uptight (unfortunately someone has opened a bar/restaurant on the beach, there used to be a kiosk selling cold beers and restaurants in the village which was perfect but now it's becoming more 'developed').

If your priority is clean water for swimming then I guess the beaches on the Sai Kung side or outlying islands away from the shipping lanes like Po Toi or Tung Ping Chau would be a better bet.

[HowardCoombs]

Ditto the dipper -- it can get really bad after a storm/typhoon...having said that, if you get there early you will find people there busily working on cleaning up bags and bagsfull of crap out of the beach.

Its not that different than any other south lantau or TuenMun beaches that do get rubbish from time to time.

Even with the crap, it is one of our favorite beaches with some nice sand, fairly decent food/drink and large open spaces.
Hunting for the clams is an added bonus.

Dont give up on it. Go back 2 weeks later and things will improve quite a bit.

HC

[ReverendJay]

Sept 20th, International Beach Cleanup Day!

I am organizing a team. Let me know if you are interested in participating.

Pui O has been targeted as the kickoff beach to clean. The website should go live later today with details. I will post it shortly.

[Lizabeth]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think I was so upset because I have never seen anything like this before. It was a tough reality! I LOVED everything else about Pui O beach, just the pollution really ruined it for us. But I will give it another shot. I heard that Silvermine Beach was really bad that day too. So I think we just caught it on a worse than normal day.

So, instead of just complaining about it...

Sylvesterjay, I would love to participate in the Beach Clean Up Day. I will check back for the website and I will PM you with any questions, but count me in!!!! Thanks!

[Jon.E.Kong]

If the kids don't mind a 1.5 hour hike. Tai Long Wan is the best beach in Hong Kong, maybe all of China.

Last time I was there you could see perfectly clear down about 10 feeet. The largest beach is at least a km long and there were maybe 20 people on it. You can also hire a speedboat from Sai Kung to take your there.

[Lammarite]

Sylvesterjay- any chance of a link to the website?

A lot of beaches can be affected by the run-off from the PRD and the currents round the bottom of the island.

For a pretty easy yet secluded beach you can go to Trio Beach in Pak Sha Wan (Hebe Haven). It has a shark net and changing rooms/showers and is also pretty clean water.

Dai Long Wan is the best beach in HK (though I would say that Hainan has better beaches if we're going to compare it to China!).

[ReverendJay]

Sorry was out of town since before typhoon Nuri. Here is the link to the beach cleanup:

Hong Kong Coastal International Cleanup Challenge :: 海灘清潔比賽

[PDLM]

sylvesterjay,

Are you connected with the organisers? If so you might like to point out that ALL of the links to useful information (PDF files) from the sign up page are giving 404 errors, so it is totally impossible to use that site to find out information or to sign up...