Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The clean and relatively uncrowded beach at Mo Tat Wan is a mere 20-minute coastal path
walk east of Sok Kwu Wan village. Mo Tat Wan is OK for swimming, but has no lifeguards.
You can also reach it by
kaido
(small open-sea ferry) from Aberdeen, which continues on to
Sok Kwu Wan.
BEACH
SHAM WAN
Sham Wan is a beautiful bay in the south of the island that can be reached from Tung O Wan
by clambering over the hills. A trail on the left about 200m up the hill from Tung O Wan
leads south to this small and sandy beach. Don't come here from June to October, when
Hong Kong's endangered green turtles nest and the beach is closed to the public.
LAMMA'S ENDANGERED TURTLES
Sham Wan has traditionally been the one beach in the whole of Hong Kong where en-
dangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas),one of three species of sea turtle found in
Hong Kong waters, still struggle onto the sand to lay their eggs from early June to the
end of August.
Female green turtles, which can grow to a metre in length and weigh 140kg, take
between 20 and 30 years to reach sexual maturity and always head back to the same
beach they were born on to lay their eggs, which takes place every two to six years.
Fearing that Sham Wan would catch the eye of housing-estate developers and that the
turtles would swim away forever, the area was declared a Site of Special Scientific In-
terest in 1999 and closed for part of the year. It is patrolled by the Agriculture, Fisher-
ies & Conservation Department (AFCD) from June to October, when the beach is
closed to the public. Some eight turtles are known to have nested here since 1997 and
some are now being tracked by satellite.
As well as developers, a major hurdle faced by the long-suffering turtles is the ap-
petite of Lamma locals for their eggs. In 1994 three turtles laid about 200 eggs, which
were promptly harvested and consumed by villagers. Several years later villagers sold
eggs to Japanese tourists for HK$100 each. There is now a HK$50,000 fine levied on
anyone caught on the beach during the nesting season. Anyone taking, possessing or
attempting to sell one of the eggs faces a fine of HK$100,000 and one year in prison.
