Name (English): Tai O
Name (Chinese): 大澳
Category: Outdoor Activities
Address (English): Tai O, Lantau Island
Address (Chinese): 大嶼山大澳
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/n4X4UWqNRNQcupmy7
Address longitude and latitude: 22.25833539970963, 113.85917119906198
Opening Hours:
MON – 00:00 – 23:59
TUE – 00:00 – 23:59
WED – 00:00 – 23:59
THU – 00:00 – 23:59
FRI – 00:00 – 23:59
SAT – 00:00 – 23:59
SUN – 00:00 – 23:59
Budget (per person): 25HKD for Boat Trip
Recommended Time to Visit: 10am / 14pm
Accessibility Note: easy access
Reminder: Another option is to take a 20-minute bus ride to Tai O Bus Terminus for the boat trip
Guess you’ve seen dolphins before, but I bet you haven’t seen PINK dolphins in your life. Now you have a chance to sit on a boat and closely observe such an adorable creature. Here we go, Chinese White Dolphin!
The unique colour in nature
Should you feel like some pink dolphins, you should first visit the fishing village named Tai O, where the boat trip is offered. There are two different routes for sightseeing boat trip. The classic route is about a 20-minute journey, costs 30HKD. This is the more popular, because it is shorter, but it also brings you to enjoy close-up views for most of the checkpoints in Tai O, including General rock,Tai O Heritage Hotel, Tai Chung Bridge, Yanghou Ancient Temple and Sun Kei Bridge. Another route is a bit longer, about 30 minutes, you are able to go further to see Mangrove and Tiger Mountain, and maybe the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge around the island as well.
Here are some informations about the above boat trip routes:
Website： https://sites.google.com/site/taioboatexcursion
Tel：+852 5110 0527
Opening Hours：10:00am – 5:30pm
Location of getting on the boat： 2 minutes walk from the bus stop/ pier, near to the iron bridge.
If you are looking for a deeper understanding of Tai O, there is another option : Join the 360 Lantau Culture and Heritage Insight Tour or 360 Lantau Sunset Tour organized by Ngong Ping 360 tourism. There are professional guides bringing you into an exclusive visit to the stilt houses, where you can observe stilt houses up close and experience life as a fisherman.
Here are the details : https://www.np360.com.hk/en/attraction/tai-o-boat-excursion
All you need is luck
Fascinating though the dolphin is, it’s an endangered species whose number have dwindled in recent decades. At its peak in 2003, there were 158 of them. Nowadays, less than 30 are left.
To make matters worse, pink dolphins are even rarer than other types in the dolphin family. They have never appeared in adjacent waters. Born with black skin at birth, dolphins may turn into grey, white or pink gradually. The chances of them ending up in pink are low. The chances of spotting one are, unfortunately, just as low.
Why are they dwindling in numbers?
Sad to say, the number of pink dolphins should have risen or remained, were it not for human activities. Thanks to building the Hong Kong Zhu Hai Macau bridge as is unnecessary to most of the Hongkongers, the government insisted on contaminating the ocean despite the strong backlash and environmental assessment against it. In addition, it’s also caused by overfishing and heavy sea traffic, which end up devastating the habitat of dolphins. Conservation is a must, or no one will be able to visit them again.
If you wanna know more about Tai O, or any other attractions in the vicinity, you may go on to browse our website.
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