Every trail underfoot and each eye-catching formation has its unique history, offering glimpses of-and tactile connections to-a volcanic past. Stretching from the famous Ninepin islands in the south to Tung Ping Chau in the north, the Geopark serves as a striking reminder of the territory’s geological past, when 85% of Hong Kong’s land was formed by supervolcano eruptions between 140 to 165 million years ago, creating an abundance of rocky outcrops and intricately textured islands that are both visually stunning and geologically fascinating. It’s in these areas that Cybulski can often be found scuba diving to gather historical data, work that helped some of his HKU colleagues to create 3D-printed terracotta tiles with various species of corals attached that are being used to attempt to rejuvenate the coral reefs of Hoi Ha Wan.Īnother of Cybulski’s areas of expertise is geology, an interest that is equally well served in the Sai Kung area by the attractions of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark.
The places Cybulski recommends to see the highest diversity and the highest coral cover in Hong Kong are around the outlying islands between Mirs Bay and Port Shelter in the territory’s northeast, including Tung Ping Chau, Crescent Island, Bluff Island and Sharp island, and in the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park, a large protected area near Sai Kung that’s home to coral and many other types of sealife. “There are places with 100% coral cover and there are places with over 30 species of coral in one area,” he says. Remarkably, Hong Kong has more coral species than the entire Caribbean combined, while over 25% of China’s marine biodiversity can be found in Hong Kong waters, despite the fact that the territory accounts for less than 0.03% of the country’s coastline.